In the September 17, 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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Comparisons of Presidential Candidates’ TBED Positions Emerging

In an effort to keep science, innovation and entrepreneurship on the mind of our next President, several groups are releasing comparisons of the Presidential candidates’ positions on a number of issues affecting state, local and university tech-based economic development strategies. Here is a sampling from this week:

ScienceDebate 2008: http://www.sciencedebate2008.com

The new website is sponsored by AAAS, the Council on Competitiveness, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, and signed by over 175 leading American universities and other organizations. It includes the candidates’ responses to 14 questions regarding national innovation policy positions, climate change, energy policy, K-12 education, national security, biosecurity, genetics, stem cell research, ocean health, water, space, scientific integrity, research funding, and health.

The site also includes links to news articles on topics such as how consistent the candidates are on the campaign trail with the positions espoused in their responses to the questions.

ITIF Report: Comparing the Presidential Candidates' Technology and Innovation Policies
 http://www.itif.org/index.php?id=176

This 18-page ITIF policy brief, written by Rob Atkinson and Stephen Ezell, compares and assesses the candidates’ technology and innovation policies across a number of specific issues areas, including: taxes, R&D funding, broadband and net neutrality, e-government, digital transformation, education and workforce development, trade, patent and intellectual property, and energy and the environment.

Kauffman Staging Webcast with Candidates' Economic Policy Directors, Sept. 19

A live webcast of "The Next President and the Entrepreneurial Economy," a panel discussion featuring Jason Furman, the Director of Economy Policy for Barack Obama, and Doug Holtz-Eakin, Director of Economic Policy for John McCain, will take place Friday, September 19 from 4:45 to 6:00 pm EDT. The event will be moderated by Kauffman Foundation president and CEO Carl Schramm and available for viewing at: http://www.kauffman.org/economicpolicy.

The event will take place at the Inc. 500/5000 Conference in front of more than 1,000 entrepreneurial superstars-the men and women leading the fastest-growing, private companies in America. Furman and Holtz-Eakin will discuss the candidates' thoughts and plans regarding taxes, job creation, credit, innovation, immigration policy, education, the SBA, and other issues critical to the growth and success of small and medium-size businesses over the next four years and beyond. The webcast will be archived indefinitely at the same URL.

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Doctorate Awards Jump 9 percent in 2007; Double-Digit Growth in Engineering, Bio
Whether it’s symptomatic of a tough job market or increased recognition of the economic rewards for obtaining an advanced degree, the number of doctoral degrees awarded and graduate enrollment in the U.S. rose sharply in 2007. Most trends for the past ten years also are positive; suggesting at first glance that a commitment to advanced education is permeating more of the population, particularly among women and minority groups.

Enrollment and awards of masters degrees are seeing much lower growth rates, and in some critical cases like engineering, experienced a decline. Consequently, rises in the number of engineering doctorates may be short-lived trends.

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported Sep. 16 that the number of doctorates conferred by U.S. graduate schools rose 9 percent between 2006 and 2007, compared to 2 percent average annual growth over the past decade. The survey includes responses from 683 institutions.

The survey report, Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1997 to 2007, reveals that five broad fields of study increased more than 10 percent in one year, including health sciences (up 18 percent), engineering (14 percent), and biological sciences (11percent). The number of doctorates awarded to women rose 10 percent in 2007, compared to 8 percent growth among men. During the period 1997-2007, there was 4 percent average annual growth in doctorates to women, versus 1 percent for men.

The ten-year trend also shows that graduate enrollment of U.S. minority groups grew much faster than that of White, non-Hispanic students. There was 8 percent average annual growth for African-Americans, 7 percent for Hispanic students, 6 percent for Native Americans, and 4 percent for students of Asian/Pacific Island backgrounds, compared to 1 percent for White students.

Additionally, minorities made substantial one-year gains in enrollment in critical science and engineering fields last year. For example, African-American enrollment rose 7 percent in biological sciences and 6 percent in both engineering and physical sciences, while the number of Native American students in engineering rose 11 percent in 2007.

CGS’ annual report presents statistics on applications for admission, enrollment, and degrees conferred in 2007, as well as trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods. Highlights include:

One-year changes

Ten-year trends

Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1997 to 2007 is available at: http://www.cgsnet.org

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Examining Approaches to Building the TBED Workforce
States are increasingly seeking new approaches to maintaining a pipeline of skilled workers, qualified to fill the gaps left by baby boomers retiring in the coming years and college graduates pursuing career options elsewhere. Over the past several years, state economic development agencies, nonprofit organizations, and industry-led groups have not only stepped up their efforts to recruit and retain high-tech workers, but also are examining the key factors involved in attracting high-tech workers to a region.

