In the November 30, 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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NCOE Report Says Entrepreneurs Healthy for Economy 
Building Entrepreneurial Networks, a major report on how and why networks of entrepreneurs nurture economic growth in communities across the country, was released Wednesday by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE). 

To illustrate the importance of entrepreneurial networks, NCOE’s seventh report profiles five organizations in Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas that have succeeded in developing unique entrepreneurial networks. 

The report notes that regions which have developed strong entrepreneurial economies tend to possess several key ingredients — well-organized local networks along with strong universities, access to equity capital, and an advanced public infrastructure. Similarly, regions with strong networks tend to have high rates of new start-ups and fast-growing companies. 

The report also suggests local entrepreneurs and policymakers working to spur home-grown entrepreneurship should consider policies and initiatives to develop and support entrepreneurial networks. Case studies are provided for the five organizations which have developed model entrepreneurial networks:

NCOE’s full report is available at: http://www.ncoe.org/research. For a hard copy of Building Entrepreneurial Networks, please contact NCOE’s Ken Berlack at 202-434-8066. 

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Resources Available for Displaced Workers Interested in Entrepreneurship 
In an effort to help combat the present economic downturn, the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is looking to partner with groups across the U.S. to provide training to displaced workers interested in starting new businesses. 

The Kauffman Center is offering its proven FastTrac NewVentureTM program materials at no cost to organizations that want to provide the course to downsized workers in their states or communities. Partner organizations locate attendees, handle logistics, and pay trainer expenses. Displaced workers participate in the program at no charge. The Center has 10 years of experience with the FastTrac program and is ready to work with partners to implement the program rapidly and effectively in their communities. 

In FastTrac NewVentureTM, participants explore the feasibility of their business concept, develop mentor relationships, discover whether life as an entrepreneur is right for them, and lay the groundwork for their future business ventures. The program is currently being implemented for displaced workers from Sprint in Kansas City and the aviation industry in Wichita, Kansas. 

Those interested in partnering with the Kauffman Center to provide entrepreneurship training to displaced workers should contact Kathy Nadlman at 913-681-5525 or knadlman@fasttrac.org

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Success Stories in University-based Entrepreneurial Encouragement 

University of Buffalo Entrepreneurial Awards 
An in-depth look at the one-year success of a student company to win last year's first Panasci Entrepreneurial Awards at the University of Buffalo recently was highlighted in the Buffalo News. 

The three students who comprise Student Voice received $25,000 in seed capital as first prize in a competition administered by the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) in the School of Management. Student Voice, a market research firm specializing in data on college-age consumers, uses personal digital assistants and peer-to-peer, in-person interviews for data collection. 

The students' award was provided through a $1 million endowment donated to the university by UB alumna Henry Panasci, a pharmacist/business executive turned venture capitalist. Second prize recipients received $15,000. Seventeen new student teams have entered this year's competition, a field which will be narrowed to five finalists for presentations in January. 

To compete for the awards, UB students submit a business plan outlining the need for a product or service and its target market, including a description of the methods for bringing it to market. Entries are judged based on the soundness of the proposed product or service, marketability and chances for success. 

More information on the Panasci Entrepreneurial Awards, modeled after a successful Massachusetts Institute of Technology program (see below), is available at: http://www.mgt.buffalo.edu/cel/panasci.shtm

The MIT Programs
The MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition, now in its 13th year, also holds a $1K Warm-up Business Plan Competition. For the 2001-02 cycle, 79 teams have submitted proposals in an effort to capture a $1,000 prize in one of 10 categories. According to the program's website, "the Competition has facilitated the birth of over 60 companies with an aggregate value of over $10.5 billion. These companies have generated over 1,800 jobs and received $175 million in Venture Capital funding." 

MIT also has launched the MIT Venture Mentoring Service (VMS), offering free, no-strings-attached, mentoring assistance to all interested MIT students, alumni, faculty and staff. Run through the Provost's office, the initial years of VMS operation have been funded by two MIT alumni donations and by MIT itself. 

