In the September 13, 2002 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2003. 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.

Subscription to the SSTI Weekly Digest is free. If you are reading a forwarded copy of this issue and would like to receive your own copy each week directly, please subscribe at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm Requests to unsubscribe should be sent to sstiwd@ssti.org.

Economic Development Low Priority for Gubernatorial Elections?
Tuesday’s primary resulted in the selection of gubernatorial candidates in nine states: Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. As of press time, Florida’s primary results on the Democratic side were still uncertain.

SSTI reviewed the candidates’ campaign websites to determine their positions on economic development and the role of science and technology in today’s economy. Conventional political wisdom would indicate that in poor economic times, a major campaign theme would be economic development. If that’s the case this year, the theme is not reflected in most candidates’ websites.

Of the 20 major candidates advancing as a result of Tuesday’s election, SSTI found that only eight offered substantive discussion of issues of interest to the tech-based economic development community. The analysis reveals, however, that those advocating investments in science and technology continue to come from both parties; bipartisan support for science and technology has been a hallmark of tech-based economic development since its inception in the 1950s.

The eight candidates, with highlights of their proposals, include:

Arizona
Former Rep. Matt Salmon (R) calls for the development of a better bridge between the education community and the business community and would appoint a cabinet-level officer in charge of economic policy and development. Within one year, the officer would develop a plan to have all of Arizona capable of high-speed communication within eight years.

Maryland
Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) indicates through her website that she will strongly support the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) and pursue the development of manufacturing facilities that are directly connected to our research parks and universities. She pledges to stimulate investment in high-growth sectors, including support for the Biotech Park and providing targeted tax and investment incentives for new biotech or other technology companies. She also proposes to expand angel investor groups to help more small businesses and minority enterprises to access capital.

Minnesota
Roger Moe (D) says he will “take an intense interest in the research climate at the University of Minnesota, help the University attract top scholars, and encourage the State Universities to broaden their efforts to transfer research into business and industry applications.”

New Hampshire
Craig Benson (R) supports the creation of “high-tech E-Zones in the northern part of New Hampshire to attract firms to areas of the state needing economic development. These five square mile regions will be heavily wired for high-speed Internet access and digital phone coverage.”

New York
Governor Pataki will be the Republican and Conservative party candidate. In discussing his economic development achievements, Governor Pataki’s campaign website points to his “personal involvement, commitment, and vision [for bringing] International SEMATECH North to Albany....Governor Pataki’s leadership and commitment to a 21st Century economy led to New York State’s $250 million commitment to create Centers of Excellence in Albany, Buffalo, Long Island, Greater Rochester and Syracuse.”

Governor Pataki proposes creating an Empire Opportunity Fund for economic development initiatives to create jobs through technology and biotechnology research, small business incubators and downtown commercial redevelopment projects. He also pledged $5 million for the “Security Through Advanced Research and Technology” program to help New York’s universities secure federal and other high technology research funding from homeland security.

Comptroller Carl McCall is the Democratic nominee. He proposes to focus economic development on four major growth areas, including information technology and biotechnology, and transform the state’s universities into economic engines. He would create a New York State Council on Higher Education that would form closer links between the universities and the business community, spur new businesses, secure greater levels of scientific and technical funding, and use the universities to assist with the economic transition of communities.

Wisconsin
Governor Scott McCallum (R) promises to focus on state and local economic development in 11 industry clusters and to continue “strong partnerships with recipients of eight Technology Zone grants to develop and expand high-technology businesses across Wisconsin.”

Attorney General Jim Doyle (D) proposals include creating: an office of entrepreneurial development; a technology scholarship program; and, additional research institutions. He proposes to construct world class-facilities to attract, develop, and retain top researchers and to catalyze new science and technology. He suggests expanding the state’s R&D tax credit, enhancing the state’s technology transfer programs, and capturing more federal research funding. He also wants to strengthen angel investor networks and expand the state’s SBIR outreach program.

In the coming weeks, the Digest will provide more information on other gubernatorial candidates' positions on issues involving building tech-based economies.

return to the top of this page

European Commission Wants R&D at 3% of GDP by 2010
Earlier this week, the European Commission presented its strategy to respond to the March 2002 Barcelona European Council's call to raise research spending to 3 percent of the European Union's (EU) average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2010. Today, Europe is at 1.9 percent on average across the member countries.

The Communication More Research for Europe looks into Europe's under-investment in science and technology and its harmful consequences for EU competitiveness, growth and employment. R&D investment (private and public) in the U.S. now exceeds EU expenditure by more than €120 billion every year. In 2000, in the U.S. €288 billion was spent on R&D, while only €164 billion was spent in the EU.

