In the November 9, 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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Dems Take NJ, VA Governorships 
Democrats took the year’s only two races for governor, electing Jim McGreevey in New Jersey and Mark Warner in Virginia. 

Democrats also took control of the New Jersey Assembly for the first time in 10 years. Republicans, meanwhile, strengthened their control of Virginia's Assembly by 12 seats. The GOP now holds 64 of the 100 seats in the chamber. In Washington, Democrats claimed a narrow majority of the seats in the house, giving the party control of both legislative chambers and the governor's office. 

With Tuesday’s election results, Republicans hold 27 governorships, Democrats control 21 seats, and Independents hold Maine and Minnesota. Each party controls 17 state legislatures while 16 are split between the two. Thirty-six states will hold elections for governors next fall. Incumbents in 19 of these states either are not running or are barred by term limits from serving another term. 

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Maine Voters Pass $5M R&D Bond 
Voters in Maine passed a bond issue authorizing the state to borrow $5 million for biomedical and marine research and development by Maine-based nonprofit and state research institutions. 

The bond issue, one of six approved in the state on Tuesday, passed with 52.6 percent of the votes cast. Biomedical R&D will receive $4 million of the bond monies for projects, including an 80,000-square-foot expansion of Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. The lab expects to add 200 new jobs in connection with the facility's expansion. Marine research activities would receive the remaining $1 million. 

According to the Bangor Daily News, a $20 million R&D bond issue passed by Maine voters in 1998 (see the Oct. 9, 1998 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest) has already generated more than $100 million in spinoff benefits, including new jobs, federal research grants and additional industrial R&D contracts. 

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Tech, VC Rule in 15th Annual Report Card of the States 
States that support a vibrant technology sector are attentive to the quality of their economic development efforts and continue toattract venture capital will outperform those that do not, according to the 2001 Development Report Card for the States. The 15th annual report, released yesterday by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED), uses 70 measures to provide a state-by-state assessment of economic development policy in three main areas — Performance, Business Vitality and Development Capacity. 

Top performers in this year's report, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington and Minnesota, all earned straight A's. They were joined by Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia on an "honor roll" of A’s or B’s. Eleven states received an F in at least one of the three categories. 

Among its key findings, CfED says there is a very strong relationship between states that have a high presence in technology-intensive firms and states with high scores overall. Seven of the 10 honor roll states are among the top 10 states ranked by number of tech companies: Colorado 1st, Washington 2nd, Massachusetts 3rd, Connecticut 7th, New Jersey 8th, Virginia 9th, and Utah 10th. "These findings continue to support the importance of technology as a driver of economic development," CfED said. 

In addition, CfED suggests "states with active venture capital lending also exceed many other measures of economic and social health." All 10 honor roll states rank in the top 20 percent in venture capital investments. Moreover, four of the five straight A states fall in the top five for VC. 

CfED concludes that "while it is important for states to create and retain businesses, it is simply not enough to base economic impact assumptions on raw numbers — number of new enterprises, number of new jobs, number of business closings, etc. The kinds of businesses in a particular state and the way they operate have a large impact on economic performance for the state overall. Businesses that conduct commerce outside of the state, attract investment, seize market opportunities, and generate living wage employment are the most likely to prosper." 

CfED also suggests that "states in which the business sector invests the most in human resources — high wages, salary increases, and health benefits — are among the highest performing. In addition, counterintuitive to most business assumptions, the Report Card shows a relationship between strong economic performance and investment in conservation and environmental resource management." 

The 2001 Development Report Card and state-by-state assessments across 70 indicators are available for download at: http://209.183.252.136/drc2001/ 

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Advocacy Group En'Visions' New Economy for Duluth, Minn. 
A group of community leaders bent on revitalizing the Duluth, Minn., economy and ensuring economic opportunities for the city recently moved one step closer toward accomplishing its goals. 

The Bridge Syndicate, a non-profit with more than 300 members, recently made public its plan for economic growth, issuing A Positive Vision for Duluth's Economy. 

In the plan, the group's economic development task force of 20 young business owners and professionals focus on three main principles:

A city which has had difficulty retaining workers in their late 20s and early 30s, Duluth and the future of its young people are a chief concern of the Bridge Syndicate. 

"We want the city to focus on creating careers instead of jobs, growing specific industries that play to our strengths, while avoiding fleeting economic trends and industries that exploit our workers," the report states. 

The Bridge Syndicate has yet to launch any of the plan's objectives; however, the group hopes the plan's timely arrival, preceding the Mayor's Economic Summit on November 14-15 in Duluth, will stimulate discussion in which "the community can identify a common vision." The two-day interactive event is meant to serve as a springboard for long-term economic growth in the region. 

More information on the Bridge Syndicate, including a link to A Positive Vision for Duluth's Economy, is available through its website: http://www.oppna.com/bridgesyndicate/ 

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Wisconsin Legislature Considers VC Bills 
The Wisconsin Legislature presently faces two bills which could greatly boost venture capital funds in the state. 

Clearing the Senate October 26, Senate Bill (SB) 296 requires the state investment board to invest up to $50 million in venture capital investment firms and to provide a high-technology business development corporation a grant of up to $2.5 million in FY 2001-02. Intended to help place Wisconsin at the fore of biotechnology, the bill supports the creation, development and retention of science- and technology-based businesses. 