Prospective entrepreneurs submit brief descriptions of their proposed ventures to the program for screening. After an interview with the program director, each VMS entrepreneurial team is guided through the mentoring process by a co-director who identifies appropriate potential mentors — typically one or more — and arranges matches with the entrepreneur. All relationships are voluntary. The program has a stipulation that mentoring volunteers may not invest in, or receive compensation from, ventures they are currently advising. 

More information about the VMS program is available at its website: http://web.mit.edu/vms/index.html 

The student-launched e-MIT is a web portal for all of the entrepreneurial activities underway in the MIT community. Started in 1997, the site offers links to many different programs, employment opportunities and events designed to encourage entrepreneurship. 

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NSF Invests in Second Year of Grants for Community Innovation 
A National Science Foundation (NSF) program to foster significant public/private partnerships and help better position local communities to accommodate new and enhanced research and development is continuing into a second year, NSF announced last month. 

The $14 million in grants awarded last year under NSF's Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) have been supplemented with more than $7 million for 12 new grants in 2001 to cover projects in 11 states involving more than 150 partner organizations. 

The twelve lead institutions receiving new PFI awards include: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; the University of Alaska, Anchorage; the universities of Maine, Southern Mississippi, Southern California, Pennsylvania and South Dakota; Montana Tech; Michigan Technological University; and Montana State, Northwestern and Wichita State universities. 

All are receiving an average of $600,000 over the next two to three years. The lead institutions are selected to act as catalysts in helping their surrounding communities transform research-based knowledge into innovations that create opportunities for new wealth and a broader economic base that benefit communities and the nation at large. 

A complete list of the second Partnership for Innovation Awards is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/01/pr0188.htm 

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Science Scores Down among Students, NCES Report Finds 
A recent report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), The Nation’s Report Card: Science 2000, shows the average scores of fourth- and eighth-graders were essentially unchanged from 1996, and the scores for 12th-graders declined by three points, a significant change. 

Scale scores for the report, a survey conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), generally show what students know and can do in a given subject. The National Assessment Governing Board, the independent body that sets policy for NAEP, developed the three NAEP achievement levels used in the report: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. 

From 1996 to 2000, the percentage of 4th-graders attaining these levels showed no change. In 2000, only 29 percent of 4th-graders scored Proficient or better on the NAEP science assessment. A mere 32 percent of 8th-graders and 18 percent of 12th-graders fared the same. 

At the state level, six states had the highest average scores for 4th-graders in 2000: Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, North Dakota, Montana, and Iowa. (The average scores for these states did not differ significantly from one another.) Since NAEP did not assess 4th-graders in 1996, no comparisons to prior performance are made. 

Montana had the highest average score at 8th grade. California and Maine showed a decline for 8th grade, while Kentucky, Missouri, and Vermont showed an increase. Domestic and overseas school systems operated by the U.S. Department of Defense for children whose parents are in the Armed Forces also showed an increase. 

Also examined are relationships between student performance and responses to questions about teachers’ undergraduate major, classroom computer use, and coursework. For example, the NAEP data show that: 

The national assessments used in The Nation’s Report Card: Science 2000 included over 15,000 students at each of the three grades in public and nonpublic schools for a total of more than 49,000. The state assessments included approximately 96,000 students in 45 states and jurisdictions in the 4th grade and approximately 94,000 students in 44 states and jurisdictions in the 8th grade. These results were reported only for public school students. 

For further information on The Nation’s Report Card: Science 2000, visit NCES’ NAEP website at: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ 

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New Tool Offered for Improving Math & Science Performance 
One of the key findings in the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress science assessment was the correlation between student performance and the use of computer technology in the classroom. For eighth-graders, the use of computer simulation and modeling corresponded with higher assessment scores. 

