In the August 31, 2001 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2002. Information in this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected. Any opinions expressed in the Digest do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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Chicago Adopts New Tech-Based ED Strategy 
With 90 percent of Chicago’s economy in slow-growth sectors such as manufacturing, retail, financial services and real estate, leaders from business, academia, government and nonprofit groups have joined forces to develop and implement a strategy to establish the city as a key player in the New Economy. Mayor Richard Daley unveiled A New Economy Growth Strategy for Chicagoland earlier this month, accompanied by announcements of new initiatives and commitments by leaders of several entities central to the plan’s success. 

The plan calls for a unified effort toward two goals: 1) make Chicago a prime location for technology startups, and 2) create world-class leadership in priority New Economy sectors of biotechnology/biomedical, wireless software, software development, and emerging technology such as nanotechnology. 

To achieve the first goal, five areas are to receive attention: 

Nine specific action items are identified to drive the expansion of Chicago’s biotech, wireless and software development sectors. In addition to cluster development and recruitment/attraction efforts in each sector, the plan recommends: 

McKensey & Co., working pro bono to develop the strategy for the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors, looked at successful New Economy initiatives in New York City’s Silicon Alley and Austin’s Silicon Hills. The analysis revealed very quickly the importance of a public-private partnership for the greatest impact. Hoping to capitalize on this, several of the city’s New Economy players offered their assistance with specific initiatives at the plan's roll-out press event, including the Illinois Coalition, Illinois Venture Capital Association, the University of Chicago, the Chicago Technology Forum, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the Executives' Club of Chicago. 

In addition to recognizing the contribution Governor Ryan's Illinois VentureTech program has made for the city, the Mayor also outlined several of the city's initiatives to better position Chicago in a tech-based economy. 

A New Economy Growth Strategy for Chicagoland can be downloaded at http://www.chicagotechtoday.com 

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Conference Sponsor Profile 
Department of Energy Industries of the Future Strategy 
The Industries of the Future (IOF) strategy creates partnerships between industry, government, and supporting laboratories and institutions to accelerate technology research, development, and deployment. Led by the Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT), the Industries of the Future strategy is being implemented in nine of the country's most energy- and waste-intensive industries: agriculture, aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metal casting, mining, petroleum and steel. 

The effort is unique among federal programs because the IOF research agenda is almost entirely defined by the partnering industry sectors. Industry members of each cluster jointly prepare documents with the industry's vision for the future and a technology roadmap to identify the technologies that will be needed to reach that industry's goals. IOF then provides matching grants for research projects to carryout the roadmap. 

To date, more than 140 first-generation technologies have been transferred to market benefitting industry and society through increased productivity and lower carbon dioxide pollutants. Other benefits include hard savings from energy efficiency gains. From 1979 to 1999, OIT initiatives saved 43.1 trillion Btus and $202 million from energy audits and improvements. Also, engineering students acquire real-life experiences on how to do audits, thereby extending their knowledge into different industries throughout their professional careers. 

OIT also has created Industrial Assessment Centers or IACs to provide RD&D (research, demonstration and development of new technologies) for small and medium-sized manufacturers. Additional aid comes in the form of free audits, analyses and recommendations for efficiency improvements. The 26 university-located centers have saved these firms on average $55,000 per annum. Nearly half of IAC’s recommendations are implemented by the manufacturing plants. 

The Office also administers the National Industrial Competitiveness through Energy, Environment, and Economics (NICE3) and Inventions & Innovation programs. More information on the Industries of the Future and other programs of OIT — a gold sponsor hosting an exhibit at SSTI's annual conference Sept. 20-21, 2001 — may be obtained by visiting http://www.oit.doe.gov/industries.shtml 

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Local TBED Round Up 

Blythewood, South Carolina 
With an estimated population of 450, the community of Blythewood is soon to be home to the largest technology development project undertaken by the South Carolina Department of Commerce, according to an August 9 article in The State. The agency has identified 1,400 acres of land for creation of a research and technology park. Planners anticipate the community's proximity to Columbia, the University of South Carolina, and several large tech businesses will help attract new tech jobs to the area. 

Camden, Arkansas 
The Associated Press reports grants to Camden, totaling $3 million, from the Economic Development Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency are being used to clear and decontaminate a brownfield site to make way for a new business incubator and light industrial park. The incubator facility will be financed by a local sales tax approved by Camden voters to support economic development efforts. 