Receiving passage by House representatives on October 17, Assembly Bill (AB) 579 would provide capital investments totaling $100 million to companies with a 100 employees or less and a net worth of $5 million or less. The bill would require that the companies also be located in and have their headquarters in Wisconsin. 

SB 296 and AB 579 await passage by the House and Senate, respectively. More information on both is available under 2001 Legislative Activity at the Wisconsin State Legislature website: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/ 

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Useful Stats: Science & Engineering Doctorate Awards by State 
The National Science Foundation Division of Science Resource Statistics has e-published early release tables for the Science & Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2000 report. The data show trends in science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients. 

Among the 10 tables included in the report is an 18-page table presenting institutions conferring S&E doctorates by state, institution, and major field in 2000. SSTI has prepared a table summarizing the 2000 data, standardizing S&E doctorates per 100,000 residents in each state, and ranking the results by state. 

The District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and Iowa awarded the highest number of S&E doctorates in 2000 per 100,000 residents. 

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State and Local Tech-based ED RoundUp 

Atlanta, Georgia 
A task force for the biotech industry is underway in the metro Atlanta region. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce announced the task force would be co-chaired by Dr. Michael Johns, executive vice president for health affairs and director of the health sciences center at Emory University, and Parker Petit, chairman, president and CEO of Matria Healthcare. With business and academic leaders, public health organizations and researchers, the task force is meeting monthly to develop a long-range strategy and five-year business plan to position the region as a center for biotech innovation, capital, talent and business. Implementation of the Atlanta region strategy is expected to begin later in 2002.

Baltimore, Maryland 
The newly formed Baltimore Venture Mentors (BVM) recently announced it is accepting applications for its pro bono mentoring program. BVM will help companies implement their ideas into viable business models, with emphasis on polishing funding presentations and assisting with strategic positioning. All work will be done on a pro bono basis at meetings held on the third Wednesday of every month, when two companies will present for half an hour followed by a 30-minute critique and discussion with the BVM team. Within a week of each meeting, the companies will receive a written summation of the team's feedback and counsel. To participate, companies must submit a one page executive summary of their business plan and receive a preliminary review by a mentor partner.

Orange County, California 
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently awarded a $1.5 million federal grant to the Rancho Santiago Community College District for the construction of the Digital Media Business Accelerator, according to the Los Angeles Times. The 20,000-square-foot incubator will offer space for 10 to 15 businesses that will receive help from Venture Point, a small-business development program in Orange County. Participating companies also will benefit from broadband and fiber-optic communication systems and computers.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
Adding to the efforts to build a system-on-a-chip tech cluster in Pittsburgh, Gov. Mark Schweiker delivered $6.2 million in state funds to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to help construct a $31.4 million office and research building on the campus. The 120,000 sq. ft. facility will house the Pittsburgh Research Lab, a recently announced partnership between Intel Corp. and CMU to conduct research for the next generation of computer data storage. The state investment includes $5 million in capital budget redevelopment assistance funds and a $1.2 million Infrastructure Development Program grant through the Department of Community and Economic Development. 

Other tenants for the space will include the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse, which announced last week that, during its first two years of operations, it had already helped to create 661 new tech jobs for the area.

Roanoke, Virginia 
EDA also awarded a $2 million grant for the expansion of a business incubator in Roanoke, Va., according to the Roanoke Times & World News. The New River Valley Competitiveness Center will add more than 20,000 sq. ft. to its existing 31,000 sq. ft., thanks to the EDA grant, a $250,000 state grant and a $1.3 million loan from The National Bank in Blacksburg. Presently, the incubator situates 12 businesses in 16,000 sq. ft. available office space. Construction of the new space, which could house up to 15 offices, began Sept. 20.  

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NYC, Tech-based ED and September 11 
With disaster comes opportunity for dramatic changes to occur through the healing and rebuilding processes. Floods, hurricanes and tornados have helped to energize devastated areas into becoming more vibrant communities. The deep recession of the late 80s and restructuring of many key industrial sectors ushered in many state tech-based economic development programs, the benefits of which are being felt more than a decade later. 

In The Future of the Tech Savvy City, Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow at the Center for an Urban Future, argues that the need to rebuild New York City with the World Trade Center attacks and its aftermath can be the impetus to strengthen the city's position in a knowledge-based future. 

After explaining the importance of high tech, its positive and negative role in changing the cities, and the threat or challenges posed by aggressive "second tier" cities — all from the perspective of an urban geographer — Kotkin encourages New York and other large, older cities to pursue developing grassroots-driven economies based heavily on entrepreneurship, small business growth, "knowledge value neighborhoods," quality of life issues, and a strong, distinctive sense of place. 

Kotkin concludes, "In the end, cities, and most particularly New York, will prevail by becoming more decentralized and multi-polar, and fundamentally more human." 

The report is available for download from the Center for an Urban Future website:
http://www.nycfuture.org/econdev/futuretech.htm [expired]

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New Guide to Federal Tech Funding Available 
larta has issued its 2002 Federal Technology Funding Guide, a survey of federal funding sources for technology firms. The sixth edition of the guide provides information on more than 90 regularly scheduled programs, hundreds of links to resources on the Web, and a special section funding for technologies to fight terrorism. An index identifies program by technology area or funding emphasis. 

larta is one of three regional technology alliances established and funded by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation in the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency. The full guide is available for $39 from larta; an abbreviated, downloaded version is available at http://www.larta.org 

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