In the May 2, 2003 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 also may be completed at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm.


Indiana Governor Signs Budget Bill to Energize State's Economy
During a legislative season that was marked by heated discussions in most statehouses on what to cut or save, Indiana is one of a handful of states so far that focused considerable debate on planting the seeds for a stronger future through technology-based economic development. The compromise crafted between Democratic Governor Frank O'Bannon – who started the discussion when he outlined his Energize Indiana initiative in his State of the State Address – a Republican controlled Senate with a countering JOBZ proposal, and an independent minded House (controlled by the Democrats) positions the Hoosier State among the leaders for promoting a technology-based economy.

The state's research and technology community, catalyzed by recissions and cuts in the FY 2003 budget, played a significant and vocal role in pushing for a more comprehensive portfolio of programs and credits for the next biennium.

The two-year budget bill recently signed by Gov. O'Bannon includes $75 million for research and development (R&D), $9 million for technology parks and $50 million for venture capital tax credits, among other initiatives. HB 1001 passed with bipartisan support among the state's General Assembly, being approved by the State House, 61-37, and the State Senate, 34-16. Highlights of the bill are:

Governor O'Bannon's plan is intended to create high-wage, high-skill jobs in the advanced manufacturing, information technology, high-tech distribution and life sciences industries. While the governor's original 10-year job creation plan would not have used state tax money, Energize Indiana, as passed by the General Assembly, will be paid for through a combination of General Fund, tobacco settlement fund and federal economic stimulus dollars.

HB 1001 is available at http://www.IN.gov/legislative/bills/2003/EH/EH1001.3.html. More information on Energize Indiana is available at: http://www.in.gov/gov/energize/index.html

return to the top of this page

Maine Voters to Consider $60M Bond, Most Targeting TBED
Maine Governor John Baldacci got nearly everything he wanted in a bond proposal to encourage technology-based economic development (TBED). The Maine legislature shaved $10 million from the Governor's original request before passing the bond on to Maine voters for consideration at a special referendum June 10. The bond proposal includes:

An additional $6 million will recapitalize the Municipal Investment Trust Fund to provide grants and loans to municipalities for public facilities and infrastructure, and $8 million, $5 million less than the Governor requested, will go toward housing projects.

Maine voters have looked favorably on several R&D-related bond issues in the past, most recently a $35 million bond issue last summer.

A copy of the bond proposal legislation, LD 1566, is available at: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/billtexts/LD156602-1.asp

return to the top of this page

HUD 'SuperNOFA' Offers Funding for TBED
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has notified its partners more than $2.3 billion is available in the FY 2003 SuperNOFA (Notification of Funding Availability), including 43 separate funding opportunities for local units of government and nonprofit faith-based and community organizations. This year's application process ultimately will result in $1.822 billion in targeted housing and homeless assistance, $241 million in community development funding, and $231 million in economic development. Several opportunities of interest to the technology-based economic development (TBED) community are listed below.

Approximately $24.84 million is available for the Rural Housing and Economic Development (RHED) program, which aims to build capacity at the state and local level for rural housing and economic development. Funds for this program will be awarded through a selection process conducted by HUD in accordance with HUD Reform Act. Additional funds may be available through recapture. Local rural nonprofit organizations, community development corporations, federally recognized Indian tribes, state housing finance agencies and state economic or community development agencies are eligible to apply. Applications are due by May 27, 2003. http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa/grprural.cfm

Approximately $54.64 million is available for the Youthbuild program, which assists disadvantaged young adults in distressed communities. Among other objectives, the program seeks to further opportunities for placement in apprenticeship programs and to promote economic self-sufficiency. Eligible applicants are public or private nonprofit agencies, including grassroots faith- and other community-based organizations, state or local housing agencies or authorities, state or units of local government, or any entity eligible to provide education and employment training under other federal employment training programs. Applications are due by June 6, 2003. http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa/grpyouth.cfm

Additional TBED funding is available for colleges and universities through the two programs below. More information on both is available at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa/grpucp.cfm

A total of $550,000 is available for the Early Doctoral Student Research Program (EDSRP) and Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program (DDRGP). EDSRP seeks to help doctoral students cultivate their research skills through the preparation of research manuscripts focusing on housing and urban development issues. It also encourages new scholars to share their research findings through presentation at scholarly conferences or publication in refereed journals. The purpose of DDRGP is to assist Ph.D. candidates complete their research and dissertations on housing and urban development issues. Among eligibility requirements, a doctoral student must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien currently enrolled, as a full-time student in at an accredited doctoral program at an accredited institution of higher education. Applications are due by May 27, 2003. http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa/grpedsddrg.cfm

This year's SuperNOFA also includes everything an applicant needs to prepare their funding request of HUD. For the first time, applicants will no longer be required to seek additional information from the Department that is integral in completing their funding requests. HUD's FY 2003 SuperNOFA is available at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm

return to the top of this page

Venture-backed Women-led Enterprises Perform Well, Springboard Survey Shows
Venture-backed women-led enterprises are moving well beyond start-up stages of corporate formation to revenue generation, and almost 20 percent report profitability, according to Springboard Enterprises, whose program for women entrepreneurs has helped raise $1.76 billion in equity capital for women-led companies.

Since Springboard's launch in 2000, 250 women CEOs and founders have participated in the nonprofit organization's pioneering venture programs for women entrepreneurs. Almost 200 of the 250 companies that have presented at Springboard Venture Forums continue to grow, and 97 have raised more than $1 billion in venture capital following their participation in a Springboard Forum.

