In the July 17, 2006 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2006. 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 Likely Winner if Congress Passes Budget this Summer
Based on the two versions of the FY 2007 budget working their ways respectively through the House and Senate, the National Science Foundation (NSF) appears to be positioned to receive its first significant increase in funding in many years. Both chambers' versions of the NSF appropriations provide increases above the FY06 appropriations in excess of 7 percent, with the full House approving an increase of 7.9 percent in June. The version approved last Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee provides a 7.4 percent increase to the nation's leading agency for science. Much of the increase is consistent with the President's request to support his American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).

NSF's appropriations are included in H.R. 5672, the Commerce-Justice-Science bill. More information is available at: http://thomas.loc.gov

The full Senate Appropriations committee report was not available online before the Digest's deadline, but the following description of the Senate Appropriations Committee action on the NSF appropriations was reported by the Association of American Universities:
Within the NSF total, the bill would provide $4.646 billion for Research and Related Activities (R&RA), $315 million above FY06 funding.  This is $19.53 million below the Presidents request, an amount that is transferred from research to education programs.

The committee report recommends $101.2 million for the Plant Genome Research Program, the requested amount of $50.74 million for operations of the National Radio Astronomy Observatories, and full funding for NSFs lead role in the National Nanotechnology Initiative.  The report also expresses strong support for the FY07 funding request for the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering, which promotes international research collaborations.

For Education and Human Resources, the $19.53 million transferred from the Research and Related account would give the directorate a total of $835.75 million, which is $3 million above the House-approved level, and $39 million above FY06 funding.

The committee report says that the committee is fully supportive of the NSF research funding in the ACI but believes that the ACI neglects the education work NSF does in support of research across the country.  Broadening participation to underrepresented groups, such as women and minorities, in the sciences will only further the goals of the ACI as proposed in the budget request.

For that reason, the $19.53 million transferred from the Research and Related account would:  add $10 million to the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), for a total of $110 million; add $2 million to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities program, for a total of $32 million; add $3 million to the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program, for a total of $43 million; and add $4 million to the STEP/Tech Talent Expansion program, for a total of $30 million.

For Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction, the bill would provide $237 million, which is $3 million below the request, the same as the House-approved level, and $46 million above FY06 funding.  The $3 million reduction from the request is a result of not funding the LC130 Judgment Fund.

Another useful summary of the Senate report is available at: http://www.aip.org/fyi/2006/092.html

Differences between House and Senate versions of the budget will be reconciled in conference, after full Senate consideration of the bill. Passage of NSF appropriations by the full Congress before the fiscal year starts Oct. 1 is uncertain as House members will turn their attention to the election cycle. Senate leadership is also considered up for grabs this fall. More information on H.R. 5672 will be available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app07.html

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N.C. Budget Supports Higher Ed, Tech-Based Economic Development
Last week, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley signed the budget agreement passed by the state's General Assembly for fiscal years 2006-07. The budget contains many adjustments favoring K-12 and higher education and several allocations for technology-based growth initiatives.

Education received the most attention in the General Assembly's negotiations. The largest new allocation in the budget is $664.1 million for a 5.5 percent raise among most state workers. Public school teachers will receive an average 8 percent raise, while community college and university faculty will get 6 percent with a one-time 2 percent bonus for community college faculty and staff. The higher ed pay raises, along with $79 million for new professors and staff, are intended to attract high-quality faculty and meet projected enrollment increases at North Carolina universities.

The new budget also invests in research initiatives at state universities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill medical school will use $2.5 million to expand its translational medicine program, which connects basic research with applied pharmaceutical development. Biotechnology programs at North Carolina Central University and North Carolina State University will receive $4.5 million, and the NC Biotechnology Center and its regional offices are getting a $2.5 million budget increase. The new North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis will have $6.7 million through UNC and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Training Center and Greenhouse to fund its first year of operations, and Fayetteville State University will be able to begin capital planning on a new science and technology complex with a $1 million allocation. The budget also provides $20 million for a new competitive grant program for state universities that can be used to attract faculty, purchase equipment and undertake allied health projects.

Economic development programs received some increased financial support. The One NC Fund, started in 1993 to assist companies with the costs of new equipment or repairs, has been expanded through an additional $15 million for the state. That fund's associated Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has been given $5 million to reimburse entrepreneurs for the costs of preparing SBIR proposals and to match federal awards. The Job Development Investment Grant Program, which provides grants to new and expanding businesses, received funding to continue operations throughout FY 2006-07.

The North Carolina Budget is available at: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2005/Bills/Senate/PDF/S1741v8.pdf

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Maine Continues $41M Laptop Program
It caught the attention of quite a few people when it was first proposed in early 2001, but Maine's investment in 2002 to provide every seventh and eighth grader with a new laptop - approximately 32,000 students and 4,000 teachers - continues to provide a useful example of the size and type of commitment and risk that elected leaders have to be willing to make to transform the outlook for a state or regional economy. It took strong leadership and determination from then-Gov. Angus King to make it happen then, but the move very quickly was recognized as a good investment for the state's future (see 2004 evaluation report).

This June, Maine renewed its commitment to the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, promising Apple iBook computers to the state's entire seventh and eighth grade population, both teachers and students at the state's 241 public schools, for the next four years. The $41 million price tag works out to roughly $289 per notebook computer and includes wireless networking capabilities.

