In the March 12, 2008 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2008. 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.

Subscription to the SSTI Weekly Digest is free. If you are reading a forwarded copy of this issue and would like to receive your own copy each week directly, please subscribe at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm. Requests to unsubscribe also may be completed at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform_unsubscribe.htm.

 Canada Invests $1B+ in S&T Initiatives over Next Two Years
The Canadian Government this week released its budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which includes several new TBED-related initiatives and increases in funding for a few existing programs. The government plans to leverage its relatively strong fiscal position by providing tax relief and paying down the national debt, while providing $606 million for workforce development and $440 for research over the next two years. Major science and technology (S&T) initiatives in the 2008 budget include:

Several of these initiatives have grown out of the county’s current multi-year S&T agenda. This strategy, published last year as Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage, is part of the Advantage Canada economic plan and calls for additional investment and public-private partnerships in strategic industries. These industries include areas in which Canada has the potential to emerge as a global leader, including environmental science and technologies, natural resources and energy, health and related life sciences and technologies, and information and communication technologies. Canada also enjoys several competitive advantages in building a strong high-tech economy that could help establish the country as a global S&T leader, including a strong fiscal situation and the highest investment in R&D compared to gross domestic product (GDP) among the G-7 countries, according to the report.
 
Last year’s budget, which was cited in the plan as a strong first step in leveraging Canada’s relative strengths, included more than $500 million to modernize research infrastructure and $120 million to maintain the country’s high-speed institutional broadband network. The budget also included funds for several new Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research at Canadian universities to work in strategic industries. The 11 centers were officially announced last month and will receive $163 million to investigate and commercialize new technologies over the next five years.
 
Though Canada’s focus on strategic high-tech industries through initiatives like the Centres of Excellence is claimed as a strength in the budget and in strategic plan, some argue that the country’s S&T focus is too narrow. A recent report from the CBC finds that many critics are disappointed in the 2008 budget for its investment in nuclear energy and genetics to the exclusion of other areas. The report claims that major investments are needed in Canada’s broadband infrastructure and in venture capital to make it a leading global competitor.
 
To read an overview of the Canadian budget, including the section on “Investing in Knowledge”, visit: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2008/glance-apercu/brief-bref-eng.asp
 
The full budget is available at: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2008/pdf/plan-eng.pdf

return to the top of the page

Lawmakers Approve Funding for TBED Initiatives in State Budgets
Three states recently wrapped up their 2008 legislative sessions, resulting in the passage of operating and capital budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. State lawmakers approved funding for new and existing TBED initiatives aimed at diversifying the states' economies through increased investments in energy programs, higher education research initiatives and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. 

South Dakota
Lawmakers agreed to Gov. Mike Rounds’ recommendation of a one-time appropriation of $3.8 million for construction-related expenditures and $887,000 in operating costs to supplement an $8 million grant for a high speed data network connecting universities and research centers across the state (see the Dec. 12, 2007 issue of the Digest).
 
The legislature also supported a bond proposal for science facility and laboratory upgrades at the state’s six public universities. HB 1085 authorizes the South Dakota Building Authority to finance up to $74.5 million through the issuance of bonds for projects that are part of an overall strategy to boost the state’s research capabilities.
 
The fiscal year 2009 approved budget includes $25.4 million in total funds for the Division of Economic Development within the Department of Tourism and State Development, the same level requested by the governor. The recommendation for the Division of Research and Commerce is $4 million from the general fund, and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority is slated to receive $19.2 million in other funds, a slight increase over FY08.

A $3 million increase was approved for the state's four postsecondary technical institutes -- $2 million for program enhancements and equipment purchases and $1 million for maintenance and repairs. Gov. Rounds opposed the measure and criticized lawmakers for providing funding for the technical institutes while rejecting his proposal of $2.9 million for the third year of the Classroom Connections program, which provides laptop computers to high school students, reports the Associated Press. Lawmakers also rejected the governor's proposal for a mobile computing environment for the state university system and failed to pass a bill that would require the Department of Education to develop a framework for a high school for the 21st century with project-based curriculum in STEM fields.

