In the October 31, 2005 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2005. 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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SSTI Offers Its Thanks for Successful Conference in Atlanta
There were recurring themes underlying the design and development of SSTI's 9th Annual Conference, Investing in a Brighter Future: Building Tech-based Economies, held Oct. 19-21 in Atlanta, Georgia: inevitability, irrelevance and inspiration.

Our two keynote addresses by Rob Atkinson and Duane Ackerman elucidated the inevitability of change and the opportunities presented by the challenges of globalization. Twenty spirited breakout sessions highlighted local and regional efforts to avoid economic irrelevance through strategic investments in science and technology. And, based on the feedback we've received, the discussions in the breakout sessions, and the spirited conversations overhead during the reception and networking breaks, SSTI believes many of the 354 conference participants came away inspired to improve their own efforts to strengthen their local, state or regional economy through technology-based economic development.

The event couldn't be considered a success without the eager participation of those 354 TBED enthusiasts from across the globe and the active support of the conference's local hosts, national sponsors and speakers. Thank you!

SSTI particularly appreciates the efforts of Michael Cassidy and his incredible team at the renowned Georgia Research Alliance and the amazing talents of our conference coordinator, Kathy Gerke. Ms. Gerke is with ConferenceDirect, a worldwide provider of outsourced meeting planning solutions.

We were so impressed with Ms. Gerke's abilities that, for the first and only time, the SSTI Weekly Digest will violate its no-advertising policy by extending this unpaid endorsement for her skills: Hire Her! We've called dibs on a portion of Kathy's talents for 2006, but we believe many others would benefit greatly by working with her as well. We will forward to Ms. Gerke any inquiries received at: skinner @ ssti.org

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Bids Open for SSTI's 2006 Annual Conference
One comment we receive numerous times each year at SSTI's annual conference is that people wish more of the key decision makers and TBED practitioners in their regions had attended the event to make it easier to re invigorate their entire efforts to promote growth through science and technology. The easiest way to accomplish that is to host SSTI's 10th Annual Conference next fall!

SSTI has received many questions from local, regional and state organizations wanting to host the premier event for the tech-based economic development profession in 2006. Letters of intent from prospective nominees are due by Nov. 16, 2005. We will be accepting nominations of host organizations and locations for SSTI's 10th Annual Conference until Dec. 23, 2005.

Held in October or early November each year, SSTI’s annual two-and-a-half day event attracts approximately 350 participants from more than 40 states and several countries. The conference is especially designed for those engaged in tech-based economic development on the local, regional, state or national level.

To be the host organization or location for SSTI's conference is to showcase nationally and internationally the success of your state, region or community tech-based economic development efforts. Specific benefits include:

Nominations may be from collaborations of several organizations, with a lead organization designated as host. The lead organization for the 2006 conference must be an SSTI Sponsor or Affiliate in good standing for all of 2006. (More information on sponsor or affiliate membership is available at http://www.ssti.org/benefits.htm.) The host organization also must be willing to provide funding that helps SSTI keep conference costs affordable to all attendees. This funding can be obtained in part from collaborative partners in the bid. Recent hosts also have provided in-kind support such as on-site conference staffing assistance, audio and visual equipment, printing capability, storage and other services.

The complete bid package for SSTI's 10th annual conference is available through the 2006 conference web page: http://www.ssti.org/conference06.htm

More information may be obtained from Noelle Sheets, SSTI's Director of Membership Services, at: sheets @ ssti.org

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Senate Introduces Bill Creating VC Program to Stimulate Investment in Small Businesses
To stimulate equity investment in America's small businesses and create jobs, the U.S. Senate introduced last week the Small Business Investment and Growth Act of 2005. The legislation creates a new venture capital program within the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), according to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), co-sponsor of the bill, said in a press release that the legislation will ensure that entrepreneurs have access to venture capital and credit markets so they can continue to drive America's economic growth and job creation. She also noted that recent studies have shown the SBIC program provides essential equity capital to small businesses that would otherwise not be able to obtain financing on equivalent terms.