The report states Japan already has achieved the 3 percent level, with R&D expenditures accounting for 2.98 percent of its GDP in 2000. The USA is coming closer (with 2.69 percent in 2000, which has been constantly rising since 1995). In Europe, R&D intensity, at 1.93 percent in 2000, has been stagnating at under 2 percent since the beginning of the last decade, the Commission writes.

The 3 percent level is a target for Europe as a whole: the report admits not all European countries can be expected to reach the 3 percent target by 2010, but all of them should take part in efforts to set more attractive framework conditions for R&D investment and to improve their use of financial incentives. R&D expenditure is already above 3 percent of GDP in Sweden and Finland and above 2.5 percent of GDP in Germany. More troubling is that R&D spending remains below 1 percent of GDP in Greece, Portugal, Spain and in all Candidate Countries except the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

Without prompt action, the Commission asserts, this knowledge gap will hamper Europe's innovative potential and its capacity to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010, a goal set by the Lisbon European Council in March 2000. The main challenge is to increase R&D business funding in Europe, which should be raised to two-thirds of R&D expenditure, a level already attained or exceeded in the U.S., Japan and several Member States. Currently, the EU average is 55 percent.

The report suggests coordinated action at European, national and regional levels is therefore necessary to make Europe more attractive to business investment in R&D. The Commission believes access to finance, better regulation, human resources, intellectual property rights, fiscal policies and other incentives have to be fine-tuned to R&D needs.

The Communication identifies framework conditions that need to be addressed in a consistent way. These include:

Financial incentives for private R&D and technology-based innovation could also be used in more consistent and effective ways, the Commission writes. In this regard, public authorities can use a range of financing instruments, particularly direct support measures, fiscal incentives, guarantee schemes and public support for risk capital.

The Commission will launch stakeholder consultation to identify a focused set of actions by early 2003.

More information is available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm

return to the top of this page

TBED Projects Among USDA Opportunity Grants
Last week, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced the selection of 29 economic development projects to receive more than $3.1 million. Funding provided through USDA Rural Development's business opportunity grants and economic development loan and grant programs will assist over 455 businesses and create or save nearly 3,000 jobs, according to the grant proposals.

The awards were distributed to projects in 24 states: Alabama ($450,000); California ($50,000); Colorado ($9,500);  Georgia ($50,000); Indiana ($50,000); Kansas ($200,000); Kentucky ($48,360); Louisiana ($49,790); Maine ($13,000); Maryland ($50,000); Minnesota ($250,000); Mississippi ($431,687); Missouri ($222,000); Nebraska ($300,000); North Carolina ($50,000); North Dakota ($50,000); Ohio ($50,000); Pennsylvania ($15,000); South Dakota ($200,000); Tennessee ($50,000); Texas ($413,936); Vermont ($35,538); Virginia ($49,587); and Washington ($50,000).

Among the awards were several technology-based economic development initiatives and entrepreneurial assistance programs, including:

The complete list of awards and additional information regarding additional funding opportunities for TBED projects through the USDA are available at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/

return to the top of this page

Arizona Technology Council Formed
The new Arizona Technology Council (ATC) has announced its vision and mission as a non-profit association committed to growing member companies and the technology industry in Central and Northern Arizona. ATC, formed in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Commerce, Southern Arizona Tech Council, various organizations and technology trade associations, will be led by former Phoenix mayor and ATC Chairman Paul Johnson, an appointed executive committee and a board of directors comprised of a cross-section of academic, private and public sector professionals.

An advisory board of civic leaders, technology industry executives and service providers to the technology industry has been formed to help interconnect the technology industry with the community. ATC's vision is to help the state become recognized as a top-tier center for technology-based industries and businesses with an education system that produces a best-of-class technology workforce; a private sector that innovates and delivers breakthrough technology products, solutions and services separately and in partnership with the state-funded universities; and, a public sector that embraces and advocates the advancement of a vibrant technology industry through legislation, capital formation, interconnecting technology companies, and strategic technology industry development initiatives.

Council activities are slated to include:

For more information, visit: http://www.aztechcouncil.org

return to the top of this page

Measuring TBED Impact and Evaluation
When budgets tighten for state and local governments, as they have in nearly every corner of the country, legislatures and political leaders look for areas to reduce spending. Having a strong documented record of the positive impact of your technology-based economic development efforts and investments can help protect vital programs from the axe.

And, regardless of the fiscal environment, regular assessment and program evaluation also are good practices for honing your activities to maximize their benefits and payoffs.

But how do you start? What measures really matter? And how do you use the data once gathered?

SSTI's sixth annual conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, includes several sessions to help address the critical need for accurate and impartial program impact assessments that can stand up to political opponents or axe-wielding budget analysts. A few session highlights include:

More information on SSTI's 6th annual conference is available at: http://www.ssti.org/conference02.htm [expired]

return to the top of this page

POWER to Stem Brain Drain in Northeastern PA
Many areas of the country are experiencing a brain drain, an outmigration of recent college graduates leading to a decline in the available labor pool of entry level workers, young entrepreneurs and future civic leaders. A new initiative, however, hopes to reverse that trend in Northeastern Pennsylvania by strengthening the social, networking and professional relationships among young skilled workers in the Wilkes-Barre region.

