In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
Gov's Budget Includes $20M for ND Centers of Excellence
With an overall projected reserve of about $1.2 billion at the end of the
2011-13 biennium, North Dakota is well positioned to invest in
growing economic sectors during a time when most states across the
country are cutting programs to fill massive budget deficits. Gov.
Jack Dalrymple outlined a budget for the next two years that would
capitalize on the state's institutions of higher
education and energy industry. Proposals include extending the
Centers of Excellence program with an additional $20 million,
establishing an Office of Energy Development to focus on
the state's growing energy sector, and
increasing funding for higher education to hold down tuition.
The governor wants to restructure the state's
highly successful Centers of Excellence program by targeting
additional funding toward three new centers. In total, $20 million
is proposed for the centers, which includes $5 million in carryover
funding from current unexpended appropriations. New investments
include:
- $10 million for Centers of Research Excellence for
commercialization and research talent attraction grants with up to
$3 million for infrastructure development grants;
- $5 million to provide assistance to entrepreneurs in the areas
of access to capital, marketing, entrepreneur infrastructure, and
entrepreneur talent through the Centers of Entrepreneurship
Excellence; and,
- $2 million for the Centers of Workforce Excellence
(previously known as the workforce enhancement grant program) to
allow two-year colleges to respond to the workforce needs of
private sector partners.
An impact analysis released earlier this year reported the
state's 20 centers were returning $16.56 for
each dollar spent with the centers also capturing $115.5 million in
match and federal research leverage from the
state's initial investment (see the Jan. 13,
2010 issue of the Digest).
The governor's budget would increase higher
education funding by $82 million, freezing tuition for two-year
institutions and allowing for an increase of no more than 2.5
percent at four-year institutions. Another $5 million would allow
the Board of Higher Education to develop a new methodology for
funding higher education based on student outcomes. North Dakota
joins a growing list of states including Mississippi, Texas and
Virginia seeking new funding mechanisms to sustain higher education
based on results rather than enrollment.
Within the Department of Commerce, the governor wants to
establish a new Office of Energy Development to promote the
development of energy resources, work with communities on
infrastructure, and manage renewable energy programs. The office
would be seeded with $600,000 from the general fund.
The $3.2 billion 2011-13 budget outlined by the governor
represents a 5.6 percent increase in expenditures when compared to
total 2009-11 appropriations and includes $50 million in new income
tax cuts over the next two years. Budget documents are available
at: http://www.nd.gov/fiscal/budget/state/.
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NIH Proposes New Therapeutic Development Center
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking input from the
public and NIH staff on the proposed creation of a new center that
would support translational science and consolidate several
existing translational research programs. The National Center for
Advancing Translations Sciences (NCATS) would support the
development of therapeutics and clinical care from basic research
discoveries. Charged with streamlining NIH's
structure, the Scientific Management Review Board
(SMRB) recommended establishing NCATS to house a number of NIH
programs that could collaborate to decrease the risks involved in
private drug and therapeutic development projects. Skeptics at a
recent SMRB meeting expressed concern that the restructuring might
endanger current NIH programs.
The SMRB, which includes several NIH institute directors and
outside scientists, advises Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) officials on the organization of NIH institutes and centers.
In May, a working group on translational medicine and therapeutics
began identifying current NIH programs related to therapeutics
development and creating a plan to better integrate their efforts.
Last week, the SMRB voted to recommend the establishment of NCATS,
which would incorporate the Molecular Libraries program, the
Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases program, the Rapid
Access to Interventional Development program and the Clinical and
Translational Science Awards. It would also include Cures
Acceleration Network, which was authorized in the health care
reform bill, but has not yet received funding.
According to the board, NCATS would establish and provide
focused, integrated and systematic approaches to link basic discovery
research to therapeutics development and clinical care. The idea
has proven popular with the pharmaceutical industry, according to a
Reuters report.
NCATS likely would focus on rare diseases, engaging in high-risk
research to develop therapies in areas where for-profit companies
are hesitant to make the long-term investments. NIH intends for the
center to produce a steady pipeline of products and techniques to
diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of conditions.
Several groups and investigators associated with the National
Center for Research Resources (NCRR) voiced their concerns about
the proposed changes at last week's advisory
board meeting, according to Science magazine.
Under the plan, the NCRR would be partially absorbed by the new
center. Since the $700 million cost would have to come from the
existing NIH budget, many of those present at the meeting were
worried about potential cuts. Objections included the short
timeline for the restructuring, the lack of public input and the
possibility that existing NCRR programs might be lost.
