September 3, 2008 - SSTI Weekly Digest

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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Early Bird Rates for SSTI's 11th Annual Conference Expire in 19 Days!
Register today to be sure you receive this special rate. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, registration fees will increase by $100. Hosted by NorTech, the 2008 SSTI Annual Conference will be held at the beautiful InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center Cleveland, October 14-16.

In a word, the SSTI Annual conference promises quality. For the first time, we will be offering four future-looking special sessions focused on the key TBED partners: industry, universities, service providers and government. Limited attendance further affords one the opportunity to engage in open, creative dialogue. Registration fees are kept reasonable so you can send your entire leadership team. All added up, SSTI's annual conference is the field's most stimulating and rewarding professional development investment of the year.
The conference is where the latest TBED thinking and technology come alive. You won't want to miss being a part of the this year's most dynamic and influential gathering of tech-based economic development professionals. As an attendee, you have the chance to meet with the decisionmakers responsible for crafting and implementing local and state-level policies and programs that directly contribute to the nation’s competitiveness.

More information, including the conference's 32-page brochure and an online registration form, is available at: http://ssticonference.org/

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States Increasing Scholarship Opportunities to Boost College Graduation Rates
With an increased need to compete globally, the need for a highly educated workforce has taken center stage in a number of states. But with the continuing issue of college affordability, states are looking at new ways to increase the number of college graduates within their borders.

In Arkansas and Ohio, recent examples of increasing college attendance are focused on efforts to expand scholarship opportunities for students. A legislatively charged task force in Arkansas recommends the state spend $95 million over the next six years to meet the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) average percentage of citizens holding a bachelor’s degree. In Ohio, the state is awarding $8.5 million to colleges and nonprofit agencies with the goal of leveraging more than $90 million towards efforts to increase college participation. Details of the state plans are outlined below.

Arkansas
A 15-member task force, created last year by the legislature, released its recommendations to increase the number of college graduates earlier this month. Making college more affordable through increased access to scholarships is at the center of the recommendations. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Arkansas ranks last nationally in both per capita income and the percentage of adults over 25 who hold bachelor’s degrees. In order to reach the goal of matching the SREB average percentage by 2015, Arkansas must increase the current production of bachelor’s degrees by 64 percent or 7,098 more graduates per year for the next six years, according to the report.

The task force reviewed the state’s current demographics and educational practices and looked at other states for models of best practice to develop a set of eight core recommendations. While financial support for higher education was increased in the most recent legislative session, the proportion of each institution’s budget funded by state funds has decreased since the 1980’s, the report states.

The task force argues that too many of the scholarships offered by the state are merit-based and too few are based on financial need, which is cited as the number one reason for people leaving college. In fact, 60 percent of the scholarships are currently awarded to students without a financial need, the report finds.

The task force recommends spending $25 million to $37 million to augment need-based scholarships that will help increase the number of low income and adult students who attend and graduate from college. Other recommendations include providing $10 million to $15 million to revise the statute that created the Academic Challenge Scholarship to allow additional students to receive the scholarship, $10 million to increase the funding of state aid for student campus employment, and $1 million to provide financial incentives to encourage associate degree recipients and university juniors to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

Additionally, the task force suggests the state offer a tax-credit incentive based on the Opportunity Maine model in which Arkansas students who complete bachelor degrees in high need areas and remain in the state for a specific amount of time will receive a financial incentive.

To improve education through economic development efforts, the task force recommends the state spend $15 million for 300 career coaches based on similar programs already operating in Georgia and South Carolina and $5 million to create new programs where gaps exist and phase out programs that no longer support workforce demands.

The Final Report of the Arkansas Task Force on Higher Education Remediation, Retention, and Graduation Rates, is available at: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/data/HigherEdRemediation/jpTask%20Force%20Report-LATEST%20VERSION.pdf

Ohio
Over the last several months, Gov. Ted Strickland announced a number of new initiatives aimed at improving access to higher education and helping the state reach its goal of adding 230,000 college students by 2017 (see the July 16, 2008 and Feb. 13, 2008 issues of the Digest). In March, Ohio Board of Regents chancellor Eric Fingerhut outlined a 10-year plan to upgrade post-secondary education in Ohio, which currently ranks 37th for the percentage of adults with college degrees.

An initiative unveiled in January aims to help nearly 23,000 high school and college students as well as older adults re-entering postsecondary pursuits, first generation students and veterans. The Ohio Can! Go to College Campaign is being implemented by the Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) and provides $8.5 million in grants to colleges and nonprofit organizations to expand college enrollment over the next two years by leveraging $90.1 million in additional funds.

OCAN released a request for proposals in three phases beginning in March and ending in May. Grant recipients were selected based on their ability to secure additional funds or create new internship or cooperative programs. The largest grant amounts of $1 million each were awarded to the Inter-University Council of Ohio and the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, who have pledged to raise $10 million and $8 million respectively.

The initiative is seen as a critical element in creating the workforce pipeline that underpins Ohio’s global competitiveness and economic development, according to OCAN. The grant application process designed by OCAN incorporates two categories in which foundations, corporations, colleges and universities were invited to apply under. They include:

Interact With University Experts in Discussion on Challenges Facing Higher Education
This year, SSTI is providing conference attendees with the unique opportunity to take part in plenary and semi-plenary conference sessions through direct involvement and interaction with leaders in the TBED community – industry leaders, economic development directors, and university presidents to name a few.

