In the December 14, 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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SSTI Moves Office
While visions of sugarplums will be dancing in the heads of most Americans, SSTI's staff will be boxing up its files and moving to new offices on Dec. 20-21.

Due to the move and because SSTI will be closed during the week of December 24-28, the next issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest and the funding supplement will be published January 4, 2002.

That said, we extend a special holiday wish to all readers, friends and supporters. SSTI especially thanks the Economic Development Administration, without whose generous support, the Digest would not be possible.

Wishing you a more peaceful and successful 2002,
Dan, Becky, Cathy, Ruth, Sue, Mark S. and Mark K.

Note: SSTI's new address is provided in the masthead of this and future issues; please make the necessary change in your address books, PDAs, etc. Also, please note that SSTI's telephone and fax numbers will not change, as the move occurs within the same office park.

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Clusters Report Released by NGA, Council of Competitiveness
Creating and strengthening regional competitiveness and innovation is the key to the nation’s ability to succeed in the global marketplace and raise the standard of living for all Americans, according to a new report presented Thursday at a joint conference of the Council on Competitiveness and the National Governors' Association.

Titled Clusters of Innovation: Regional Foundations of U.S. Competitiveness, the report is the result of a two-year study sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness that outlines an agenda for both the public and private sectors to strengthen regional economies and build clusters.

Strong clusters at the regional level are fundamental to a region’s job growth, wage levels, rate of innovation and the formation of new businesses, the report says. Highlighting in-depth studies of five regions — San Diego, Wichita, Pittsburgh, the Research Triangle, and Atlanta — the report examines 15 clusters within the regions, such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. The report draws on a first-of-its-kind database on every U.S. regional economy and includes the results
of 264 interviews and 1,025 surveys of business, academic, government, and community leaders.

An institutional structure for economic development that is independent of government is also essential to regional and cluster development, the report states. It cites UC Connect in San Diego and Digital Greenhouse in Pittsburgh as organizations that can develop training and management programs, help link firms and university assets, and work with government to recruit businesses.

The report suggests that governments at all levels can make a significant difference in regional and cluster development. However, the report emphasizes, the private sector must take a leading role in regional economic development. Companies also must recognize the important influence that their cluster has on the companies' competitive success and play an active role in cluster development.

Recommendations for government actions include:

In addition to its findings, Clusters of Innovation: Regional Foundations of U.S. Competitiveness offers a detailed methodology that any region may follow to further its economic development. The report is available at http://www.compete.org/innovate/innovate_index.html

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Bush Administration Names 22 to PCAST
President George W. Bush appointed on Wednesday 22 individuals to serve as members of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). They are:

Charles Joel Arntzen of Ariz., Norman R. Augustine of Md., Carol Ann Bartz of Calif., M. Kathleen Behrens of Calif., Erich Bloch of D.C., Stephen B. Burke of Penn., Gerald Wayne Clough of Ga., Michael S. Dell of Texas, Raul Fernandez of Md., Marye Anne Fox of N.C., Martha Diane Winters Gilliland of Mo., Ralph E. Gomory of N.Y., Bernadine Patricia Healy of Ohio, Robert John Herbold of Wash., Barbara Kilberg of Va., Walter Eugene Massey of Ga., Gordon E. Moore of Calif., Kenneth Nwabueze of Calif., Steven Gerald Papermaster of Texas, Dr. Luis M. Proenza of Ohio, George Martin Scalise of Calif., and Charles M. Vest of Mass.

As the highest level private sector advisory group for the President and the National Science and Technology Council, PCAST provides feedback about Federal programs and science and technology issues of national importance. PCAST's members are drawn from industry, education, and research institutions, and other nongovernmental organizations.

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Michigan Examines Tech Transfer Capabilities, Needs
A new report showing that Michigan is performing at the level of the national average in tech transfer recently was released by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.

An Assessment of Technology Transfer at Michigan’s Public Universities holds that Michigan is an improving top-tier commercialization state, using statistics and measurements to create benchmarks in the areas of tech transfer and entrepreneurial activity. The benchmarks are used to compare the performance of Michigan universities with other universities nationwide.

As a state, Michigan fares well in the amount of sponsored research funding, with the University of Michigan ranking fourth nationally, according to the report.

Overall, Michigan universities in 1999 were below average in new start-up companies created from university research, but preliminary data for 2000 shows improvement in the number of start-ups.

In addition to the above findings, the report identifies four areas in university research where improvements could translate into greater economic activity in Michigan:

Through the licensing of innovations by universities, hospitals, research institutes, and patent management firms, tech transfer has helped lead to new businesses, new industries, and new markets and has helped create new products such as cancer treatments and faster modems.

The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) estimates more than $40 billion in academic tech transfer in FY 1999 went toward the U.S. economy, supporting 270,000 jobs. Should this trend continue, AUTM suggests the U.S. will see a "maturing portfolio (in 1999) of over 18,000 license agreements" yield hundreds of new product introductions and new companies.

To view An Assessment of Technology Transfer at Michigan’s Public Universities, visit MEDC, enter Business Services and click on MEDC Publications under Features.

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San Francisco's After-School Science Workshops Expanding Nationwide
Community Science Workshops (CSW) are spreading nationwide, due to a second $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will enable San Francisco State University (SFSU) and its partners to create CSWs across the U.S.

CSWs, or informal drop-in science centers, were first given life four years ago when SFSU received its initial $3 million grant from NSF. Being self-supported through community partnerships, CSWs spread in 10 underserved California communities in Fresno, San Jose, Los Angeles, Watsonville and Oakland and led to satellite workshops in neighboring communities.