SBICs are privately-owned and managed venture capital investment companies that are licensed and regulated by the SBA and use their own capital, combined with funds from other private investors, to make equity and debt investments in qualifying small businesses. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), co-sponsor of the bill, said the SBIC program serves a dual purpose, creating investment opportunities and providing access to capital to help small businesses expand and grow.

Under the legislation, the SBA will receive a greater share of the profits of SBICs and its authority to declare that an SBIC has defaulted on its repayment obligations will be more clearly established.

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Stem Cell Research Initiative Could Result in Substantial Economic Benefits, Rutgers Report Indicates
Examining the components that would most likely be attributed directly to Acting Gov. Richard Codey's proposed $380 million Stem Cell Research Initiative, a Rutgers University study finds that, potentially, the state stands to benefit from an estimated $1.4 billion in new economic activity, approximately 20,000 new jobs, and $71.9 million in new state revenue over the next 20 years.

The authors of the study identify six areas of economic benefits to the state, including the economic impact of public expenditures; savings in health care costs; work time and productivity savings; retention and expansion of the biotechnology industry; and royalty payments to the state. The analysis is dependent upon several variables and the largest uncertainty is whether the current promise of stem cell research will actually yield effective therapies, the authors note.

To analyze how the proposed initiative will affect retention and expansion of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, the authors provide data from the Economic Censuses of 1997 and 2002. The censuses offer measures for the pharmaceutical and medicine industry in terms of establishment, total receipts (sales revenue) and employment. Three scenarios are then examined with respect to the possible effects of the stem cell research initiative on the biotechnology industry in New Jersey.

The study does not calculate all the benefits estimated for the three components of the $380 million initiative, the authors note. Instead, the intent is to identify them as important and substantial effects of stem cell therapies and to estimate the scale and scope of the benefits that New Jersey would realize should effective therapies be implemented on a wide scale. According to the report, the public policy issue is whether New Jersey will be a significant partner in the larger international research effort seeking effective therapies.

Earlier this month, Gov. Codey signed an executive order creating a public umbilical cord and placental bank for use in stem cell research. According to the governor's office, New Jersey is the first state in the nation to create such a bank with public support.

Under the order, the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will undertake an educational campaign to inform expectant mothers about the opportunity to donate. The ultimate goal is the creation of two pilot programs where the donations can be stored and processed for research. In addition, DHSS will work with the Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program and the New Jersey Coriell Institute for Medical Research to develop a plan to make placental and umbilical cord blood units widely available for stem cell research throughout the state.

The Economic Benefits of the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Initiative is available at: http://policy.rutgers.edu/stemcell.pdf. The executive order is available from the governor's website at: http://www.state.nj.us/governor/

Links to this paper and more than 1,000 additional TBED-related research reports, strategic plans and other papers can be found at the Tech-based Economic Development (TBED) Resource Center, jointly developed by the Technology Administration and SSTI, at http://www.tbedresourcecenter.org/.

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Rhode Island Action Plan Calls for Improvements in Science and Math Education
To improve the way students learn and teachers teach in the areas of science and mathematics, Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri's Blue Ribbon Panel on Mathematics and Science Education recommends 12 specific strategies in four key areas including governance and culture; teacher recruitment; teacher quality; and learning opportunities for students.

Gov. Carcieri launched the "Making the Grade" initiative in January with a panel composed of education and business leaders from around the state. The panel heard suggestions from students, teachers, parents, administrators, and business and community leaders.

The report indicates that while Rhode Island students have made some progress in mathematics, the state continues to trail the region and the country in mathematics and science test scores. An international comparison also reveals that the U.S. lags in these areas. Daniel Smith, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems and co-chair of the panel, said the report is a response to a "national crisis" in education. Key recommendations include:

The panel also addresses the growing shortage of math and science teachers at the middle and high school level. According to the findings, the number of emergency certificates issued for math and science teachers between 2001 and 2004 increased significantly.

Gov. Carcieri said in a press release that he plans to address the challenge of recruiting more math and science teachers in his fiscal year 2007 budget proposal and that he will charge the Board of Regents with reexamining the current alternative certification process to encourage more professionals to become teachers. In addition, Gov. Carcieri announced that he will submit legislation to create a statewide science curriculum.