A bill to provide a 2-cent tax reduction for biodiesel blended fuel supported by the governor was passed by the legislature. Gov. Rounds has until March 17 to veto the bills.

Utah
Lawmakers passed the FY09 budget and FY08 supplemental appropriations last week, providing additional funds for the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) and directing any remaining funds from last fiscal year to the governing agency. The USTAR Governing Authority is slated to receive $19.3 million in general funds, which includes $11 million for research teams and $4.9 million for Technology Outreach. An additional $2.5 million is included for a one-time expenditure for USTAR research teams and $12 million is earmarked in the capital budget for USTAR research buildings. Another $6.9 million is included in the Public Education budget to establish USTAR Centers, a program to extend the school year for math and science teachers.

Lawmakers also passed SB 103, providing more than $20 million to the state's institutions of higher education from the Education Fund for FY 2008-09 enhancements, according to the Utah Daily Chronicle. This includes funding to advance math and science fields, promote regional economic development, improve laboratories, and hire more science faculty. Additional higher education initiatives slated for funding within the budget include:

Within the Public Education budget, lawmakers approved $4.6 million for differentiated pay for math and science teachers, providing additional compensation to teachers who meet defined education level qualifications. The budget also provides $400,000 for the Utah Science Center and statewide outreach services for informal science education enhancement providers, an Office of Education initiative that provides opportunities for students to experience science and practice science skills through outreach programs and class field trips.

Additional legislation to pass during the 2008 session of interest to the TBED community includes: Wyoming
The FY 2009-10 biennial budget bill signed into law last week by Gov. Dave Freuenthal provides funding for several energy-related projects across the state. The legislature appropriated funding for specific energy development projects in anticipation of grants from the state of Wyoming's share of abandoned mine land funds (see the Dec. 12, 2007 issue of the Digest), including:

Additionally, lawmakers appropriated $1.8 million from the clean coal research account to fund research projects recommended by the Clean Coal Research Task Force to the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee. The legislation stipulates that funds are not to be appropriated until the university has received the full matching amount specified for a particular project.

The task force is required to issue a report to the governor and interim committee by Sept. 30 of 2008 and 2009 with recommendations regarding funding for specific proposals for research into clean coal technologies. The budget also directs $2.5 million from the general fund to a separate account for clean coal technology research that must be matched dollar-for-dollar with non-state funds. Gov. Freudenthal also signed legislation this session (HB 89 and HB 90) to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for carbon capture and sequestration.

The FY 2009-10 budget allocates $123.6 million to the Wyoming Business Council, a slight increase over the governor's recommendation of $123.5 million. The Community College Commission is slated to receive $244.9 million, down from the governor's recommendation of $245.3 million. Another $4 million from the general fund is included for the community college endowment challenge fund.

The budget also provides $135,000 over the biennium for the Community Colleges Task Force Planning Study. The task force is charged with evaluating the existing community college system and developing recommendations in conjunction with the statewide college system strategic plan. The study, due to legislators on Nov. 1, 2008, will determine student population projections and projected state academic and workforce needs to ensure a skilled workforce.

return to the top of the page

U.S. Universities to Assist Development of S&T University in Saudi Arabia
Earlier this month, three universities - Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Berkeley - announced partnerships with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a graduate-level research university set to open in Saudi Arabia by September 2009. Each of the U.S.-based universities will assist with the development of the following initiatives within specific academic fields of study at KAUST:

Specifically, Stanford will assist in the creation of KAUST's Applied Mathematics and Computer Science field of study, UT Austin with the Computational Earth Science and Engineering field of study, and UC Berkeley with the Mechanical Engineering field of study. The partnerships will provide between $25 million to $28 million to each of the U.S. universities over a five-year period for their services. Before reaching these agreements, KAUST invited select universities from around the world to apply for the positions.