Eight of 15 new sites will be launched in cities including Tucson, Miami, Houston, New Orleans, Detroit, Seattle, New York, and Washington, D.C., with at least one workshop located on or near a Native American reservation. These sites will serve as hubs for developing spinoff sites.

As an informal science program, CSWs have enhanced formal science standards by offering onsite science programs to neighboring schools that generally lack the resources and expertise of their local CSW and staff.

The CSWs serve kids aged 8 to 15 in predominantly minority communities, where they are accessible by foot to local children, and contain interactive exhibits, resident animals, hands-on experiments and workspace in which to "tinker" with all manner of tools. Children, with bilingual staff to supervise, answer questions and teach, are left largely to themselves once embarking on a project.

The Community Science Workshops: A Report on Their Progress, a five-year study commissioned by SFSU and published in January 2000, says CSWs "have succeeded not only in creating places where minority and at-risk youth are motivated to go, but in creating an experience these youth value."

According to the study, conducted by Inverness Research Associates, youth who choose to visit a CSW tend to develop long-term relationships with the site. Almost half of the youth served by CSWs participate at least 50 hours or more in a year, and more than one-third participate for 100 hours or more. Less than one-third take part in a CSW activity for 10 hours or less each year, the report states.

Mission Science Workshop, the original CSW located in San Francisco's inner city Mission District, will serve as the center of the nationwide CSW network, providing leadership and guidance for existing and new sites.

No website yet exists for the CSW network. However, as a primary collaborator with SFSU, the American Association for the Advancement of Science is developing a website and producing how-to materials for setting up CSWs and presenting science concepts to underserved youth. More information on The Community Science Workshops: A Report on Their Progress is available at: http://www.inverness-research.org

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Technology/Research Park Development News

Carbondale, Illinois
The latest issue of the Illinois Coalition's TechAlert reports Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has broken ground on the $40 million, 45-acre Southern Illinois University Research Park. Plans call for the park to include 12 buildings totaling nearly 236,000 sq. ft. When full, the park should house approximately 75 companies with 800-1,200 tech-skilled employees. Financing for the initial phase has come from an Illinois FIRST grant of $500,000, a $300,000 Congressional
earmark, and approximately $700,000 in other federal funds. Verizon also has invested $800,000 in an on-site fiber optic switching center. The park is adjacent to the university's Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, which houses the Southern Regional Center of the Illinois Manufacturing Center and the Business Incubator Program.

Roanoke, Virginia
Residents are beginning to question the rapid rise in Roanoke's debt load to finance many redevelopment projects aimed at making the city more attractive for technology businesses, according to a recent story in the Roanoke Times & World News. The city has more than doubled its dept per capita over the last three years to $1,943 per resident. Among the bonds issued last year were $14 million for the redevelopment of a 74-acre known as the South Jefferson St. Area into the Riverside Centre for Research and Technology. The city's plans and the commitment from the first tenant suggest to supporters that the investment risk is worth it.

The anchor tenant of the new research park will be the Carilion Biomedical Institute, a partnership between Carilion Health System, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. In 2002, the institute is expected to begin construction of the park's first new building, a new 50,000 facility that will include 20-30 staff and a business incubator for biomedical businesses. Carilion Health System has already committed $20 million to the non-profit and, along with the two universities, has agreed to raise an additional $10 million from outside sources. Within seven years, the institute will be self-sustaining and have secured more than $75 million.

When completed, the City Manager says the research and technology park will offer 1,250,000 sq. ft. of building space and could attract up to $175 million in capital expenditures and up to 2,500 new jobs.

Starkville, Mississippi
The Golden Triangle Enterprise Center, a technology incubator and assistance center in the 220-acre Mississippi Research and Technology Park, will be moving to larger facilities in the park as a result of $1.5 million in funding secured from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. An additional $2 million for construction of the 25,000 sq. ft. facility came from the Tennessee Valley Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission, OCEDA, the City of Starkville, and the Mississippi State University Research Foundation. The new building will also have 5,000 sq. ft. of clean room space available for lease to client companies.

In other news, the Mississippi Research and Technology Park has announced Viking Range Corp. is locating an R&D center in the park as a result of the company's alliance with Mississippi State University. More information on the park, operated by the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, is available at: http://www.oceda.org/index.html

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$12.4 Million Offered for Digital Divide Projects
The Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), an initiative that promotes the widespread availability and use of digital network technologies in the public and non-profit sectors, has approximately $12.4 million available in FY 2002.

As part of the Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), TOP gives matching grants for model projects demonstrating innovative uses of network technologies.

Applicants may request up to a total of $750,000 in funds from NTIA. TOP expects the federal amounts awarded to range from $200,000 to $750,000, with an average of approximately $500,000. NTIA will provide up to 50 percent of the total project cost, unless the applicant can document extraordinary circumstances warranting a grant of up to 75 percent.

Eligible applicants include any nonprofit organization, education institution or state, local or tribal government agency. Individuals and for-profit entities are encouraged to participate as project partners.

Supporting projects for distance learning, public safety, telemedicine, community information, and economic development, TOP evaluates and actively shares the lessons learned from these projects to ensure the benefits are broadly distributed across the country, especially in rural and underserved communities.

Since its creation in 1994, TOP has made 530 awards in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, totaling $192.5 million and leveraging $268 million in local matching funds.

In FY 2001, NTIA received over 660 applications collectively requesting more than $367 million in federal funds. From these applications, the Department announced 74 awards totaling $42.8 million.

The solicitation for FY 2002 TOP proposals is open until March 21, 2002. Potential applicants are invited to attend a Technical Assistance Workshop on January 14, 2002, at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas. More information on the solicitation, the workshop and past awards can be found on the TOP website: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/top/index.html

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