In the December 12, 2003 Issue:

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Vermont Governor Outlines 2nd Job Creation & Economic Growth Plan
Building on the his first economic plan, Vermont Governor James Douglas has announced a second set of proposals to retain and create jobs in the state. The governor's eight-page Creating Jobs for the 21st Century embodies several tech-based economic development elements within the four primary goals outlined below. Some of the highlights include:

Campaign to Retain: Providing a Competitive Environment for Vermont Businesses to Prosper and Grow

Thinking Ahead: Empowering the Next Generation of Manufacturing

Wired VT: Building a Robust Technological Infrastructure

Open for Business: Aggressive Recruiting Across America & Around the Globe

Gov. Douglas used a furniture manufacturing facility as the site for his announcement. The plant had been one of the first beneficiaries of the governor's first economic plan, which passed the legislature in May and authorized up to $105 million in tax credits and venture capital investments (see the June 13, 2003 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2003/061303.htm). The furniture manufacturer used the program to secure additional investors and save 80 high wage jobs for the community.

Several elements of the plan will require legislative approval. Creating Jobs for the 21st Century is available at: http://www.vermont.gov/governor/

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Innovation Critical for Continued MA Rebound, MTC Index Finds
The high tech economy of Massachusetts is emerging from the recent recession with its fundamental strengths in science, technology and entrepreneurship in good shape, according to the Executive Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. Significant innovation in the state’s industries, however, is necessary to make up for the jobs lost since 2000, the index states.

Prepared annually by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), the 32-page index shows that while the state’s fundamental strengths are in place, its competitive position as an innovator cannot be taken for granted. The index argues Massachusetts must look for new ways to enhance and improve its climate for innovation, given the accelerating national and international competition in research and development.

“The most recent recession and recovery is not as severe as 10 years ago, but leaves Massachusetts in a similar predicament – industries which had been the fastest growing and quickest to hire have taken the hardest fall, leaving some of the state’s most highly qualified workers out of work,” said MTC Executive Director Mitchell Adams. “These industries will not just pick up where they left off in 2000. We need the kind of radical innovations from Massachusetts entrepreneurs that fueled rapid growth and economic opportunity in the 1990s.”

“The message of the 2003 Index is clear: We in Massachusetts must actively bolster the state's comparative strengths in R&D, innovation, venture capital and education, or risk becoming an ‘also ran’ in the global innovation economy,” said Dr. Patricia Flynn, trustee professor of economics and management, Bentley College, and chairperson of the index advisory committee.

The 2003 Index is part of a new MTC Innovation Outlook Series that consists of several reports that focus on emerging technologies and processes that will influence the state's economy. The index has a reduced number of indicators from earlier years, tracking nine industry clusters and 15 economic indicators to benchmark the state’s strengths and weaknesses against six leading technology states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York. These indicators are considered by MTC to be most aligned with the innovation process and resources that support it.

Executive Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy is available at: http://www.mtpc.org/2003index/index_2003.pdf

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AUTM: University Tech Commercialization Revenues Continue to Rise
The promise of high-wage jobs, increased business competitiveness and wealth creation makes the commercialization of university research a central element in the technology-based economic development strategies of many states, provinces and regions of North America. With figures such as $1.267 billion in aggregate adjusted gross licensing income and more than $1 billion in running royalty income on product sales, the latest and most comprehensive survey released by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) reveals why.

AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 2002 provides information about licensing activities at 222 U.S. and Canadian universities, hospitals and research institutions, a record high for the 12th annual publication. Despite the severity and depth of the national recession, the survey reports marked increases across the board for sponsored research expenditures, invention disclosures, U.S. patent applications, licenses and options, license-related income and new products.

When compared with FY 2001 figures, sponsored research expenditures are up 16.6 percent, invention disclosures grew 14.8 percent, U.S. patent applications are up 13.6 percent, licenses and options increased by 15.2 percent, license-related income is up 11.9 percent and new products rose by 58.9 percent.

A list of the top 25 U.S. research institutions, ranked by adjusted gross licensing revenues for 2002 is available at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/121203t.htm. The top Canadian institution in the same category was the Université de Sherbrooke, coming in at 27th overall.

Not all news from the survey was positive, however, as other key findings point to the strain the economic recession placed on entrepreneurship and industrial research:

Despite the challenges, institutions continue to bring new innovations to the public and forge more partnerships than they had prior to the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, AUTM observes. In general, human resources in reporting institutions’ technology transfer offices increased, yielding a growth in the number of invention disclosures and patents filed.