A recent survey of Springboard Alumnae, conducted by Springboard and McKinsey & Co., shows that 83 responding Springboard companies are generating an average of $3.4 million in revenues, and 19 percent have already achieved positive cash flow or profitability. An additional 16 percent forecast profitability by the end of 2004. Companies reported raising an average of $7.6 million in equity.

According to the survey, a significant 14 percent of Springboard Alumnae companies have broken out of the pack to grow more rapidly. These breakout companies generally demonstrate longer operating histories than their sisters, the data shows. Further highlights include:

More data is available in the Springboard survey results, which can be obtained from Toni Aluisi at taluisi@qorvis.com.

return to the top of this page

Virginia Alliance Sees First Fruits of 2002 Strategic Plan
A strategic plan issued in 2002 by the Fifth Planning District Regional Alliance in Virginia may officially have completed the first phase when the Alliance recently awarded $273,342 in grants and earmarked funds.

The Alliance, a group of government, business and educational leaders, promotes economic competitiveness in a Virginia region comprised of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke counties and five other town cities and towns. Its plan, Regional Economic Strategy, was released last July as an economic development strategy focusing heavily on science and technology-based initiatives (see the August 9, 2002 issue of the Digest).

For the 2003 program year, the Alliance's 41-member board of directors distributed funding to four projects:

Regional Economic Strategy offers insight on the Virginia region's transition between the Knowledge Economy and the New Economy, stressing the importance of a knowledge workforce. For more information on the Alliance or to download the Strategy, visit: http://www.rvarc.org/alliance/

return to the top of this page

Recommended Reading: Understanding and Building Bioregions
Perhaps in no other sector are efforts to grow an industry so dependent on a strong public-private partnership as they are for biotech and the life sciences. Most of the research funding for the field flows from the government to universities and research institutions. Industry then steps up for clinical studies and commercialization.

While much that has been covered in the SSTI Weekly Digest on building bio-based economies has focused on local strategic plans and numerous state initiatives, a new paper by Anders Osthol and Johan Lembke for the Regional Innovation and Partnership Project takes a broader look at the role and construct of public-private collaborative relationships for economic development founded on life science growth. With detailed case studies of two North Carolina regions – the well established Research Triangle Park and the nascent efforts of the Piedmont Triad Region – Strategies and Partnerships for Biotech Regions offers recommendations for Sweden that are applicable throughout the Western world.

The findings include:

In developing their findings and recommendations, Osthol and Lembke also look at the relative advantages of California, Massachusetts and North Carolina, outline challenges for several specific elements of a bio-based economic development strategy, and present arguments for and against state and local government involvement.

The paper is available at the website of the Institutet för Tillväxtpolitiska Studier in Stockholm: http://www.itps.se/pdf/A2003_005.pdf

return to the top of this page

People
Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed his chief of staff, David Harris, to serve as executive director of the New Mexico Finance Authority.

Idaho Falls businessman LaMoyne Hyde was appointed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to serve as Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Gov. James McGreevey recently appointed Alfred Koeppe as the new Chairman of the Economic Development Authority of New Jersey.

Frank Shafroth has left his position as lobbyist for the National Governors' Association.

Bill Todd, former CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, has joined the staff of Gov. Sonny Perdue to work on special projects.

Patrick Von Bargen has joined the leadership team in the Office of the Chairman at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as Managing Executive for Policy and Staff. Mr. Von Bargen formerly was Executive Director of the National Center for Regional Innovation and Competitiveness and Vice President of the Council on Competitiveness.

return to the top of this page

Do It For Mom
A Note from the Editor
Don't panic, Mother's Day is still 10 days off. You haven't missed the opportunity to reflect on the contributions she made in your life. Most mothers, at least the good ones, try to instill some basic traits in their children that are critical for the growth and improvement of a better society. Honesty, integrity, respect, consideration, compassion, modesty, and responsibility leap to mind. Remember those struggles as a kid when you knew the right thing to do but didn't want to do it? Like, I remember my mom making me shovel the snow for the old lady who lived alone down the street for free when the rest of the gang were building forts for the best snowball fight of the blizzard of `78. My back ached as I walked up the street — just in time to be pelted by a barrage of snowballs from my buddies.

Moms often get a bum rap for having to resort to guilt trips to get us to do the right thing. Most of us have to admit, though, we're better people for all that they did . . . when we do the right thing, that is.

Which gets us to the little matter of responding to the SSTI Weekly Digest readers' survey. You know you should fill it out. You know you read the Digest (you're reading this). And you know the survey is going to be relatively painless. Sure, it may take five minutes of your time, but you know participating really is your responsibility if you appreciate the information in the Digest and Funding Supplement or want to see them improved.

Half of the readers may ignore our pleas for participation. But not you. Your mom didn't raise a shirker or slacker. (I'm not talking to that brother or sister who really hasn't lived up to their potential. I'm talking to you.) No, your mom helped craft you into someone with the integrity, respect and responsibility to do the right thing, to click on the link below and fill out the survey.

When you're done, you'll be able to walk with your head a little higher or sit down in the next staff meeting, feeling pretty good about yourself because you filled out the SSTI Weekly Digest survey and some of them won't have. If only their moms knew! Boy, would they be in trouble.

The survey is available online at: http://www.ssti.org/digestsurvey03.htm [expired].

And when you call, visit, send flowers or think of your mother on May 11. Thank her for us. She raised a good kid.

A couple of closing thoughts
If you already filled out the survey: I'm sorry for making you one of those great kids who had to take the heat with everyone else when it wasn't your fault (yet another time in your life probably). Hopefully you'll understand and forgive me.

And, in trying to elicit survey responses over the past 10 days, we've tried to appeal to your sense of humor and sense of duty. Now that we've resorted to playing the mom card, I promise that this is our last plea for your input in the 2003 survey.

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.