In the September 27, 2004 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2004. 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.

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NSF, NIH Commit Combined $213M toward Nanotech
While the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have voiced caution and funded efforts to understand the potential societal and environmental implications of nanotechnology deployment, both agencies announced much larger funding commitments - totaling $213 million - to expedite commercial applications for the explosive field.

Nanotech Solutions for Cancer
Carrying a federal five-year price tag of $144.3 million, the NIH's National Cancer Institute (NCI) is forming the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, a comprehensive, integrated initiative encompassing researchers, clinicians, and public and private organizations that have joined forces to develop and translate cancer-related nanotechnology research into clinical practice.

The new NCI Alliance is one of the first steps in implementing the Cancer Nanotechnology Plan, which was developed over the past 18 months with the input of a broad cross-section of the cancer research and clinical oncology communities. The NCI Alliance consists of four major program activities:

The NCI recently signed a memorandum of understanding and an interagency agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology as partners in this characterization and standardization effort. The NCI also will be working to expand collaborations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help define the critical pathway for nanotechnologies to reach the clinic.

Among the key components of the Cancer Nanotechnology Plan are milestones to measure success over two time periods. Within the first three years, the plan calls for acceleration of projects that hold promise for near-term clinical application. After three years, the Alliance will focus on developing solutions to address more difficult technological and biological problems that have the potential to impact detection and treatment.

More information regarding the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer is available at: http://nano.cancer.gov

Nanoscale Science & Engineering
NSF awarded $69 million over five years to fund nanoscale science and engineering centers at six universities across the country. According to NSF, the new centers will impact a wide range of technologies including nanomanufacturing, nanobiotechnology, electronics and medicine. The awards are part of a series of NSF grants for nanoscale research in multiple disciplines for fiscal year 2004 totaling $250 million. Centers will be developed at the following universities:

More information about the awards is available from the NSF at: http://www.nsf.gov

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What Makes for a Successful TBED Program?
During the states' fiscal crisis, a number of TBED programs were eliminated, while others survived. SSTI staff spent a fair amount of time analyzing what the survivors had in common, and we boiled the results down to three items that successful TBED programs have in common. While it may seem simplistic, the three commonalities are:

Building Tech-based Economies: Preparing for Tomorrow's Challenges is designed around those three points. The conference sessions will help you create, implement and modify programs that will produce results. Two of the sessions are specifically focused on measuring whether you're doing a good job. And, one of the pre-conference sessions addresses the aspect of success that the TBED community tends to do poorly: telling people you're doing a good job.

Marketing Success: Telling the TBED Story on Oct. 13 will offer advice on what to do and the pitfalls to avoid in all aspects of TBED marketing: defining your strategy, building support for investing in science and technology in your legislature, working with the media, and establishing a tech image for your community. We've put together the best in the nation to share their lessons learned and all to be moderated by one of TBED's marketing gurus, Rich Bendis, President and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia. Presenters and panelists are:

Defining Your Strategy
Gretchen Roede represents The Garfield Group, an award winning agency that specializes in working in the tech field.
Building Legislative Support
Kent Glasscock, President of the National Institute for the Commercialization of Intellectual Property, is the former Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives and knows firsthand what works with legislators and what doesn't.
Paulette Shafer, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST), is the legislative liaison for OCAST and she works day in and day out building relationships with legislators that have helped sustain OCAST during the worst fiscal times.
Paul Pescatello, President of CURE, has extensive experience lobbying the Connecticut legislature and understands what it takes to secure legislative support.
 
Working with the Media
Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council, was the associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, so he knows from personal experience both sides of how best to work with the media.

Establishing a Tech Image
John Fremstad, Vice President of Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, has vast experience in image and strategic consulting.
Richard Miller, Vice President of Marketing for Innovation Philadelphia, has both corporate and nonprofit experience in marketing.

To learn more about how to effectively tell your story, you must sign up in advance for this pre-conference session that goes from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 13. You can do that on SSTI's website at https://www.ssti.org/Conf04/registration.htm or by calling SSTI at 614-901-1690.

Two other pre-conference options are available:

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Funding Scheme to Support R&D for Large Companies in Scotland
In order to provide further incentives for crucial research and development (R&D) and to encourage more industries to carry out R&D in Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, the economic development agency for Scotland has launched a new funding scheme.

R&D PLUS offers a tax credit of up to 25 percent of eligible program costs for large companies meeting specific criteria. The companies must be able to demonstrate the economic rationale for assistance includes long-term capacity building and sustainability to improve a company’s competitiveness through R&D, according to the Scottish Enterprise. The Enterprise cited figures from the Scottish government, which reported that expenditure on R&D in Scotland increased by 62 percent in real terms between 1995-2001.

