In the August 27, 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.

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Massachusetts Passes Pair of Environmentally-Conscious TBED Bills
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently signed two bills to improve the commonwealth's standing as a leader in environmental protection and to support the growth of the clean technology industry.  Supporters of the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Green Jobs Act believe that the legislation will position Massachusetts as a recognized center for cleantech policy and business.

Massachusetts will invest $68 million over the next five years to promote the clean energy industry through the Green Jobs Act. The bill establishes a new clean energy technology center as the lead agency, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, in the promotion and development of new jobs in the clean energy sector. Its mission will include funding research and workforce training, supporting new and existing clean energy businesses, attracting capital and fostering collaboration between the state's public and private research institutions.

The new center will offer up to $1 million in seed grants to clean energy companies, institutions or non-profits in 2009. An additional $1 million will be available for workforce development grants, and $100,000 may be allocated for a study of the state's clean energy sector.

The second bill, the Global Warming Solutions Act, creates a state and regional registry of greenhouse gas emissions. This data will be used to set an aggressive standard for reducing toxic emissions, culminating in a planned 80 percent reduction by 2050. State officials hope to use the act to stimulate the demand for clean energy technologies, while supporting the cleantech sector through the Green Jobs Act, to build a successful energy industry, according to a press release from the governor's office.

Earlier this month, legislators approved three other environmentally-oriented bills: 
These bills, combined with the $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative and the $40 million Massachusetts Broadband Initiative (see the June 18, 2008 issue and the July 23, 2008 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest, respectively) represent a significant investment in Massachusetts TBED during this legislative session.

Read more about the bills at: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3modulechunk&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=terminalcontent&f=features_2008-08-14_green&csid=Agov

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Prominent State Leaders to Explore TBED Strategies in One-of-a-Kind Interactive Session
Against the backdrop of Northeast Ohio, a region transitioning to a high-tech economy through focused efforts in industry growth and R&D activity, three state economic development directors championing economic growth will provide SSTI conference attendees with answers to the all important question, Where do we go from here? in a highly interactive and future-looking session.
 
The economy is changing so are the challenges facing scientists, technologists, innovators, and entrepreneurs. To stay ahead, every element of a regional innovation support system must become smarter and more efficient. But how? Exploring the future look of TBED, this plenary conference session will address some of the biggest challenges facing the economic development field, including:
  Offering their unique perspectives are:
 Moderating the session is Ned Hill, Vice President for Economic Development at Cleveland State University, whose work on city-state relations was released by the Fannie Mae Foundation in 2007 and in Urban Studies, and his joint work on the impact of doctoral programs in the bio-life sciences and engineering on regional development was published in Economic Development Quarterly in 2007.
 
Through instant polling and discussion with these accomplished leaders in a relaxed interview format, conference attendees are encouraged to be a part of this explorative session that kicks off the main conference, Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 9:05 a.m.
 
For more information, please visit: http://www.ssticonference.org/

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High-Tech Companies Contribute $3 billion to Hawaiian Economy
An upcoming report finds that Hawaiian high-tech industries contributed $3 billion to the state's economy in 2007. Preliminary data released to Pacific Business News by the Hawaii Science and Technology Council indicates that the state is home to almost 2,000 high-tech companies in ten sectors, including biotechnology, aerospace, energy and information technology. The complete report is due later this summer.

Jobs at high-tech firms count for 3.6 percent of the state's total employment. These jobs provide an average annual salary of $69,000, 43 percent higher than the overall average personal income. Public and private tech companies combined created 4,158 new jobs between 2002 and 2007. Private Hawaiian high-tech companies grew at an average annual rate of 3.3 percent during that same period.

A report late last year found that Hawaii's High Technology Business Investment Tax Credit has played a major role in encouraging development in the state (see the November 14, 2007 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest). Forty-five percent of a sample of high-tech business owners said the controversial credit program played a "major influence" in their decision to grow and expand in Hawaii.

Further research will be made available by the Hawaii Science and Technology Council later this summer at: http://www.hiscitech.org

SSTI will examine the issue of TBED impact analysis in greater depth at our 12th Annual Conference in Cleveland. This panel discussion will feature Rebecca Bagley, Deputy Secretary for the Technology Investment Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and Deborah Cummings, Assistant Director of the Technology and Innovation Division of the Ohio Department of Development. These two seasoned practitioners will offer their insight into how to design accurate and relevant impact metrics and how to put this data to work. For more information about the conference, please visit: http://www.ssticonference.org.
 
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North Dakota State University to Partner with Federal Labs
Last week, three contracts between North Dakota State University (NDSU) and research partners at two Department of Energy federal laboratories were announced, building research opportunities within the Red River Valley Research Corridor. They included the following:
A press release outlining the contracts was released by Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Chairman of the Senates Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, can be found at: http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=302158

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Learn More About Creating and Strengthening Partnerships with Federal Laboratories 
One of the exciting half-day pre-conference sessions at this years SSTI Annual Conference in Cleveland, Oct. 14-16, is tailored to organizations looking to get in on the action of partnering with federal laboratories across the country. Some of the brightest brains from the leadership of the federal laboratory system and state TBED organizations with successful fed lab experience will be at the session to provide specialized help for those in attendance.
More information on the pre-conference session, including the six people who will be leading the session, is available at: http://www.ssticonference.org/

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Useful Stats
2006 Industrial R&D Intensity per State
According to National Science Foundation (NSF) data released two weeks ago, companies spent in aggregate $247.7 billion on R&D expenditures performed in the U.S. in 2006. Leading the nation was California, with $58.4 billion in industrial R&D, followed by Michigan ($16.5 billion), Massachusetts ($15.6 billion), New Jersey ($14.6 billion), and Texas ($13.3 billion).
 
SSTI has prepared a table presenting the state rankings for industrial R&D performed in 2006, the per-state gross state product in 2006, and each state’s industrial R&D intensity. The industrial R&D intensity is the ratio of industry-based R&D to the gross state product.
 
Using these calculations, Massachusetts experienced the largest industrial R&D intensity in 2006, at 4.64 percent. This was followed by Michigan (4.38 percent), Connecticut (4.04 percent), Washington (3.89 percent), and California (3.35 percent). The industrial R&D intensity for the U.S. as a whole was calculated to be 1.89 percent.
 
The table may be accessed by visiting: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/082708t.htm
 
The NSF has released an InfoBrief, explaining the methodology of their Survey of Industrial Research and Development: 2006 at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08313/
 
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Join 40+ Leading TBED Orgs in Highlighting Their Success 
SSTI will be holding its first poster session dedicated entirely to celebrating why states, regions, universities and related organizations engage in TBED. 

We want to hear your story to learn about the successes that keep you coming back to work day after day, the reason you believe that technology-based economic development is working in you community - the real faces behind all the data. With each poster, you help to strengthen the TBED community by providing needed information, expand your own network of professional contacts, and receive national recognition at SSTI's 12th Annual Conference.

By contributing a poster, you place your organization in the spotlight of the TBED community and join other SSTI members in joining together to build an arsenal of anecdotes backed by hard facts to serve as arguments and evidence for expanding or sustaining funding by your stakeholders.

This opportunity is only available to our membership. Join today and participate in the poster session and take advantage of the conference member discounts! To help our members get the most of the premiere conference of the year, SSTI is making available for the first time team pricing for members' registration to the full conference.

Some of the organizations participating include:

Poster session information can be found at: http://www.ssticonference.org/Conf08/posters.htm
Membership information can be found at: http://www.ssti.org/benefits.htm

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