Since AUTM updated the survey tool in 1998 to add the ability to collect data about new products, institutions have reported more than 2,000 new products, ranging from medical breakthroughs to information technology advances to environmentally friendly manufacturing techniques. In the 2002 survey, respondents identified 569 products that were first made commercially available to the public in fiscal year 2002.

A full summary of the AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 2002 is available for purchase from AUTM. The public version of the summary is similar, but does not contain specific institutional information; it is available for download at http://www.autm.net.

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Nation's Report Card Shows Improvement in Math
A recent survey of 343,336 of the nation's fourth and eighth graders indicates more students are performing better in mathematics, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In the math portion of NCES' National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), large gains were shown among the lowest 10 percent of fourth grade students and most of the lower-scoring eighth grade students since the study was last conducted in 2000. Additionally, higher-scoring students posted gains at a smaller rate, lessening the overall achievement gap.

The NAEP math assessment presents a broad view of what U.S. students know and can do in mathematics. The assessment was developed and reviewed by math educators and curriculum and assessment experts to capture the goals of the mathematics framework. The framework, which describes the kinds of exercises the assessment should feature, was created by the National Assessment Governing Board through a comprehensive national process involving teachers, administrators and state education officials.

In math, the proportion of students reaching the Basic achievement level has increased dramatically, the report states. About 77 percent of all fourth graders performed at or above Basic in 2003, compared to 69 percent in 2000 and 50 percent in 1990. For eighth graders, the proportion of those reaching Basic climbed from about half in 1990 to more than two-thirds this year. Students are able to perform such math operations as whole number computations and simple real-world problems at the Basic achievement level, according to the report.

To reach Proficient on NAEP, students must be able to apply the math they've learned to different, often unfamiliar situations. Overall, in fourth grade, the proportion of students reaching this level rose from 13 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2000, and up to 32 percent this year. In eighth grade, the proportion of students performing at or above Proficient climbed from 27 percent in 2000 to 29 percent in 2003.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi made the largest gains since 1990 and 1992 among states, the report observes. At eighth grade, Texas and New York also are said to have made large gains. Students in all 50 states participated in NAEP for the first time, as part of the requirements under No Child Left Behind.

The NAEP math assessment consisted of multiple-choice questions designed to assess students' mathematical knowledge and skills. It also contained constructed-response questions that required students to describe solutions in one or two sentences and sometimes longer responses. In 1996, 2000 and 2003, approximately 50 percent of student assessment time was devoted to these questions.

NAEP also gives background questionnaires to teachers, students and schools that are part of the NAEP sample. Responses to these questionnaires supply NAEP information about school policies affecting mathematics instruction, as well as information about schools' educational resources.

NCES falls within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The NCES report, which also measures reading achievement, includes numerous tables showing performance levels across states and is available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/. State data can be found at:  http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/results2003/stateresults.asp

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CBO Report Reviews Residential Broadband Market
Nothing in the performance of the residential broadband market suggests that federal subsidies or other government intervention will enhance the market from the perspective of economic efficiency, concludes the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in a new report, Does the Residential Broadband Market Need Fixing? CBO prepared the report for the Senate Budget Committee, reviewing recent trends in the market for residential fast Internet access to determine whether there are impediments to the market's growth.

Since 1999, CBO states, the adoption of broadband services by households and businesses has increased at a rapid rate. CBO points to two key Federal Communications Commission statistics to support its case:

Some contend the market could experience greater penetration if the federal government were to intervene and provide financial incentives. Two dozen bills that ultimately would increase federal spending or decrease revenues have been introduced by federal action proponents, CBO reports.

CBO examines the relationship between residential broadband services and the telephone and cable companies that provide the majority of the service. Combined, these companies provide an average of more than 90 percent of broadband services nationwide. Were two dominant firms in individual markets to keep prices above the cost of providing service, CBO argues, "too few people might subscribe to a broadband service at too high a price relative to the prices that would prevail in a more competitive market — a situation known as a market failure."

To keep with its mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, CBO offers no policy recommendations. The report cautions, however, that "interventions to increase the number of subscribers are likely to be offset by losses in other markets, leaving the economy as a whole worse off."

In drawing its conclusions, CBO points out it did not consider concerns over equity in access and regional economic development — points of greatest concern to most tech-based economic developers following the issue. Much of the legislation introduced in Congress deals as much with these issues as with efficiency.