Recently, a privately-owned manufacturing contractor in Idaho announced a new initiative to build the skills of workers in rural areas of the state, which in turn will make the region more likely to attract new industries. Several partners have signed on to take part in the program, called Rural Idaho Outreach Partners, including the Idaho Department of Labor, the Idaho National Laboratory, and the Salmon Valley Business and Innovation Center.

While the program is very much in its infancy, early plans include outreach at area high schools to expose students to opportunities in various technical fields and a forum for organizers to further refine the goals of the program with input from regional business leaders. Additionally, a new 12,000-square-foot facility is in the planning stages at the Salmon Valley Business and Innovation Center to provide a transition from classroom instruction to actual production jobs. Premier Technology, the company spearheading the initiative, also expects jobs in clean technology to be available in the region through subcontracting opportunities.

Additional efforts being seen across the nation include training workers and attracting new companies in a specific niche area for the state – particularly those in emerging life science fields. Three new educational initiatives from grade school to graduate school aimed at training life science workers are starting this fall in Indiana, reports The Indianapolis Star. They include a doctoral program in biostatistics at Indiana University (IU)-Purdue University Indianapolis, a year-long Executive Certificate in the Business of Life Sciences program at IU-Bloomington, and a new Indiana Life Sciences Academy for about 600 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

On the flipside of building a technically skilled workforce is attracting the high-tech companies to employ them. In an effort to recruit more biotech start-ups to the state – building on an existing base of skilled workers – Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley announced a proposal earlier this year to double its Biotech Investment Tax Credit in FY10 and again in FY13 under the new Maryland Bio 2020 Initiative (see the June 19, 2008 issue of the Digest). The proposal would allow companies, individuals and venture capital groups to apply for tax credits for investment in a biotech company.

While these new initiatives focus on cultivating a workforce capable of handling current and future high-tech demands and re-training existing workers, TBED practitioners also want to know about the X factor. What influences high-tech workers to choose one area of the country over another to work and live? What are the “deal breakers” involved, and how can TBED organizations become better positioned to compete for these workers?

Learn More about Workforce Issues and TBED

SSTI will examine the issue of building the TBED workforce at our 12th Annual Conference in Cleveland. This panel discussion will feature Marsha Schachtel, Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies and Jeff Kjenstad, Local Office Manager, South Dakota Department of Labor. TBED practitioners will not want to miss the original research conducted and presented by Marsha Schachtel and Jeff Kjenstad’s unique insight on one of the nation’s most promising new programs for recruiting skilled workers and businesses to South Dakota. For more information about the conference, please visit: http://www.ssticonference.org.

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University of Waterloo Opens “Dorm-cubator” Residence to Student Entrepreneurs
Cluster strategies show proximity is seen as an important requirement for tacit knowledge flows and the resulting economic development benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship. Research by Barak Aharonson, Joel Baum, and Maryann Feldman showed spillover benefits of agglomeration for businesses are strongest within 500 meters of a site.

The benefits faded rapidly over distance – so is the reverse true? What happens when you put aspiring young entrepreneurs in the same dorm?

Last week, the first group of 70 upper-year and graduate students began living in VeloCity, a combination residence hall and business incubator at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, designed for student entrepreneurs interested in mobile communications and digital media. The university has spent about $400,000 to convert a 40-year-old building into the residence, which will include a wireless device lab, wi-fi, videoconferencing space, increased bandwidth, student presentation space, a LCD wall screen, and common areas to encourage collaboration.

Students interested in living within VeloCity must pass an interview process, where they are asked questions about their technical and entrepreneurial abilities. Selected students are then formed into project teams, each one partnered with an industry mentor to provide technical and business assistance.

Towards the end of each term, the student groups will present their projects at a symposium populated by industry and investment capital representatives. According to the policies of the university, students would own the rights to any intellectual property they create. Additionally, students will have access to programs offered by the Accelerator Centre at the University of Waterloo’s research and technology park.

Corporate partners to VeloCity include Apple Canada, Communitech, Google, Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Rodgers Wireless.