NIH Director Francis Collins intends to present a detailed plan
for the center to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in mid-2011. The
changes could take place as early as October next year. NIH
promises to offer many additional opportunities for public input on
the plan, including teleconferences, in-person meetings and via the
new Feedback
website.
Read the NIH announcement at: http://feedback.nih.gov/index.php/category/ncats/#.
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Increased Regional Involvement Leads to Student Retention in Philadelphia, According to New Study
The Philadelphia region increased retention of non-native
students (students who are not originally from Philadelphia but
attended undergraduate or graduate school in region) by 165% from
2004 to 2010 due to an increase in regional involvement opportunities
for students (e.g., volunteer opportunities, internships,
off-campus work opportunities and local cultural/entertainment
activities), according to a new survey by
Campus Philly. The report also found a high correlation between
a student having a summer internship and remaining in the region
for a year or more (70% of respondents). In comparison, only
40% of students were retained if they interned outside of the
region. The report, "From Student to
Resident: Findings from Campus Philly's 2010
Student Retention Survey," utilizes data collected from
4,600 students (including undergraduate and graduate students) and
recent alumni of Philadelphia colleges and universities.
Read the report...
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U.S. Education System Receives "Cs" on Report Card, According to OECD Report
U.S. students perform just slightly above or below average in
the three categories (reading, math and science) of the Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) according to a new
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
report. The report, Highlights From PISA 2009: Performance of U.
S. 15-Year-Old Students in Reading, Mathematics, and Science
Literacy in an International Context, provides an assessment of
students' educational achievement and their
ability to apply that knowledge in real world contexts. In comparison
to the other 34 OECD member states, U.S. students (age 15) finished
14th in reading literacy, 17th in science and 24th in mathematics.
If the OECD partner countries are included, those rankings fall to
17th in reading literacy, 23rd in science and 31st among the 65
countries surveyed. In 2009, approximately 470,000 students from 65
developed and underdeveloped countries took the PISA.
The report also points out that U.S. student only have made
incremental improvements in spite of the world's
second highest per student expenditure (Luxemburg spends more per
student). According to the survey, the U.S. spends almost $100,000
on a student's education from age 6 to 15.
However, U.S. students still perform worse than do students from 16
OECD countries. This includes Eastern European countries that
spend less than half of the U.S. total per student. Since the
last PISA in 2006, several countries have seen significant improvements in
average scores. However, U.S. students saw only incremental
improvements, according to the report. Read the OECD
Report ...
In another recent report, the Information Technology &
Innovation Foundation (ITIF) discusses the importance of science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) education on future U.S.
competiveness and proposes that the U.S. adopt a new approach of
"all STEM for some." This national
strategy would focus on the recruitment of students
"who are most interested in and capable of doing
well in STEM" and placing them in STEM intensive
academic programs at properly equipped educational institutions.
The "all STEM for some" approach
would focus on the "five
Is" to develop a new generation of
STEM talent that can increase U.S. competiveness. They are:
- New kinds of educational Institutions;
- More Incentives to reward institutions for producing
more high-quality STEM graduates;
- More Information to students, parents, and employers to
give them more choice and to drive better performance by
educational institutions;
- Capitalizing on student Interest; and,
- Spurring more Industry Involvement.
The report also contends that the current
"some STEM for all" approach suffers
from several key limitations. They include: only a small share of
workers are scientists and engineers; it works against most
students who have little motivation for high achievement in STEM
related subjects; and giving "all students some
STEM" is expensive and depletes limited resources.
Read the ITIF Report ...
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Federal Coalition Launched to Promote Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export
An interagency government initiative was launched last week to
promote the nation's renewable energy sector,
helping to meet the goals of the National Export Initiative and
President Obama's challenge to become the
leading exporter of clean energy technologies. Seven government
agencies, including the Department of Energy, will lead market
research and discovery efforts such as identifying U.S.
manufactured energy efficiency products likely to be competitive in
global markets and exploring the creation of guides for foreign
buyers listing technologies and services available from U.S.
providers. Read the press announcement: http://www.energy.gov/news/9864.htm.