According to a recent report comparing Scottish R&D expenditure and employment to the United Kingdom (UK), Scotland’s expenditure in R&D has continued to grow, particularly in business R&D. The report, Business Enterprise Research and Development in Scotland 2002, shows that R&D spending has risen to 4.9 percent of the UK total in 2002, up from 4.2 percent in 2001. Also, Scottish expenditure has increased by 95 percent over 1997-2002. Pharmaceutical R&D in particular has grown strongly over the past five years, according to the report, and accounts for one-third of all business R&D.

In response to the report’s findings, Enterprise Minister Jim Wallace, said business spending is still low relative to major competitors although the gap is narrowing. Although R&D spending is strong in pharmaceuticals and electronics, he said, Scotland is much weaker in aerospace and service products. Wallace added he would like to see R&D spending spread more widely across the Scottish economy.

More information on R&D PLUS is available at http://www.scottishdevelopmentinternational.com. Business Enterprise Research and Development in Scotland 2002 is available from the Scottish Executive (government) at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/enterprise/berd02-00.asp

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College Affordability Dropping in Most States, Especially among Low-income Students
Thirty-six states received failing grades on a biennial report card that reveals the cost of attending college represents a higher portion of American families’ incomes today than it did a decade ago. A separate report from the Pell Institute supports those conclusions by showing students from the lower-income bracket are finding it more difficult than ever to keep pace with rising tuition costs.

Measuring Up 2004, issued by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, examines the nation as a whole and each state’s performance in providing higher education and training. The report's affordability measures indicate tuition has increased faster than the incomes of most American families, and generally, none of the increases in financial aid have kept pace with the tuition increases.

To determine affordability, states were measured on three levels, including:

Measuring Up also grades states in four other categories: preparation for college; participating; completion, and benefits. Only two states improved on more than half of the report’s indicators, as 17 states declined on every indicator over the decade.

While almost every state failed in affordability across all income levels, a recent report from the Pell Institute indicates the problem may be worse among students from low-income families. Low-income students are more likely to go to less expensive colleges and are effectively being “priced” out of the market, especially at four-year institutions, according to Indicators of Opportunity in Higher Education. Measuring access and affordability for lower-income students in higher education, the report finds that 31 percent of low-income students were enrolled in or had attended college in 1999-2000 compared to 79 percent of students from higher-income families.

The report reveals that only 11 percent of students at public four-year institutions are from the lowest income group, which consists of students from families with incomes under $25,000 per year. The middle-income group - families with incomes from $25,000 to $74,999 - accounted for 59 percent and students from high-income levels. Families with incomes of $75,000 or more made up 41 percent of the student body.

The study also finds that although low-income students pay less to attend college, their families pay the highest percentage of total income. For example, the total costs for low-income families with students attending a four-year institution accounted for nearly 60 percent of the family’s income, while costs for families in the middle- and highest-income brackets accounted for approximately 17 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Indications suggest an increased stratification by students’ income, according to the report, and low-income students are increasingly attending two-year and non-degree-granting institutions.

Detailed individual state report cards are available. The national report, state report cards, comparisons among states, and report methodology will be available at http://www.highereducation.org. (requires Cookies) Opportunity in Higher Education is available from the Pell Institute at: http://www.pellinstitute.org

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Useful Stats: State Rankings for Change in College Affordability, 1994-2004
The importance a well educated populace plays in a knowledge-based economy is a given for most tech-based economic development strategies. Ensuring that a larger percentage of the population pursues that education through and beyond high school is another matter -- often the responsibility of other state agencies, organizations and decision makers.

The reports highlighted in the article above and demographic trends such as the shrinking middle class and declining median income (in constant dollars) might suggest college access and affordability could become defining challenges for local and regional success in growing a tech-based economy.

Drawing from the information included in Measuring Up 2004, SSTI has prepared a table ranking the states based on the change over decade in the percent of family income needed to pay for college expenses, minus financial aid ("net college costs"), for two-year, four-year private and four-year public institutions.

Note: Before clicking away to the table, please note the figures require a bit of explanation since a better ranking is based on the lower percent change between 1994 and 2004. It is similar to golf: the lower your score for a round, the better you played. For example, California ranked first for public four-year institutions in the table because the percentage of a family's income needed to pay for net college costs dropped 13.5 percent between 1994 and 2004. Indiana families, on the other hand, saw a 55.5 increase in the net cost of college during the time period compared to their income, resulting in a 50th place ranking for four-year public institutions. Only four states saw negative changes and three states experienced no change for this category.

SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/092704t.htm

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People

The Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network recently selected Lisa Blakely, a former Bank of America executive, as its CEO.

Earlier this month, Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced Darrell Brock and Jim Host as new co-chairmen of ConnectKentucky. Brock, commissioner of the governor's Office for Local Development, and Commerce Cabinet Secretary Host joined existing chairman John Hall, retired chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc.

The Alaska MEP, a new nonprofit entity formed by the Alaska Native Arts Foundation and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, has named Robert Pope as the first Interim Director.

The Metropolitan Development Association, of Syracuse and Central New York, also recently named a new chairman, John Zawadzki, of its Regional Development Alliance.

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