Still considered one of the largest one-to-one educational technology programs in the world, Maine's laptop initiative has been emulated or attempted by many other states including Georgia Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, New Hampshire and North Dakota.

The Associated Press reports the original laptops will be refurbished through private fundraising efforts led by former Gov. King. The revitalized machines will be redeployed in other areas of the state's K-12 education system, resulting in more than 70,000 computers being in use by this fall.

More information on the Maine Learning Technology Initiative is available at: http://www.state.me.us/mlte/index.htm

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DoED Commission Softens Tone on the State of Higher Ed
The Department of Education's Committee on the Future of Higher Education has released a second draft of its report on the state of American colleges and universities. As reported in the July 10 issue of the Digest, the document originally released by the committee harshly criticized the U.S. higher education system for wasteful spending, lack of academic rigor, and failure to serve the needs of the national economy. The newest draft softens the critical tone of the report but retains most of the original recommendations, according to an article in Tuesday's Inside Higher Ed.

David Ward, president of the American Council on Education (ACE), noted in a message to ACE members that the updated version contains improvements in both tone and content. Ward also said that the changes indicate a willingness on the part of the commission to develop a constructive set of proposals for the education community.

Read the commission's second draft at: http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/reports/0714-draft.pdf

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Youngest Learners Hold Key to U.S. Competitiveness, CED Asserts
While much of the attention in the national dialogue on competitiveness and innovation has focused on federal R&D investments and science and tech education, a 62-year-old independent organization of business and education leaders says our attention should be much earlier in the education process. A new report by the Committee on Economic Development (CED) asserts economic development leaders should make quality preschools a top priority. The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation presents a convincing case for expanding state and federal pre-kindergarten programs to encourage economic growth.

The CED has long asserted the importance of preschool programs in national and local economies. Since 2002, the organization has held nationwide forums and published several reports in conjunction with the Pew Charitable Trusts to build awareness of the benefits of high-quality preschools among business leaders. This most recent report focuses on the tangible economic returns to policies that improve the quality and accessibility of early education.

Today, 66 percent of four-year-olds are enrolled in preschool; however, many are not enrolled in high-quality programs. Fewer than one-half of state-funded programs meet the minimum quality standards set by the National Institute for Early Education Research. Children without access to high-quality preschools are at a disadvantage throughout their academic career and in the labor market, according to the CED report. The growing shortage of skilled and educated labor in the U.S. workforce means preschool funding is needed more than ever, the researchers say.

The CED report further argues that states are uniquely positioned to improve preschool quality and access and to reap the economic benefits of successful policies. Pre-K investment can yield two- to four-dollar returns for every $1 of state investment, with widespread fiscal impacts on health and welfare spending, education, crime and tax revenues. Annual rates of return on investment in early education are estimated to increase by 10 percent each year over a student's lifetime. States are likely to benefit from much of this return because approximately 85 percent of 16-year-olds will live in the same state where they attended preschool and 65 percent to 75 percent will remain there during their prime working years, the report adds. Preschool programs also boost the long-run employment level of states by more than twice as much as traditional economic development programs.

A December 2005 Zogby poll revealed 83 percent of business leaders favor policy approaches that provide publicly-funded pre-kindergartens, but allow parents to choose the program that is right for their child. Sixty-three percent of the same business leaders favor financial support for these programs from the business community. A large majority agree that investments in effective preschool programs are necessary to maintain U.S. competitiveness.

The CED report recommends that federal, state and local governments make access to high-quality preschools a priority and consider early education an important part of economic development strategies. Current government spending on pre-K programs is nearly $10 billion, and universal access to high-quality preschool for three- and four-year-olds is expected to cost $30 billion. The report, however, argues that the financial returns more than justify the expense, and that state initiatives must augment the federal Head Start program if they are to remain competitive.

Read the complete report at: http://www.ced.org/docs/report/report_prek_econpromise.pdf

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Job Corner
ITIF Seeks IT Policy Analyst
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a leading IT and innovation policy think tank, is seeking an IT policy analyst. Candidates should have excellent research and writing skills; knowledge of IT, telecommunications and Internet policy; at least two years of experience with these policy issues; a bachelors degree; and, ideally, a masters degree. Direct resumes to mail@innovationpolicy.org. A complete description of this position opening is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

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People

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has appointed former Kansas Gov. John Carlin to the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

Robert Cresanti has been appointed to serve as chief privacy officer for the Department of Commerce, concurrent with his responsibilities as under secretary for technology.

Lew Ebert announced he is leaving the Kansas Chamber of Commerce to become president and CEO of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry.

Science Foundation Arizona, a new nonprofit organization, has named Bill Harris as its director.

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council recently hired Jim Hudson as vice president of strategy.

Louisiana State University appointed Brooks Keel as its new vice chancellor for research and economic development.

The Open Technology Business Center, a Beaverton, Ore.-based incubator, has named Steve Morris as its third executive director.

Steven Preston was sworn in July 10 as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, succeeding Hector Barreto.

Mark Wdowik was named vice president of technology transfer for the Colorado State University Research Foundation.

Ned Weinshenker has been appointed to a restructured position as vice president for strategic ventures and economic development at Utah State University.

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Correction
In last week's Useful Stats article, we incorrectly reported that South Dakota ranked last among states experiencing a public high school graduation rate less than the national average for the 2002-03 school year; in fact, the state ranked 19th. South Carolina had the lowest graduation rate for that year. We regret the error.

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