The website of the VeloCity residence is http://velocity.uwaterloo.ca/

The University of Waterloo’s press release on the opening can be found at: http://newsrelease.uwaterloo.ca/news.php?id=4995

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Communities Hope to Advance TBED Plans with EB-5 Visa Funds
As news on the economy turns darker shades of bleak, communities across the country are looking for alternative ways to finance their innovation strategies. Some of their approaches will be the topic of two breakout sessions at SSTI’s upcoming conference, Encouraging Regional Innovation. This story looks at one example. For more information on the conference, visit: http://ssticonference.org/

Earlier this month, the non-profit Wooster Growth Corporation in Northeast Ohio voted to authorize $50,000 to cover the application costs for creating an EB-5 visa regional center through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Community leaders hope the designation, if selected, will produce a funding source from wealthy immigrant investors to assist in the construction of buildings within the BioHio Research Park. The research park is planned to be adjacent to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, a facility of 200 scientists owned by The Ohio State University.

While the BioHio Research Park already has acquired a $750,000 federal grant to convert an existing building into an incubator and $3.2 million from the state for road and infrastructure development, a source of funds is needed for future construction on the site. According to a recent article in the Akron Beacon Journal, if the one- to two-year application process is successful, an LLC would be created with the pooled money, with potential investors obtaining a return from rental costs at the research park.

But what exactly is the EB-5 visa program?

In 1990, Congress established a new immigrant investor visa category (EB-5 visas), which provides a green card to those seeking permanent resident status in exchange for $1 million in direct business investment. This investment must accomplish a required impact, and 10,000 of these visas are available each year.

Starting in 1993, the Regional Center Pilot Program was incorporated, which reduces the amount of investment per visa to $500,000 if the funds are targeted to designated employment areas. These pre-approved areas can only be rural sections of the U.S., or areas with an unemployment rate 150% of the national average. These regional centers also allow individual investments to be pooled to support larger projects. The annual allotment of visas under this mechanism is 5,000 per year, or half of all the EB-5 visas available.

Since these programs have been instituted, their annual quotas have never been reached. In fact, according to an April 2005 GAO report on the EB-5 visa program, only 6,024 out of the allowed limit of 130,000 visas were issued between 1990 to 2004,. However, in fiscal year 2006, 389 people applied for the program, increasing to 779 in FY2007 – a much larger amount than in the earlier years of this decade.

The Regional Center Pilot Program is set to expire in November 2008, and needs Congressional support to be extended. HR 5569 was passed by the House on June 9, 2008 to support the program for another five years, and is currently referred to the Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary.

The Akron Beacon Journal story, “Wooster Applies for Region Center Status”, is available at:

http://www.ohio.com/business/28124649.html

An overview and eligibility requirements for EB-5 visas from the USCIS can be found at:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

The April 2005 GAO report, Immigrant Investors: Small Number of Participants Attributed to Pending Regulations and Other Factors, can be accessed though:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05256.pdf

Information about HR 5569 to extend the Regional Center Pilot Program can be found here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:4:./temp/~c110PP1V9b

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2008 Excellence in TBED Award Winners Selected, Best Practices to be Revealed at National Conference Following several weeks of deliberation over the past summer months, a panel of highly qualified TBED practitioners has selected recipients demonstrating exceptional achievement in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies to receive SSTI’s Excellence in TBED Award for 2008.

The recipients will be announced at SSTI’s 12th Annual Conference, to be held Oct. 14-16 at the Intercontinental Hotel Cleveland.

Be there to witness the highly anticipated unveiling of recipients, Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 1:10 p.m. in the elegant Founder’s Ballroom. Then, join the award winners during dedicated breakout sessions later in the conference to hear best practice overviews and lessons learned told directly from those involved in development and implementation of the winning initiatives.

No matter what stage of development your organization fits into, you are certain to benefit from the stories conveyed by the Excellence in TBED Award winners. Find out how these leaders in the TBED community responded to a critical need in their region by applying innovative approaches, leveraging resources of government, industry and academia and building support from legislators to commercialize research, create a climate conducive to entrepreneurship, provide access to capital, and improve and enhance existing industries.

Each session entails a 15-20 minute presentation of the award-winning TBED initiative followed by ample discussion time for Q&A, so be sure to arm yourself with questions and discussion points on the pressing issues facing your organization.

Here’s what the judges said about these outstanding initiatives:

“A great best practice program, and is distinguished from others in that it measures outcomes very well.”

“Sustained results over multiple years and good connections to other TBED programs.”

“State government recognizes the success of the program and continues to support the efforts.”

“This is clearly one of the top performing programs in the nation.”

“This effort stands out because the commitment to TBED was supported by public funding.”

“Good support evidenced by willingness to create new, related programs.”

“The initiative has already established an impressive set of achievements given the short time it has been in existence.”

“Regional stakeholders are supportive of the effort, which should guarantee sustainability in the future.”

“Excellent effort and results for the size of investment.”

More information about Encouraging Regional Innovation, SSTI’s 12th Annual Conference, is available at: http://ssticonference.org/

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