In the January 8, 2007 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2007. 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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Tech Talkin' Govs, Part I
SSTI annually scans the inaugural, budget and state of the state addresses given by the nation's governors to see how TBED priorities fare as the state leaders present their legislative priorities for the year. If the addresses are right, more than a handful of states will be "the" leader for alternative or renewable energy within a variety of time spans. Highlights of speeches available at press time include:

Arizona
Gov. Janet Napolitano, State of the State Address, Jan. 8, 2007
"I want to focus on where we go from here, where we will take Arizona in the 21st century. There are three components to this One Arizona Plan – the keys to making our state stronger than it has ever been:
The first key is Education … to guarantee that every young person who graduates from Arizona’s schools is truly prepared for a world of competition and innovation...The third key is Innovation.

 "From our educators, we need a new emphasis throughout our school system that encourages curiosity, discovery and invention. We want technology embedded in our schools – to enhance the learning process and to improve students’ understanding of it. We need specialized environments for students who are especially gifted or just especially interested in particular areas of study – like advanced math, bioscience, information technology, civics and language. We also need specialized environments for students who need additional help or who do not do well in a standard classroom. And we must support out-of-school time, hands-on activities – such as science fairs and robotics clubs – so that students can apply their learning in experiential ways. ...

"... My budget also will include additional funding for the biomedical campus in Phoenix. This funding will put us in a position to generate new doctors more quickly and tie the medical school in with key biomedical research and education initiatives. ...

"... The cornerstone of (my plan entitled) Innovation Arizona is a Global Competitiveness Innovation Initiative that will focus on expanding access to high-tech, high-wage success. First, we need a different economic and job creation strategy – making sure 'different' means 'better' and 'globally competitive.' The essential factors must be integration, coordination, flexibility and strategic focus. We must modernize the Department of Commerce and develop a coherent investment strategy. The result should be an Arizona that attracts and creates jobs in innovative, high-growth industries, expands global investment and trade, and supports strategic research and development.

"Second, we will begin to restore Arizona’s innovation investment fund. The Commerce and Economic Development Commission has a strategic investment fund that has been used to pay for the agency’s operations rather than to jumpstart businesses across our state. ... (T)he right investment at the right time can make all the difference and can literally be the difference between the creation of the next Microsoft and an inventor whose product never leaves the drawing board in his garage. That’s why it’s time for us to put the CEDC investment fund back in business. Let’s make sure every Arizona inventor or small business has access to the capital needed to make sure the birthplace of the next Microsoft is right here at home.

"Third, we will launch a global effort to bring new high-wage jobs to Arizona by attracting non-U.S. based companies to locate or expand their operations here. ...it’s time to wake up to an Arizona that’s leading the nation in innovation. We’ll send this message by developing a global brand for our state. We’re going to take it on the road – and to the air – to bring business and foreign investment home. Call it in-sourcing.

"Finally, Innovation Arizona is going to continue to build on the work we’ve begun to transform Arizona into a center of research by continuing the necessary funding to foster Science Foundation AZ to success."

California – see article in this issue of the Digest.

Hawaii – see article in this issue of the Digest.

Maine
Gov. John Baldacci, Inaugural Address, Jan. 4, 2007
"Our people can compete anywhere in the world, but we need to build our capacity and our competitive edge in the global marketplace.

"We will do this by committing to investments in innovation and research and development that fuel private sector jobs and economic growth.

"We will expand Pine Tree Zones enabling companies in Maine to have a level playing field and attract new business to this state.

"We will do this by making commitments in education through 50% tuition reimbursement at community college rates for those students who couldn’t afford to otherwise and who attend a state college or university. We will open the doors to higher education wider than ever before, so students are ready to learn and ready to succeed here in Maine."

New Hampshire
Gov. John Lynch, Inaugural Address, Jan. 4, 2007
"Innovation spurs economic growth, and creates opportunities for all of our people. Creating a research-and-development tax credit will nurture creativity and attract emerging industries to New Hampshire. It is a small investment that will pay big dividends for our workers and for our families."