Satellite and other wireless technologies, while five times more prevalent in 2002 than in 1999, represented less than two percent of the connections and were considered by CBO as not presenting much competition or impact on issues of economic efficiency. However, rural economic development groups contend wireless connections can present a formidable but still expensive option for overcoming "last mile" issues to encourage economic growth in less densely populated regions.

Does the Residential Broadband Market Need Fixing? is available at http://www.cbo.gov/.

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New Regional Science & Technology Councils Forming

Alaska Technology Councils To Merge
The Alaska High-Tech Business Council and the Technology Entrepreneurs Coalition will be merging January 1 to form HiTechAlaska. With more than 100 members, the new organization will focus on promoting the growth and development of the state's tech industry and strengthening industry ties with the University of Alaska system. The group will also broaden its focus beyond information and communication technologies. The organization's website, www.hitechalaska.com, will be launched in the beginning of 2004.

Dallas-Fort Worth Forms Life Science Coalition
In late November, the DFW Life Sciences Partnership - Biometroplex Alliance was formed by a coalition including the Greater Dallas Chamber, the Fort Worth Chamber, the Health Industry Council and the North Texas Commission, to continue fostering the growth of the region's broad life sciences industry. The coalition will actively promote the industry within the Metroplex to make the region a more significant player in both U.S. and international biotech and life sciences. The DFW Life Sciences Partnership will be open to all organizations active in the life sciences industry and committed to developing the region as a center for life sciences companies. More information is available at: http://www.dfwlifesciences.org/

New Century Technology Council Forms Software Alliance
The New Century Technology Council, which serves the growing technology industry in the greater Roanoke and Blacksburg region of Virginia, has formed a NCTC Software Alliance peer group for the area's 50-plus software development firms. The group plans to meet quarterly for information sharing, best practices programs and tours to help grow one of the region's largest recognizable technology clusters. More information is available at: http://www.thetechnologycouncil.com/programs/swa.htm

Single Northeast Ohio Org to Replace Two for Regional Entrepreneurship Services
The Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition, or NorTech, and Case Western Reserve University recently announced an agreement to combine Case’s Enterprise Development, Inc. and NorTech’s NEOpreneur Inc. into a single organization dedicated to assisting regional entrepreneurs. The yet-to-be-named entity will play an important role in supporting entrepreneurs and, ultimately, the creation of new businesses in Northeast Ohio. An interim board comprised of Case and NorTech representatives has appointed Lou Schneeberger, former chairman of Royal Appliance and chief financial officer of Olympic Steel, as board chairman and interim chief executive officer. More information is available at: http://www.nortech.org/

Texas Governor Forms Energy Council
Gov. Rick Perry signed an executive order last month creating the Texas Energy Planning Council to help the state prepare a strategic plan to prosper as world oil production declines and the nation seeks alternative sources for energy. According to the order, the plan "should recognize the important contribution of Texas’ petroleum and natural gas exploration and production industry and identify ways to keep this industry strong and vibrant as the state begins to transition to the next generation of energy technologies. The Council should explore ways to diversify future energy supplies via liquefied natural gas, nuclear, and clean coal technology as well as through renewable energy sources such as wind power, biomass, and fuel cells. The Council should also explore common sense ways to reduce energy consumption through practical energy conservation measures." The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the energy industry in the state, will provide administrative support. The executive order is available at: http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/exorders/rp29

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People

The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges elected University of Georgia president Michael Adams as chairman of its council of presidents.

Lizabeth Ardisana was elected Chairperson of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the state.

Sonya Buckner has resigned her position as director of the small business incubator for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce to become vice president of special projects for the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce. Douglas Jones will assume leadership of the Montgomery Incubator.

The Chicago based Committee of 200, an organization of leading women in business, has named Diane Graham as its new chair.

The University of Minnesota Duluth Center for Economic Development has named Elaine Hansen as its new permanent director.

The winners of the Siemens Westinghouse/AAAS Competition for the Best Teen Scientists and Mathematicians of the Year were announced this week: 17-year-old Yin Li of New York City was the individual grand prize winner for his project "Characterizing the Prion Properties of a Translational Regulator Expressed in Mouse Brain." Brothers Mark and Jeffrey Scheider, 18 and 16, respectively, of South Windsor, Conn., won the grand prize in the team category for the "Simulation of the West Nile Virus using STELLA 7.02." Each award comes with a $100,000 prize. More information, including a list of all national winners, is available at: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2003/1208siemensIntro.shtml

Ken Olsen will become the new executive director of the Palouse Economic Development Council in Washington State.

Tom Wallace has stepped down as president of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum.

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