Lorain, Ohio 
Lorain County Community College is building a $6 million Engineering and Developmet Center to house facilities for software development, computer science programs and the Great Lakes Incubator for Development Enterprises, a technology business incubator. The center will place considerable attention on helping area manufacturing businesses become more technologically advanced or digitized. Manufacturing accounts for 31 percent of the county's employment base. More information is available at http://www.lorainccc.edu/nbbj/etdchome.html 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 
In an effort to retain and attract tech-skilled workers, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and several tech firms have joined forces to launch Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM). The companies paid $3,000 each for their younger workers (in their mid 30s or younger) to become members of the group, which holds events for networking, socializing, and career advancement and professional development. Individual memberships are $150. More information is available at http://www.ypm.mmac.org 

Tampa, Florida 
A new tech-focused incubator opened in the Tampa Bay area this week. TechVillage Tampa Bay is a 10,000 sq. ft. facility owned by the University of Tampa. The University will provide entrepreneurial assistance and mentoring as well as office space for up to four companies. A second, larger tech incubator for Tampa is scheduled to open this fall at the University of South Florida. 

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Useful Stats: VentureEconomics Makes Available VC Stats by State, Metro Area 
VentureEconomics, a division of Thomas Financial is now providing online summary information for their quarterly survey of venture capital activity. Until now, findings from the surveys, which are conducted in partnership with the National Venture Capital Association, has only been available by purchase. 

The summaries provide a level of detail that should be attractive to many tracking venture capital investments by region, state, or 20 different metro areas. For each state, data for total investments and number of companies are provided for the past ten years (1991-2001) and the most recent nine quarters (second quarter 1999 through second quarter 2001). SSTI has prepared the accompanying summary table presenting the VentureEconomics 1991-2000 total venture capital investments and number of companies for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Current quarter information for each state is further described by industry/technology sector, by stage, by county, by state of funding source, by state of companies receiving money from venture capital firms located within the state, the most active firms in the state, the companies receiving investment, and venture backed IPOs in the state for the past ten years and the most recent quarters. 

Detailed deal information is available for the three most recent quarters (fourth quarter 2000 through second quarter 2001). 

Similar information is provided for 20 broad metro areas, defined by area code. This definition presents some problems, however, in that some metro areas encompass much larger regions than are traditionally defined by the other metropolitan statistics or media markets. For example, the "Pittsburgh & Ohio metro area" includes the area codes serving the major Ohio cities of Cincinnati, Columbus (but not the Columbus suburbs and southeastern Ohio), Cleveland and much of Northeast Ohio. With the exception of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area code, the western half of Pennsylvania and the northwest quadrant of Ohio are omitted. 

The VentureEconomics statistics can be found at http://www.ventureeconomics.com/statshome.htm 

Our thanks to Digest reader, Douglas Petty of the Great North Alliance in Minneapolis, for drawing this resource to our attention. 

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Conference Sponsor Profile 
National Energy Technology Laboratory 
Natural gas, oil, and coal-based power production has driven and will continue to be integral to America's technological and economic success. To make fossil fuel power production more efficient and environmentally benign, future power plants will incorporate a host of advanced technologies, many of which are researched and funded through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Located in Pittsburgh and Morgantown, NETL is a multi-purpose laboratory, owned and operated by the Department of Energy (DOE). NETL conducts and implements science and technology development programs for DOE in energy and energy-related environmental systems. 

NETL's research and development activities are conducted on- and off-site through partnerships, cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), grants, and contractual arrangements. NETL partners with industry, universities, other national and federal laboratories, private research organizations, and other federal and state agencies. The nearly 900 research, development, and demonstration projects in NETL’s portfolio are conducted at facilities located in all 50 states and in several foreign countries. 

Currently, NETL is responsible for implementing coal, oil, and gas programs for the Office of Fossil Energy (FE). For almost 11 years, NETL has implemented environmental remediation technologies for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and has provided support for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, particularly in program activities that are complementary to FE programs. NETL also provides services for other federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Defense, state groups including the California Energy Commission and the Pennsylvania Coal Caucus, and Native American organizations. A part of NETL, the National Petroleum Technology Office is responsible for implementing DOE’s petroleum programs. 

More information on the National Energy Technology Laboratory — a gold sponsor hosting an exhibit at SSTI's annual conference Sept. 20-21, 2001 — may be obtained by visiting the following link: http://www.netl.doe.gov/index-b.html 

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SSTI's Annual Conference Update: Discount Ends September 5 
Early registration for SSTI's 5th Annual Conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies ends on Wednesday, September 5. To lock in the discounted rate, submit your registration by the end of September 5 by fax to 614.901.1696 or online at https://www.ssti.org/registration01.htm Those paying by check are encouraged to submit their registration form by fax or online as well and post the check by regular mail. 

Participation in the conference grows each year; for the 2001 event, we already have registrations for people from more than 40 states, 5 countries and 4 continents. Join us!  

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