In the January 16, 2006 Issue:

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Tech Talkin' Govs 2006, Part One

Publisher's Note
Since 1999, SSTI has reviewed each of the governor's State of the States and inaugural and budget addresses for references involving tech-based economic development. Since 2001, we've provided relevant excerpts as part of the SSTI Weekly Digest. This year's coverage begins with this issue, and as you'll see, it's clear that innovation and workforce are playing a major role in this year's speeches. Our coverage will continue over the next several weeks.

We've been alerted by a number of states to expect major announcements in the coming weeks, and as these excerpts indicate, 2006 is likely to be an active year for those that are concerned about innovation. As we report in our second article, American voters, if not all opinion leaders, are recognizing the importance of innovation to the country's future.

Arizona
Gov. Janet Napolitano, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 9, 2006
"To expand Arizona’s prosperity, we will provide $100 million in smart tax relief that strengthens our economy and invests in new technologies that will create the jobs of the future. ...

"... A thriving economy means an economy that takes advantage of the jobs and technology of the future. If we want Arizona to be the high-tech powerhouse it can be, we need to invest in the research and innovation that will produce it.

"To that end, I ask you to support creation of “Innovation Arizona,” that will be the public part of a public-private partnership to improve Arizona’s science and technology standing in the world. Innovation Arizona has two charges - first, to provide funding that will attract world-class researchers to Arizona; and second, to support research into new products and technologies that can be commercialized and brought to the market. We’re going to emphasize the cutting edge in everything we do here - whether it’s sustainable systems technology, nano-tech, bio-tech, defense-tech, aerospace tech or new communications and information technology. Together, we will continue to make Arizona a leader in the 21st century economy."

Georgia
Gov. Sonny Perdue, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 11, 2006
"To lead, we must innovate. That means, we must become a State of Innovation. That means making innovation our competitive advantage in every area of our economy – in our existing industries, in our homegrown small businesses and in the growth industries of the future, such as life sciences and nano-manufacturing. ...

"Building an innovation economy requires three main ingredients: people, capital and infrastructure. Georgia is investing in all three areas. We’re investing $80 million this year alone...

"... In the area of investment capital, we will budget $5 million to expand our Seed Capital Fund for early stage bioscience entrepreneurs. And $5 million for the Life Sciences Facilities Fund to help provide growing bioscience firms with the facilities they need to continue their growth here in Georgia.

"To strengthen our investment infrastructure, I am recommending investments in nanotechnology, energy and broadband technology. My budget includes $38 million in bonds to complete the construction of a Nanotechnology Research Center at Georgia Tech to establish Georgia as a global leader in this emerging industry. To ensure Georgia’s energy future, I am budgeting $2 million to seed research on developing alternative fuels, such as expanding our BioRefinery program at the University of Georgia. ...

"... The third area of investment is broadband. ... The goal of my Broadband Initiative is to ensure that every Georgia community is plugged in to the global economy with the broadband connectivity that individuals and businesses need. I will ask the OneGeorgia Authority to establish a $5 million grant program to support rural broadband access. In addition, I am also proposing a $5 million initiative at the Georgia Technology Authority to partner with at least three Georgia cities to bring wireless broadband – WiFi – to their areas."

Idaho
Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 9, 2006
"Science and technology continues to be one of the driving forces behind the strength of Idaho’s economy. I am recommending the full request of the Science and Technology Advisory Council. This includes funding for our TechConnect offices throughout the state; grant money for Idaho companies competing for federal research dollars; and increased funding for our universities for research and technology transfer.

"This year, we must also continue to invest in rural Idaho through my Rural Initiative. Many of the new jobs in our smaller communities are the direct result of this initiative. I am proposing an additional $700,000 investment. With your support, we’ll bring funding for the Rural Initiative to $3.5 million, of which $500,000 is earmarked for science and technology projects."

Iowa
Gov. Tom Vilsack, Condition-of-the-State Address, Jan. 10, 2006
"... There are still other areas that require us to spur innovation and creativity. Our strategic plan for transforming the economy of our state is focused on the three areas that make the most sense, the greatest potential for our state - ag and chemical biotechnology, innovative focus on insurance and financial services - but we should never forget the important role higher education plays in all of this.

"The plan put together by the Battelle Group suggests that we need to invest more in human capital and physical infrastructure to spur innovation and creativity. If we endow chairs and recruit great faculty to our universities, the brightest and best minds can be attracted to Iowa. If we expand lab space and incubator space, those bright minds can transfer into new products and new opportunities for Iowa. ...