Professionals Organized and Working to Enrich the Region (POWER) held its first meeting last week. Managed by the Great Valley Technology Alliance, POWER's organizational and promotional costs are covered by a $42,000 grant from the state's Stay and Invent the Future Initiative, run by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

According to a recent article in the Wilkes Barre Times Leader, POWER marketing efforts will be directed toward 21- to 40-year-olds in the area. Activities will include community service projects, mixers and cultural events.

return to the top of this page

SSTI Conference Sponsor Profile
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer
Federal research facilities can be a bit intimidating for a small- or medium-sized technology firm. But if a business is looking for solutions to technical problems, new technologies to commercialize or adopt, a research partner, or funding to perfect some technology, the vast resources of the nation's 700+ federal research laboratories could hold the key to commercial success.

Fortunately, since 1974, the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) provides an affordable, easy-to-access gateway to a nationwide network of federal laboratories. The FLC is the nation's leading source for maximizing collaborative research for transferring technologies and facilitating technical cooperation between the federal laboratories, industry, academia, state and local governments, and federal agencies. FLC services include:

A gold sponsor of SSTI's sixth annual conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, October 2-3, 2002, FLC will have an exhibit and breakout session to provide additional information on the wealth of resources available through the Consortium. More information on FLC is available at http://www.federallabs.org/. Requests to subscribe to FLC Insider should be sent to flcnews@utrsmail.com

return to the top of this page

SSTI Conference Sponsor Profile
Manufacturing Extension Partnership
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a nationwide network of not-for-profit centers in more than 400 locations nationwide. Their sole purpose is to provide the 357,000 small and mid-sized manufacturers in the U.S. help to succeed in a global economy. MEP centers are linked together through the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology — making it possible for even the smallest firms to tap into the expertise of knowledgeable manufacturing and business specialists throughout the U.S.

MEP centers help manufacturers with such issues as process improvement; quality management systems; business management systems; human resource development; market development; materials engineering; plant layout; product development; energy audits; environmental studies; financial planning; CAD/CAM/CAE; and electronic commerce/EDI.

Starting in October 2002, MEP will roll out 360vu, a new brand of strategic management services designed exclusively for small and mid-sized manufacturers. 360vu services are delivered by manufacturing and management experts who work with the highest levels of company management to improve every aspect of their operations. Whether manufacturers are looking to transform their company or simply address some difficult issues, the 360vu business approach helps them see how one area of their company influences another and how the decisions they make today can have a huge impact on the way things work out tomorrow. Not only does 360vu help business leaders focus on the big picture, it provides them with a strategic roadmap for getting there — fresh perspectives on their operations, customized business strategies and practical help.

To that end, manufacturers are able to improve and integrate the systems that will drive them to become more efficient, productive and profitable. Or, as MEP likes to say, to move above, beyond and ahead.

MEP is a gold sponsor of SSTI's sixth annual conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, on October 2-3, 2002. To learn more about the partnership, visit its exhibit and attend its session at the conference. Until then, check out its website: http://www.mep.nist.gov/

return to the top of this page

People

The interim director for Cleveland's new Industrial Technology Institute will be Charles Alexander, dean of the College of Engineering at Cleveland State University.

Anne Armstrong, who in July resigned as president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, is returning to Federal Computer Week as its publisher. Armstrong was with the weekly publication prior to joining CIT.

Michael Finney, vice president for Emerging Business with the Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC), is leaving MEDC to become the first president and CEO for the Greater Rochester Enterprise in New York.

Otto Loewer is leaving his position as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas to become the founding director of the university's new Economic Development Institute.

Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for the past five-and-a-half years, Sam McCullough is resigning effective October 25.

Doug Rothwell, President and CEO of MEDC, has announced his resignation with the end of Governor John Engler's term in December.

The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has named Jerry Schaufeld as director of the Samuel Slater Technology Fund.

Envirogen, Inc. cofounder Ronald Unterman will be the executive director of the newly created Slater Center for Marine & Environmental Technologies. The center was created through the merger of two existing Slater centers.

Kathleen Wise is the new Director of Programs for the New York Office of Science, Technology and the Advancement of Research. She fills the position vacated this summer by Keith Servis.

return to the top of this page

State Science & Technology Institute
5015 Pine Creek Drive
Westerville, OH  43081
Phone: (614) 901-1690
Fax: (614) 901-1696
Email: ssti@ssti.org

© 2003 State Science and Technology Institute. All rights reserved.