Fortunately, free or affordable resources are available so each local science teacher is not required to create their own computer applications. One of the most recent examples is www.getsmarter.org, launched by the Council on Competitiveness right before Thanksgiving. 

Intended to engage students in math and science at an early age and, more importantly, hold their interest through high school, www.getsmarter.org is a free and fully-interactive website offering math and science tests, tutorials and tools for improving K-12 performance in these two critical areas. Activities include the Goo Laboratory for elementary students, a Mastery Science Theatre for middle-schoolers, and Math & Science Television for high school scholars. 

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Useful Stats: 8th Grade Science Assessment Scores by State 
Using the statistics provided in the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress science assessment, SSTI has prepared a table ranking states based on the percent of 8th grade students scoring at or above proficiency in 2000. Ties were broken by the states' average scores for the year. 

Montana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio and North Dakota were the top five states in the ranking — all with at least 40 percent of their 8th grade students scoring at or above proficiency in 2000. Thirteen other states were at or above the national average of 30 percent. 

The SSTI table also presents each state's 1996 assessment score for 8th grade students, the change between 2000 and 1996, and the percentage of fourth-graders scoring at or above proficiency in 2000. 

The table can be found on the following webpage: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/113001t.htm 

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Labor Market Tightening for New College Grads 
2002 college graduates, particularly those with masters and doctoral degrees, can expect a tougher time finding employment after graduation next spring, according to the 31st annual Recruiting Trends survey conducted by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University. 

The survey of 286 employers, primarily in the manufacturing and professional services sectors, determined that graduates with bachelor degrees will see a 6 percent to 13 percent decline in hiring during the 2001-02 academic year. 2002 grads with master’s and doctoral degrees could see a 20 percent decline. 

In addition, survey respondents reported hiring 34 percent fewer bachelor’s degree recipients and 45 percent fewer master’s degree graduates than they projected last year. 

The largest declines in hiring include engineering, computer science, and business. 

More information is available from the Collegiate Employment Research Institute website at: http://msutoday.msu.edu/ 

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State and Local Tech-based ED RoundUp 

Baton Rouge 
The Louisiana Business and Technology Center (LBTC) celebrated on Wednesday its 13th year of existence with a reception at the Louisiana State University Faculty Club, honoring those tenants to graduate from the center's incubation program. LBTC, a small business incubator located on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, began in 1988 as a joint venture between LSU, the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority. The center has over 45,000 sq. ft. of office space that is currently leased to 20 tenant companies and has graduated 82 companies since 1988, including 66 companies still in operation. 

Folkston, Georgia 
A vacant school in Folkston soon will be home to the Okefenokee Education and Research Center, according to the Georgia Edition of The Florida Times-Union. Two million dollars from the state General Assembly and an agreement between the Georgia Wildlife Federation and Folkston is making way for the center. The first phase of the project will house researchers and student groups. The center also is expected to offset tax revenues and the jobs Charlton County lost when a local mining endeavor was abandoned. For more information, visit: http://www.nwf.org/okefenokee/edcenter.html 

New Jersey 
Either a testament to the program's design or the state of the economy, the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program has become increasingly popular during the last two years. The program, a model used for similar tax credits in other states, allows small technology and biotechnology firms to sell unused Net Operating Loss carryforwards and unused R&D tax credits to other New Jersey corporations for at least 75 percent of their value. The state approved 118 applications totaling $40 million this year, the cap for the program. Last year, only 91 companies received the credit. More information is available at: http://www.njeda.com 

Sturgis, South Dakota 
While the economic synergy achieved through geographic proximity of information technology and biotech firms has been touted greatly, there are benefits of clustering in even more specialized sectors as well — food for thought for communities and regions lacking the research and corporate strengths to be the next Silicon Valley. The South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development recently announced the decision of a third gun manufacturing company to locate in Sturgis (pop. 6,444) in less than two months. A high-quality labor pool and the manufacturing-friendly economic development offices of the town, county and state were cited by the latest company as important reasons for the relocation. 

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