"... Our colleges, our universities, our community colleges -- have made great strides in contributing to the collective economic well-being of all of us. But we need to make more. We need to make an additional investment of up to $50 million from the tobacco settlement account. We need to dedicate that investment to the human capital and the physical infrastructure that will allow us to spur innovation and creativity. We need to lead the nation in this effort by putting these resources together. With Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure funds, we can, indeed, create new opportunities for innovation and creativity. In doing so we can continue our growth and maintain the momentum that we have in our state today. I ask you to consider it for today and for tomorrow.

"Now, strong communities, as I said earlier, also embrace change. New discoveries require us to think differently and approach things differently, to think anew. There is no better example of that than the area of medical research. Several years ago we placed a ban on certain types of medical research at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics involving nuclear cell transplants. We never dreamt that the treatments resulting from those research opportunities would ever develop so quickly, would ever develop into life-saving treatments, but they have. It requires us to think differently about the ban. I suggest that we lift the ban, that we lift the restrictions on nuclear cell transplant research."

Kansas
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 9, 2006
"I believe we must continue to encourage development in our state’s rural areas, and we must help all businesses by giving them an incentive to create jobs in Kansas. That’s why I propose eliminating the property tax on new business machinery and equipment. It will encourage Kansas companies to invest in new technology to better compete around the world, and it will ensure our economy will continue to provide good jobs for Kansas workers."

Kentucky
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, State-of-the-Commonwealth, Jan. 9, 2006
"Tonight, I am proposing two broad initiatives. The first is 'Get Competitive Kentucky,' a series of steps to make us more competitive globally and with our southern neighbors. ...

"... Kentucky was once a leader in educational technology but we have fallen behind. We must catch up to prepare our students for an increasingly technological world. I will recommend major new investments in technology to ensure we can track in real time student performance, available on the web, and identify a student that needs intervention before it's too late. I will also recommend ultra-high speed broadband technology to increase our capacity to get instruction into the classroom that would never have been possible before. ...

"... To compete in the fastest growing sector, I will additionally recommend new investment funds to spur the growth of new companies for example in the niche areas identified by the Life and Bioscience Task Force. ...

"... Previous legislative efforts have attracted many talented researchers to Kentucky. And to take that effort to the next level, I recommend that we give a greater incentive to our research faculties to develop new ideas by allowing them to have a greater ownership of their intellectual property."

New York
Gov. George Pataki, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 4, 2006
"This year, I propose to you an agenda with straightforward, achievable objectives that will empower New York State to excel in the emerging global economy. ... It invests in and helps build the intellectual capital and research infrastructure we need to succeed in the high-tech economy of tomorrow. ...

"... This year, I will send to you a comprehensive package of education reforms and enhancements to provide new opportunities for our students and empower parents to ensure their children are able to realize their full potential. ... Let's create more math and science high schools like the Tech Valley Science High School in the Capital Region -- schools focused specifically on teaching the skills our students will need to succeed in the high-tech economy of tomorrow. And finally, let's invest in our future by providing free SUNY or CUNY tuition to students who pursue math and science degrees and commit to teaching right here in New York State. ...

"... Working with our vastly improved SUNY and CUNY schools, we'll create a new Empire Innovation program that will attract even more top-flight researchers and the federal grant dollars they bring with them, to public colleges and universities throughout New York. And let's go even farther. Our Centers of Excellence are the envy of states from coast to coast - I'd like to thank you for your strong partnership in establishing and supporting them. ...

"... This year I will propose even greater capital investments in our Centers of Excellence, but that is only the beginning. The Empire Zones we have launched together have led to new investment, opportunity and jobs all across this great state. This year I will send you legislation that ensures that every county without an Empire Zone gets one by the end of the year. ...

"By combining our Centers of Excellence and new Tech Zones with our new math and science high schools, we'll create five hubs of high-tech education, innovation and manufacturing across the state. ...

"... This year, I will propose an unprecedented bio-tech research challenge grant initiative - that will leverage $600 million in public/private matching funds and capitalize on the strength of great institutions like Sloan Kettering, Mt. Sinai, Cornell, NYU and Columbia to fuel even more research, jobs and opportunity in the Empire State."

South Dakota
Gov. Mike Rounds, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 10, 2006
"The second major concept of the 2010 Education Initiative is called Finishing Strong. It provides opportunities that prepare all students for postsecondary education success in today's highly competitive global economy. Finishing strong includes the laptop initiative, which provides incentive money for school districts to initiate one-to-one laptop programs for high schools students. I believe we should begin this pilot project this year. ...

"... Just a few days ago, we announced a long range plan to meet our current and future higher education needs for graduate programs and more research in the Sioux Falls area, but the benefits will be statewide. Sioux Falls will grow to more than 300,000 people by the year 2040. Another 60,000 people will be in the immediate four-county area. However, only 20 percent of the city's current adult population has a college degree. So, if we want the higher paying jobs of the emerging knowledge and research economy to locate in South Dakota, we need a more highly educated labor force.