Drawing on the expertise and insights of four university leaders, SSTI will examine the challenges facing higher education. What we expect from our universities is rapidly changing – even if policymakers and politicians are not clearly stating what those expectations are. As states simultaneously fund ambitious centers of excellence while cutting core operating support, today’s environment for universities is entirely different from that of just 10 years ago. Aptly titled Universities’ Current and Future Role in Regional Innovation, this session seeks to answer the questions, where are we heading? Where should we be heading? And what does it mean for the TBED community and universities?

Instant audience response and a casual interview format will allow participants to engage in forward thinking discussion on a wide array of topics led by the following:

Don Smith, Vice President of Economic Development for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, will serve as moderator. One of the most popular of facilitators at past SSTI conferences, Dr. Smith brings extensive economic development experience spanning national, state, regional, local and academic organizations.

Join us on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 10:45 a.m. during SSTI’s 12th Annual Conference. More information is available at: http://www.ssticonference.org/

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California Angel Fund Steps in to Bridge Cleantech Funding Gap
Even in the venture capital-rich state of California during a boom period for clean energy investment, some clean energy entrepreneurs still have a hard time finding the capital resources they desire. As a result, one non-profit venture capital group, with a unique history of its own, is launching a new effort to support early-stage businesses. The California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) is currently helping to raise a $20 million angel fund to bridge a perceived gap in seed and start-up stage capital availability. Despite the rapid growth of clean energy investment in the past two years, CalCEF believes that early-stage investment is not yet sufficient to ensure a steady stream of high-quality investments at later stage of development.

CalCEF was created in 2004 as a consequence of Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s bankruptcy settlement negotiated with the California Public Utilities Commission. As a part of that settlement, the company agreed to contribute $30 million to support emerging clean technology energy companies. CalCEF is a non-profit entity that makes for-profit investments in clean energy companies and reinvests its profits in additional companies. The fund invests throughout the PG&E service area, which runs along the California coast from Humboldt to Santa Barbara County and includes the Silicon Valley region. Its investments have included companies developing renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy storage technologies, as well as other technologies not always associated with clean energy such as specialized software and advanced communication components.

The CalCEF Angel Fund is a separate organization in which CalCEF acts as a founding limited partner. As a result, the fund will invest anywhere in the US. Its focus will remain on the same types of companies as the original fund, but at the seed and start-up stage. Investments will range from $300,000 to $500,000 in most cases. The fund expects to develop a portfolio of 12 to 15 companies.

CalCEF is also in the process of developing a late-stage evergreen clean energy fund to provide greater support for more mature companies still pursuing an exit. This fund, along with the two others, will help provide a full suite of capital resources for clean energy companies throughout their pre-exit lifespan.

Microsystems and Nanotechnology Product Center Opens in Alberta
The Alberta Center for Advanced Microsystems and Nanotechnology Products (ACAMP), funded with $8 million from the provincial Alberta government and $3.5 million from the Canadian government, recently commenced operations in the Edmonton Research Park. The new program will be structured around three central components to assist commercialization in this area: packaging and assembly, product development, and marketing.

As identified in the federal government’s science and technology strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage (see the May 21, 2007 issue of the Digest), Alberta is poised to become a leader of Canada’s nanotechnology industry, as the province is home to Canada’s National Institute for Nanotechnology. ACAMP was developed in coordination with Alberta’s $130 million five-year nanotechnology strategy announced in 2007, which includes the goal of obtaining two percent of the world’s nanotech market by 2020.

More information on ACAMP can be found at: http://www.acamp.ca/

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U. of Wisconsin Opens First Building of $600 Million Medical Research Project
As many stories in this issue of the Digest point out, academic institutions serve a critical role in performing R&D for the nation’s innovation pipeline. While most of the attention of national policymakers is directed toward the size of federal and industrial investments in R&D, the burden of financing the infrastructure to support much of that research activity falls on states and institutions of higher education. And that burden has a steep price tag.

For instance, in late August, the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison officially opened the first tower of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR), an estimated $600 million three-tower project which will house 1,500 lab workers by 2015. This first tower is devoted to interdisciplinary work studying cancer, with five floors dedicated to varying fields of cancer research, one floor for core laboratory equipment, one floor of outpatient radiotherapy, and one floor for the medical physics department which will concentrate on medical imaging.

Now under construction, the second tower will concentrate its efforts on cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, and molecular medicine research. The third tower will combine scientists from the schools of pharmacy, engineering, and veterinary science.

A detailed floor by floor breakdown of the first tower can be found at:
http://www.med.wisc.edu/wimr/index.php

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SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The University of Missouri System is seeking applicants for the position of intellectual property attorney. This position assists the General Council in many areas, including managing the legal aspects associated with licensing activities, working with General Counsel to manage the enforcement of the University’s intellectual property and contract rights, providing guidance and advice regarding technology investment activities; serving as liaison for intellectual property matters between the University and industry, advising administration on matters of potential scientific misconduct and compliance with federal and state regulations, providing guidance with respect to the procurement, development, negotiation and licensing of the intellectual property portfolio and assisting in the development of intellectual property educational programs. A law degree and five to seven years experience in corporate and intellectual property law is required. A bachelor’s degree in science or engineering and intellectual property and patent law, technology transfer and/or licensing experience is preferred.

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