New Jersey – see related article in this issue of the Digest.
Gov. John Corzine, State of the State Address, Jan. 9, 2007
"We are poised to build the world-class New Jersey Stem Cell Research Institute as well as biomedical research labs across our state. Those investments will cement our position as the medical research capital of America and, in time, improve the lives of all humanity. And let me add, we should build on these historic plans by asking the public in 2007 to approve stem cell research grants."

New York
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, State of the State Address, Jan. 3, 2007
"We must first adapt to the Innovation Economy. This is the knowledge-based economy of new businesses and new ideas that has become the driving force of job creation in the world today.... The third part of our plan is to provide the infusion of capital necessary to catalyze our Innovation Economy. We will propose a Stem Cell and Innovation Fund – led by Lieutenant Governor David Paterson – to be presented to the voters for approval. The fund will provide long-term investment, overseen by independent industry experts, for stem cell innovations and other types of applied research that will lead to direct commercial application. This investment will repay itself many times over in increased jobs, economic activity and improved health.

"To close the (digital) divide, we must implement a Universal Broadband Initiative to ensure that every New Yorker has access to affordable, high-speed broadband."

South Carolina – see article in this issue of the Digest.

South Dakota
Gov. Mike Rounds, State of the State Address, Jan. 9, 2007
"The second major concept of the 2010 Education Initiative is called Finishing Strong. It provides opportunities that prepare all students for postsecondary education and success in today's highly competitive global economy. Fishing Strong includes the laptop initiative, which provides incentive money for school districts to initiate one-to-one laptop programs for high school students. I believe we should begin this pilot project this year."

Vermont – see article in this issue of the Digest.

Wyoming
Gov. Dave Fruedenthal, Inaugural Address, Jan. 2, 2007
"... But the increasing public and scientific interest in reducing the environmental impacts of energy production means we must work with industry to advance cleaner and more efficient technologies to develop our energy reserves and expand the role of renewable energy, such as wind generation, in Wyoming’s future. ...

"... Set some revenue aside, invest in the infrastructure to support our current growth and encourage diversification, build the communities and intellectual capital necessary to attract the entrepreneurs and companies of the next economy. ..."

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New Jersey Appropriates $270M to Build Biomedical and Stem Cell Research Facilities
Last month, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill that will contribute $270 million to the construction of five biotechnology research facilities across the state. The funding source will be bonds backed up by cigarette tax revenue, as issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Gov. Corzine believes the state is at a strategic moment to accumulate "a critical mass of scientists, researchers, doctors and physical facilities" ahead of the next presidential administration, which will dictate future federal spending on stem cell research.

The proposal includes:

In addition to this investment, $10 million has been allocated from the state budget to award stem cell research projects this fiscal year. The New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology will distribute these funds, with $7 million directed to 2-3 embryonic stem cell research facilities not supported by federal funding and the other $3 million to be spent on general stem cell research awards of up to $300,000.

Upon approval by the New Jersey legislature, a referendum that would provide an additional $230 million for stem cell research grants could be placed before the voters on the November ballot. 

Additional information from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology on stem cell research, including instructions to attain research grants in 2007, can be found at: http://www.state.nj.us/scitech/stemcell/

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$95M California Research and Innovation Initiative Would Target Green Energy, Biotech and Nanotech Jobs
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that his proposed budget for 2007-08 will include a $95 million initiative to support new and existing facilities for high-tech research. The California Research and Innovation Initiative would provide funding to several university-based projects around the state hosting clean energy, biotechnology, and nanotechnology research and commercialization activities. Gov. Schwarzenegger explained that his initiative would build upon the state’s academic resources and large pool of scientists and engineers to ensure California’s continued leadership in high-tech innovation.
 