"Therefore, I will introduce legislation this session to meet that challenge. It will authorize the state to receive a $5.8 million gift from the Great Plains Education Foundation to the South Dakota Board of Regents for the purchase of 263 acres of land that is currently owned by the state Transportation Department on the northwest side of Sioux Falls. That's where we'll establish a permanent location for delivery of public higher education services in this region. I will also ask for an $8 million appropriation to the Board of Regents for construction of a new instructional classroom building at that location."

Vermont
Gov. Jim Douglas, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 5, 2006
"As we expand the need for a well-trained workforce, the nexus with higher education is critical. That’s why I am proposing more substantial and direct investments in the University of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation to fund innovative research, programs and equipment to support the sustainable technology sector. ...

"... The cornerstone of my effort to make college more affordable and keep Vermont’s young people here is the Vermont Promise Scholarship program, a 15-year, nearly $175 million initiative. The Vermont Promise Scholarship program will provide high school graduates more than 1,000 awards per year - over 12,000 scholarships during the life of the program - to attend one of the state’s many outstanding institutions of higher education. ...

"... This investment in scholarships for young Vermonters is made possible by using additional funds that will come to the state beginning in 2008 through the tobacco settlement agreement reached seven years ago."

West Virginia
Gov. Joe Manchin III, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 11, 2006
"... In order for our state to attract new businesses and industries, we must have the skilled workforce that today's employers are so desperately seeking. And we must devote our educational resources to the development of that workforce.

"To that end, I am pleased to announce that a new technology park will soon be created utilizing part of Dow’s South Charleston Technology Park. With the cooperation and coordination of Dow, West Virginia University, WVU Tech and Marshall University, the current park will soon be transformed into a nationally recognized education, research and development center...WVU Tech will then become one institution again, combining the remaining four-year programs in Montgomery with the two-year programs. This reconstituted WVU Tech at Montgomery will be able to grow and continue its commitment to meeting regional education and workforce training needs.

"This new park will be a significant part of West Virginia's answer to years of a declining manufacturing base, and several research companies are already interested in locating resources and activities there."

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American Voters Get STEM Education = Competitiveness, Survey Finds
Americans increasingly recognize the nation's status as the world's economic superpower is threatened, based on research findings released by the Business Roundtable last Thursday. After four months of focus groups, interviews with opinion leaders and three national voter polls, the roundtable concluded there is widespread public recognition of the growing competitiveness crisis in this country and strong national support for policies designed to strengthen America’s capabilities in mathematics and science.

Whether Congress and the Bush Administration will address the concerns remains to be seen, roundtable leaders suggest.

"It’s clear that we have to broaden our partnerships to move this work forward," said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Prudential Financial, Inc., and chairman of the Roundtable’s Education & the Workforce Task Force. "It’s not sufficient for business people and educators to collaborate – we need the support of all stakeholders, including the Administration and Congress."

The roundtable, comprised of CEOs of roughly 160 leading U.S. corporations, places considerable emphasis in its policy recommendations on encouraging today's young people to pursue careers drawing on math and science skills -- areas in which the U.S. is seen to be slipping internationally. The findings also encourage increased federal support for science and technology, specifically basic research, but to a lesser degree.

More Americans believe China will be the world's greatest economic power in 20-30 years -- when children born today are beginning their professional careers. Only 26 percent of the surveyed opinion leaders and 32 percent of voters thought the U.S. would still hold this distinction. Those opinion leaders and voters selecting China for the answer numbered 39 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

Nearly two-thirds of voters believed secondary education was failing to prepare graduates for the demands of college and the working world, and 86 percent agreed that the country must increase the number of workers with a background in science and math, else America’s ability to compete in the world economy will be severely diminished.

Only 5 percent of parents said they would try to persuade their child toward careers in science, technology, engineering or math, while 65 percent said they would allow the child to pursue whatever career path he or she prefers. Twenty-seven percent said they would encourage the child to pursue a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career, but balance it with the child’s preference.

If American-born residents of the U.S. are not going to be future scientists and engineers, then the need to attract highly-skilled foreign-born workers would seem to be an appropriate priority. But again, the public is split, with 44 percent of voters positive and 40 percent negative. Sixty-eight percent of opinion leaders, on the other hand, see highly educated foreign-born workers in the U.S. as positive contributors to U.S. competitiveness.

The roundtable concludes, "Americans know that the U.S. risks falling behind and understand the relationship between education and competitiveness. They support an increased emphasis on improving science, technology, engineering and math education and recognize the need to increase the number of workers with a background in these fields. However, most Americans do not intuitively link education, immigration and basic research as connected parts of the overall solution."