However, not all of the selected departments within universities chose to pursue the relationship. The San Jose Mercury News reported UC Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering decided "not to join over concerns about academic and personal freedom." KAUST promotes itself as a merit-based research university open to both men and women from across the globe, which will be governed by an independent, self-perpetuating board of trustees.

Armed with an initial endowment in excess of $10 billion, the campus will be constructed along the coast of the Red Sea and has formalized research agreements with other institutions around the world in recent months. These include, but are not limited to, the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Munich Technical University, the National University of Singapore, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and from the private sector, the GE Global Research Center.

A collection of all press releases from KAUST showing the series of agreements formed with both academic and research partners can be found at: http://www.kaust.edu.sa/news/press-releases.aspx

UC Berkeley's Public Affairs Office has more information about the agreement, including a link to the Berkeley's signed agreement with KAUST, at: http://www.kaust.edu.sa/about/degrees-fields-of-study.aspx

return to the top of the page

Recent Research
How "Surrogate Universities" Impacted the High-Tech Growth of the Boise Metro
The presence of "surrogate universities" - that is, nonacademic institutions able to attract a skilled workforce, produce marketable innovations and cultivate local entrepreneurship - have greatly influenced the growth of the tech-based economy of Boise and Idaho's Treasure Valley. Furthermore, distinctions in these surrogates' culture, innovation model and marketable products may help to explain the development of new technology firms in the metro area. In Boise, Idaho: An Overview of the High-Technology Economy in the Treasure Valley, Heike Mayer of Virginia Tech follows the establishment and business activities of tech firms over the last four decades in a region without a research-intensive university, a factor often seen as a critical driver of economic development.

In Boise's case, the selection of the region in 1973 as a branch location of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the establishment in 1978 of the semiconductor-producing company Micron, were important early events for the region's growth. Mayer's survey work shows about 20 percent of entrepreneurs who went on to establish other companies in the region were employed at either HP or Micron, as opposed to the approximate 5 percent of entrepreneurs who were employed at a university. Comparatively, firms other than Micron and HP were the origins for 63 percent of the entrepreneurs surveyed.

Because such a large concentration of entrepreneurs came from HP and Micron, these firms served as surrogate universities, driving the growth of the local tech economy in ways that can be attributable to traditional research universities. In fact, by the study's count, three times as many past employees of HP went on to create new firms as compared to past Micron employees. Mayer speculates this difference may be due to the structure of these companies.

For example, while HP produced printers for end consumers, Micron produced memory chips in the intermediate stages of product development. These different market orientations may influence the skills of the people hired into the company structure, thus making the labor pool at each firm have different sets of skills. Interviewees noted the changes in management and innovation culture over the years at HP may have created a more entrepreneurial culture, generating more employees willing to take risks.

The report contends Boise developed a vibrant technology-based economy over the decades without much attention from state and local policymakers and without a heavily research-oriented university. However, today's global marketplace is very different than the environment in the 1970s when HP and Micron established a local presence. Firms are moving or expanding their manufacturing and R&D efforts to other countries in order to take advantage of cheaper costs and potential markets. Mayer recommends in this new era, state and local policymakers need to make investments in the R&D infrastructure and improve linkages between the state's universities and industry. Additionally, Boise needs to do a better job increasing local education attainment levels and enact initiatives to attract and retain a skilled workforce.

While this report looks specifically at the Boise metro area, many of the techniques used to analyze and track the path of the region's tech-based economy may be of interest to others. In the future, similar "entrepreneurial genealogy" studies will be completed by Dr. Mayer for Kansas City, Portland, Phoenix/Tucson and Seattle.