Under the governor’s proposal, the Helios Project, a sustainable energy research initiative at the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, would receive $30 million in lease revenue bonds to construct a new energy/nanotechnology research facility. The facility would host cooperative research between researchers at academic institutions across the country to incorporate recent advances in synthetic biology and nanomaterials into developing effective and affordable energy alternatives. Helios researchers intend to develop and commercialize new super-efficient photovoltaic cells that could significantly boost the solar energy industry in California, as well as reduce the state’s dependence on hydrocarbon fuels.
 
The governor’s initiative also would support sustainable energy through a new Energy Biosciences Institute at either the University of California campus at Berkeley or San Diego. Both universities are currently among the five global campuses competing for a $500 million British Petroleum (BP) Energy BioSciences Institute grant that would fund facilities and operations for an alternative fuels research center. In the event that one of the California universities receives the BP grant, Gov. Schwarzenegger plans to expand the state’s alternative energy strategy to include $40 million in lease revenue bonds for cleaner fossil fuel production and biomass research at the new institute. The budget also would provide $5 million in matching funds to aid UC San Diego and the state’s federal laboratories’ bid to build a $200 million Petascale computer, with support from the National Science Foundation.
 
California’s Institutes for Science and Innovation (CISI) would receive $19.8 million under the new initiative to continue operation. Since the program’s creation in 2000, the four CISI institutes have sponsored multidisciplinary research in biomedicine, nanotechnology and information technology at nine state universities. The general fund allocation would allow the institutes to continue to support university commercialization and attract additional private and federal funding.
 
Additional details will be available in the governor’s budget, expected for release today.
 
Read Gov. Schwarzenegger’s press release at: http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/5004/

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Hawaii’s Investment in State TBED Agencies to Increase Dramatically in Proposed Budget
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has submitted her budget proposal to the state legislature for the fiscal biennium 2007-09, including significant increase in the amount allocated for certain state economic development entities. The High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), a state agency that develops and supports Hawaii’s science and technology resources, would grow from average annual expenditures of $4.2 million in the 2005-07 biennium cycle to $9.8 million in the next cycle. Projects funded by HTDC include providing matching grants for Hawaii-based companies receiving SBIR funds, administering high-tech incubators across the state and the state’s MEP program, and managing a renewable energy development initiative.
 
The Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation (HSDC) also would see a marked change going from a $246,500 budget in fiscal year 2005-06 and $4.3 million in FY 2006-07, up to a proposed $9 million in FY07-08 and $6.9 million in FY08-09. The primary goal of the HSDC is to provide investment capital to Hawaii-based businesses, such as seed capital and venture capital.
 
The proposed 2007-09 budget contains detailed information about each department, including the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and can be found at:
http://www.hawaii.gov/budget/memos/pfp/

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Gov. Douglas Introduces Four-part Strategy to Promote Vermont TBED
In his inaugural address last week, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas announced a four-part plan to bolster research and high-tech economic development. The governor’s Vermont Way Forward strategy would promote high-tech business, particularly in the state’s emerging environmental engineering industry. In addition, the strategy includes a plan to make Vermont what the governor says would be the country’s first “e-state,” one in which universal access to broadband and wireless technology are available anywhere within the state’s borders.
 
To capitalize on the growing demand for environmentally-conscious technology solutions, the Vermont Way Forward plan calls for the creation of an Environmental Engineering Advisory Council to coordinate state efforts to support research and innovation in developing environmental technologies and services. The council would be composed of engineering, math, science and technology experts appointed by both the state legislature and the governor’s office. Its members would help guide the state toward becoming a world leader in environmental engineering research and business.
 
The plan also would support high-tech development in the state by providing universal wireless cellular and broadband access anywhere in the state. A new Vermont Telecommunication Authority would partner with private businesses to build a “next-generation” infrastructure for voice and Internet access. The strategy calls for $40 million in bond backing for the authority, which the governor estimates would leverage an additional $200 million in private investment. Universal telecommunications access would provide a significant boost to rural businesses, and a competitive advantage to the state when competing for new high-tech enterprises, according to the governor's office.
 