The project's findings are available at http://www.businessroundtable.org/.

But At Least We're Not Europe?
The U.S may be headed toward second-tier status for global competitiveness, but where does that leave Europe if the European Commission's assessment is correct that the European Union is 50 years behind the U.S. for innovation?

Published in December, the fifth edition of the Innovation Scorecard suggests the Innovation gap between the U.S. and the 25-member EU is stable, but it would take more than 50 years for the EU to catch up to its American counterpart.

The commission assesses innovation across five dimensions -- innovation drivers, knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship, applications, and intellectual property. In addition, it proposes a new assessment of innovation efficiency based on an input/output approach and develops a specific sectoral approach.

Only five member countries - Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany - are deemed competitive or leading countries in the scorecard, which is available at: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/21&format=
HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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North America Ranks First in High-Expectation Entrepreneurial Activity, Report Says
A new report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) places North America at the top, in terms of participation in high-expectation entrepreneurial activity. The report looks at the prevalence of high-expectation activity internationally and analyzes bivariate relationships between high-expectation prevalence rates and entrepreneurial framework conditions.

High-expectation is used to emphasize the fact that the GEM operationalization is based on expected rather than realized job creation, the report states. Some of the key findings include:

The report also finds active policy has a role to play in promoting high-expectation entrepreneurial activity. Even though direct causal inferences are not possible from the analysis, the evidence of differential relationships with national conditions for different forms of activity suggest there is room for active entrepreneurship policy interventions, the report states. Additionally, governments should be aware of the importance of high-expectation entrepreneurial activity and consider introducing highly selective support measures and policies.

Findings are based on a sizeable dataset of more than 505,000 interviews in 44 countries over the years 2000-2004. Previously, GEM had not been able to analyze high-expectation entrepreneurial activity because of the scarcity of firsthand empirical data, according to the report. It is now possible to do so by combining several years of GEM's adult population survey, which calculates the total entrepreneurial activity rate for each participating country.

The GEM 2005 Report on High-Expectation Entrepreneurship is available at: http://www.gemconsortium.org/document.asp?id=444

Links to this paper and more than 3,000 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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MTC Index Produces Mixed Results for State's Economy
The challenge for industry, academic leaders and policymakers in Massachusetts over the next few years is to translate the competitive strengths of the state's economy into new companies and new jobs, the ninth annual Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy indicates.

While many competitor states and countries have been working through public-private collaborations to develop long-term strategic plans for future investments, Massachusetts has not had a recent collaborative effort, the report notes. Now is the time, it argues for industry and academic leaders to join with policymakers in identifying, planning and investing in the state's competitive assets for the Commonwealth's future economic vitality. Findings of the 2005 index include:

The highest growth rate in sales in Massachusetts has been in the Healthcare Technology cluster, which is the cluster that most other leading technology states have identified for strategic planning and investments as well, the report indicates. For example, California, New Jersey and Connecticut have already proposed or committed to substantial investments in life sciences and targeted funds for stem cell research.

Developed by the John Adams Innovation Institute, the index measures economic impact, the innovation process, and innovation potential. The index utilizes an innovation framework, which identifies a cluster's capacity or potential for innovation as an enabler of the innovation process. The framework is evaluated through changes in employment and wages and in business output. The framework also captures outside factors that influence overall success, including resources available, market demand and cluster environment.

The 2005 Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy is available from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative at: http://www.mtpc.org/institute/the_index.htm

Links to this paper and more than 3,000 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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SSTI Job Corner
University Seeks Assistant Professor in Regional Economic and Workforce Development
The Department of Economic and Workforce Development at the University of Southern Mississippi is seeking someone to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position. Specialization in regional workforce development is preferred; however, other areas of specialization, such as disaster recovery, entrepreneurship, rural development, technology transfer, or low-income communities, will be strongly considered. The candidate will teach and mentor students in the department’s on-campus and executive format masters and doctoral programs and take a leading part in the growth and development of these programs. A doctorate degree is required. A full job description is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

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People

David Archer is the new managing director for Nevada's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.

Robert Chernow was appointed to the newly created position of vice provost for entrepreneurship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship has a new president, Michael Hentschel.

Sandy Johnson was promoted to CEO of the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center.

Donna Kent is the new president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

Dan Lynch was named president of the Greensboro Economic Development Partnership.

The Information Technology Association of Wisconsin, formed in June 2005, selected Jim Rice as its president and CEO.

The Southern Arizona Tech Council announced it will merge its programs into the recently created Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., an integration expected to be mostly completed by June 30, 2006.

Amit Yoran replaces Gilman Louie as In-Q-Tel's new CEO.

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