In addition to this study, a map was created illustrating the spin-off growth of Boise's technology firms over time. The map, along with the original report, can be found at:
http://www.nvc.vt.edu/uap/research/KnowledgeRegion-BoiseIdaho.html

return to the top of the page

12 Universities Join $15M Border Security and Technology Initiative
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the recipient universities to conduct security research through five new Centers of Excellence. These centers will develop new technologies to prevent natural and man-made disasters, improve government response to such crises and monitor the nation's shores and borders. The Department's Office of University Programs, under its Science and Technology Directorate, will manage the five new centers, which will each receive multi-years grants of up to $2 million per year for 4-6 years.

The five centers include:

One of the new centers, the Center for Excellence for Border Security and Immigration, represents a collaborative effort among 12 universities, co-led by the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at El Paso. This six-year, $15 million center will develop border security technologies for communication, surveillance and analyzing immigration patterns. The center also will have responsibility for training customs agents and border security personnel to use the technologies they develop and to improve their overall effectiveness. The University of Arizona will be charged with setting long-term technology goals for the center and initiating specific research programs.
 
Border security technology has been receiving more attention in recent years due to an increasing focus on national security and illegal immigration. President Bush's Border Security Initiative, the multi-year plan under DHS to improve the monitoring of American borders, has brought an increase in federal funding for border technology and research. The department's new Office of Innovation, first funded in the 2008 budget, received more than $21 million to develop relevant technologies. Last year's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill would have provided additional investment in technology and research, including a Port of Entry Technology Demonstration program. Though the bill died in the Senate, all three of this year's remaining contenders for the U.S. presidency favor increased funding for border research.
 
More information is available at http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1204061890079.shtm. The original DHS university centers are described at http://www.dhs.gov/xres/programs/editorial_0498.shtm.

return to the top of the page

Vermont EPSCoR, Public TV Offer Series on State's Scientific Discoveries
State universities and research programs depend on public support to develop and commercialize new technologies, but the actual science involved in these discoveries can seem intimidating and arcane to the layman. How then should a state go about engaging the public in scientific research?
 
To address the issue, Vermont Public Television and Vermont EPSCoR have joined forces to launch a new television series that will introduce Vermont residents to the research and innovations being developed in the state's universities and labs. The program, Emerging Science, will explore the work of Vermonters engaged in scientific exploration and highlight the successes of the state's scientific community. Each episode will feature a developing scientific field, including nanotechnology, global climate change and remote sensing.
 
Vermont Public Television plans to issue eight short weekly podcasts on its website leading up to the April launch of Emerging Science. One can subscribe to these podcasts through iTunes or watch previews of the episodes at: http://www.vpt.org/programs/emergingscience.html
 
Vermont is not the first state to use the media to increase citizen engagement in science and technology. The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has been broadcasting Oklahoma Innovations, a weekly radio show, for 12 years. Oklahoma Innovations features hour-long discussions including conversations with university researchers, interviews with Oklahoma entrepreneurs, profiles of the state's high-tech business service providers and insights into the state's TBED economy. The March 9, 2008 episode, for example, featured the Oklahoma Creativity Project, a statewide effort to build a creative workforce and to leverage the state's creative resources to strengthen its entrepreneurial economy.
 
The program's schedule and a downloadable archive are available at: http://www.ocast.state.ok.us/News/Radio/tabid/71/Default.aspx

return to the top of the page

SSTI Job Corner
More information on these opportunities and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The City of East Lansing, Mich., a residential community of 47,000 people and home to Michigan State University, is seeking a project manager for its New Economy Initiatives. This newly created position will focus on business and economic development, including the Lansing Regional SmartZone, East Lansing’s high-tech incubator/accelerator, arts and cultural entrepreneurship program, and related initiatives. The position also will have some responsibilities with housing and Community Development Block Grant programs. A bachelor’s degree in business, economics, urban planning, community development, geography, or a related field is required; a master's degree is preferred.

The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, which provides economic and community development and cultural enhancement throughout the state and administers programs that assist businesses, communities and people, recently announced two position openings:

return to the top of the page

State Science & Technology Institute
5015 Pine Creek Drive
Westerville, OH  43081
(614) 901-1690

© 2008 State Science and Technology Institute. All rights reserved.