Universal broadband also would allow the state to provide broadband access to K-12 schools and students, bringing them additional exposure to web resources and technologies. To further encourage students’ high-tech education, the plan would create several regional schools for math, science and technology, which it is hoped would produce highly-skilled workers to assist in the sustained growth of state tech industries.
 
Finally, the governor’s strategy outlines several tax incentives to encourage the use of renewable fuels in Vermont. These incentives include:

These incentives are intended to encourage the use of clean and renewable technologies while creating a market for the environmental engineering advances intended by the plan.
 
Read Gov. Douglas’ Inaugural Address at: http://www.vermont.gov/tools/whatsnew2/index.php?topic=GovPressReleases&id=2230&v=Article

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South Carolina Governor Proposes $2M for Broadband
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced that his budget for fiscal year 2007-08 will include a request for $2 million to bring high-speed Internet access to rural parts of the state. This allocation from the state’s Capital Reserve Fund would be used to create a Rural Broadband fund to increase broadband penetration in underserved communities and is designed to boost economic development by providing Internet access to students, businesses and entrepreneurs.
 
High-speed broadband connections are only available in 73 percent of the areas receiving phone service in South Carolina, according to recent data from the state’s Office of Regulatory Staff. The governor’s budget cites a study by the Freedom Works Foundation, which estimates that widespread broadband deployment in the state would add nearly 13,000 jobs and increase gross state product by $4.55 billion. The new fund would support efforts to provide rural counties and other local government entities with high-speed broadband, which could be used to assist local businesses, entrepreneurs and schools.
 
A new, nine-member South Carolina Broadband Advisory Committee would be created at the Department of Commerce to manage, oversee and monitor use of the fund. The committee, chaired by the state’s Secretary of Commerce, would prioritize funding to areas of the state that have been underserved by the existing telecommunications infrastructure.
 
The South Carolina FY 2007-08 Executive budget is available at: http://www.scgovernor.com/interior.asp?SiteContentId=6&pressid=290&NavId=54&ParentId=0
Details of the Rural Broadband fund are available in the “Improve the Conditions for Economic Growth” section starting on page 161.

Need more information on broadband?
No problem, we’re here to help. There are 65 reports found by searching for the topic "broadband/telecommunications" at the TBED Resource Center. We think the following are quite interesting:

Each week's edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest includes stories highlighting state and local S&T strategic plans, indices or impact analyses. In addition, the findings of academic research and policy studies are included in the Digest's occasional Recent Research series. These brief articles, though, expose just the tip of the iceberg of reports, plans and studies published each month that could be useful in refining your efforts to build a tech-based economy.

That's where the TBED Resource Center comes in handy. The TBED Resource Center, developed by SSTI in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy, is an interactive website providing a wealth of information for practitioners, policymakers, university faculty, and researchers alike. With links to more than 4,400 reports, the website features information in a variety of TBED-critical topics in the U.S. and abroad.

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Useful Stats
2005 Science & Engineering Doctorate Awards by State
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released the 2005 statistics for science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards. Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2005 details trends in doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients.

Using NSF and U.S. Census Bureau data, SSTI has prepared a table providing state ranking for doctorate awards by major field and state rankings for the total S&E doctorates awarded per 100,000 residents. The top five states in 2005 for total S&E doctorates awarded per 100,000 residents are the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland.

SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/010807t.htm

NSF’s Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2005 is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07305/

U.S. Census Bureau population data is available at: http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html

SSTI’s previously published S&E doctorate awards tables:

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Save the Dates!
SSTI's Annual Conference Set for Oct. 18-19, 2007
As you begin to fill in your 2007 calendar, remember to mark Oct. 18-19, 2007 to attend SSTI's 11th annual conference in Baltimore! Past attendees know SSTI's conference is the perennial premiere professional development event for the TBED community. And 2007 will be no exception. The conference will be held at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, right on the city's exciting waterfront. As in past years, the conference agenda will be set by our members and affiliates to ensure the most timely and relevant topics for transforming regional economies. Look for more information on SSTI's website soon. Please contact Noelle Sheets, director of membership services, at 614.901.1690 if you have any questions.

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