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CDFA Urges Extension of Recovery Act Bond Provisions
The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is asking for
support in its effort to amend the current federal tax bill to
extend the bond finance provisions of the Recovery Act. These
provisions include the Build America Bonds, the Recovery Zone
Bonds, the elimination of the alternative minimum tax on tax-exempt
bonds, extending the Federal Home Loan Bank authority to issue
letters of credit on tax-exempt non-housing bonds and continuing
the relief offered to bank-qualification 501(c)3 bonds. The Senate
version of the bill, which did not extend the provisions, passed on
Wednesday. CDFA is now encouraging interested parties to contact
their representative to ensure that the provisions are included in
the House bill. Read the CDFA latest update ...
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TBED People and Jobs
Job Corner
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2),
Community Innovation Services, is seeking a group manager for research.
The EI2 Community Innovation Services team supports communities
with economic and community development research, analysis and
planning. Projects range from strategic planning to workforce
analysis, from fiscal impact analysis of new or expanding firms to
sustainable development strategies for communities of all sizes.
The group manager is responsible for the successful completion of
all funded projects, for overseeing and advising a team of
high-performing project managers, and assigning projects to
individual team members within CIS.
The Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development is
seeking a program
director, Strategic Alliances, National Capital Region. This
individual will be responsible for building a collaborative program
of applied research between university faculty, and corporate and
government sponsors. Virginia Tech is a comprehensive, innovative
research university with more than $400 million research
expenditures in 2009 and off-campus research and educational
facilities in regions around Virginia. The newest of
these regional facilities will be the Virginia Tech Ballston
Center, a seven-story, 144,000 square foot, LEED certified
facility currently under construction in Arlington,
Virginia. Key research programs planned for the
facility will include informatics and cyber-security.
Read more job postings ...
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Staff Picks
TIP Announces $22M in Funding
Awards
NIST's Technology Innovation
Program (TIP) announced a total of more than $22 million in funding
for nine research projects targeting innovative manufacturing
technologies.
Read more ...
$30M Available for Next Generation Biofuels
The U.S. Department of Energy is now accepting applications for up
to $30 million for small-scale process integration projects that
support the development of advanced biofuels that will be able to
replace gasoline or diesel without requiring special upgrades or
changes to the vehicle or fueling infrastructure.
Read more ...
The Top Cleantech Countries
Twelve countries accounted for nearly 90% of cleantech inventions
between 2000 and 2005, according to an analysis of the E.U.'s World
Patent Statistical Database. Of those, Japan, the U.S. and Germany
accounted for 60% of patent awards.
Read more ...
Clean Cities Metrics Report Released
With clean energy tech a priority investment area for many states
and regions, the report provides useful data on market penetration
and opportunity for alternative fuel vehicle technologies in 87 US
metropolitan areas.
Read more ...
FCC: "Broadband" is
Scarce
By the end of 2009, 68 percent of 90.96 million reportable Internet
access connections fell short of the Federal Communication
Commission's latest definition of broadband,
which was bumped up this summer to 4 Mbit/s downstream and 1 Mbit/s
upstream.
Read more ...
NY Times: As China Rolls Ahead, Fears Follow
A growing number of economists now worry that China could be
stalled next year by soaring inflation, mounting government debt
and asset bubbles, according to the New York Times. Two
credit ratings agencies say China is still poised for growth, yet
they have also recently warned about hidden risks in its banking
system.
Read more ...
Cloud Computing Could Have Huge Economic Impact
$234.7 billion per year could be added to
Europe's major economies by 2015 thanks to cloud
computing, The Centre for Economics and Business Research revealed
in its recent 2011 Cloud Dividend report.
Read more ...
America Underestimates—and
Misunderstands—Its Economic Strengths
James Fallows makes the case for the U.S., arguing that while
successful, it misunderstands the origins of today's best-paying,
high-tech industries. Competitors around the world are now applying
the U.S. model in the race to build clean-energy, nanotech, and
health care industries.
Read more ...
Hawaii Hydrogen Infrastructure Gets a Boost
Ten companies, agencies and universities have joined an initiative
to make hydrogen-powered vehicles and a fueling infrastructure a
reality in Hawaii by 2015. The Hawaii Hydrogen
Initiative aims to integrate hydrogen as an essential
building block for Hawaii's sustainable energy ecosystem.
Read more ...
IN: Record Year for Life Sciences
A new report from the Indiana Economic
Development Corporation shows Indiana has received investment
commitments for more than 4,000 jobs from life sciences firms this
year. Twenty life sciences companies are planning future
investments of more than $570 million.
Read more ...
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