The report, Project Making the Grade: The Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on Mathematics and Science Education, is available at: http://www.governor.ri.gov/documents/TEC_M&S_FA_LR.pdf

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Pennsylvania to Hold Summit to Create Commonwealth's Future
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, in concert with the Pennsylvania State University, are presenting the inaugural Creating Pennsylvania’s Future: A Higher Education, Economic and Community Development Summit, aimed at energizing institutions of higher education, business leaders, economic development organizations, investors, workforce development agencies, government officials, and community leaders to work collaboratively to create a future for Pennsylvania that leverages the Commonwealth’s college and university assets.

The summit will take place at the Penn Stater Conference Center in University Park on Dec. 5 and 6, 2005.

By generating greater awareness of opportunities and resources, and through learning about the nation’s “best practices,” summit participants will stimulate entrepreneurship, improve the return on investment of technology transfer activities, improve workforce development practices and enhance the quality of life in Pennsylvania’s communities. Much more information on the summit is available at www.creatingpennsylvaniasfuture.org.

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Useful Stats
Gross State Product, 2003-2004
Service industries once again outpaced growth in the goods-producing industries across the country in 2004, according to gross state product (GSP) figures released Oct. 26 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Private services-producing industries grew 5.1 percent above 2003 figures, while private goods-producing industries grew at a 3.1 percent rate.

Of nine geographic subregions for the country, only the Great Lakes area failed to exceed an average annual growth rate of 2 percent for the 1997-2004 period. While the percentage change for the Great Lakes was higher for 2003-2004, government's declining contribution to the percentage change in real GSP during the period actually pulled the 2.4 percent figure down by a quarter point.

The Far West region of the country, which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, experienced an average annual growth rate between 1997-2003 of 4.2 percent, the highest for the country. Growth in GSP for 2003-2004, alone, averaged 5.5 percent across the six states.

On the state level, the top 10 growth states for 2003-2004 could be found across the country, shown with percent growth in parentheses: Nevada (9.3), Arizona (7.1), Virginia (6.3), Hawaii (6.0) Florida (5.9), Idaho (5.8) California (5.6), Iowa (5.5), New Hampshire (5.4), and Arkansas (5.3). Although not included in the BEA's state rankings, the District of Columbia's growth rate of 6.2 percent, buoyed by significant growth in the government sector, would rank fourth overall.

While the fastest-growing states are geographically dispersed, states experiencing the slowest growth in GSP between 2003 and 2004, on the other hand, are more concentrated: Michigan (1.2%), Nebraska (1.5), Illinois (1.9), North Dakota (2.1), Louisiana (2.2), Missouri (2.4) West Virginia (2.6), Ohio (2.6), Pennsylvania (3.0) and Mississippi (3.3). Real US GSP grew 4.3 percent between 2003 and 2004.

SSTI has reproduced the BEA's table of percentage change in GSP by state for 2003-2004 and the 1997-2003 span. The table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/103105t.htm

The GSP release, complete with tables presenting each industry sector's share of the percentage change by state is available: http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/gspnewsrelease.htm#table2

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People

Jim Aanstoos is the new economic development director for the city of San Marcos, Texas.

John Adams, director of the Laredo Development Foundation, will become the new director of Enterprise Florida.

Steve Biggers has been promoted to Deputy Director for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science & Technology.

Warren Erdman, formerly vice president of corporate affairs at Kansas City Southern, is the newly selected chairman of the board of the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City.

Michael Finney, CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise, is leaving to become president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.

Dennis "Mickey" Flynn is the new president of Pennsylvania BIO.

The West Virginia Venture Connection has named John Hale as executive director.

Kevin Holmes returned to his alma mater, Santa Clara University, to join the Leavey School of Business as executive director of its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).

Bruce Kidd is the first director of entrepreneurship for the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

Angela Kreps is the first president of the year-old Kansas Bioscience Organization.

Cliff Long is the first full-time economic development director for Nampa, Idaho. Long had worked for the Idaho Department of Commerce for the past 14 years.

Christopher Price is the executive director for the Piedmont Triad Research Park and senior vice president, Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

Michael Tentnowski is the new director of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Incubator.

Anne Wein is the new executive director of Southeast BIO, a nonprofit organization concentrating on the growth of the life sciences industry.

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