In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
CT Gov Signs Jobs Bill, FY11 Budget Agreement
A jobs bill that garnered near unanimous support in both
legislative chambers was signed into law by Gov. Jodi Rell last
week. The bill includes pre-seed funding for innovative ideas, a
program authorizing tax credits for insurers investing in many
different types of businesses, including technology startups,
student loan reimbursements to retain green collar workers, a small
business loan pool, and a green manufacturing pilot program.
The enacted
jobs bill includes several components introduced by Gov. Rell
earlier this year as part of an economic recovery package (See the
Feb.
10, 2010 issue of the Digest). Specifically, the new
legislation:
- Authorizes $5 million in bonds for Connecticut Innovations,
Inc. to provide capital and support services to businesses
developing new concepts;
- Authorizes personal income tax credits for angel investors who
invest at least $100,000 in Connecticut start-up businesses in
specified sectors. The credit equals 25 percent of the cash
investment, up to $250,000;
- Expands the focus of Connecticut's Insurance Reinvestment Tax
Credit Program so investors may receive credits for a broader array
of investments. Qualifying funds must invest in small,
Connecticut-based companies, with a minimum of 25 percent of
investments going to green technology companies;
- Provides student loan reimbursements to eligible students who
obtain a degree in green technology, life science, or health
information technology fields and work in the state for at least
two years. The cap is $10,000 for residents holding a bachelor
degree and $5,000 for those holding an associate degree;
- Establishes a revolving loan program for small businesses and
nonprofit organizations by using up to $15 million in bonds
authorized for Manufacturing Assistance Act projects. Up to
$500,000 is available for loans and lines of credit to businesses and nonprofit
organizations employing fewer than 50 people.
- Authorizes $500,000 in bonds for a pilot program to help
manufacturers convert their facilities into green operations or
implement energy efficiency measures by using lean manufacturing
strategies; and,
- Establishes a 21-member council to promote the state's industry
clusters.
Gov. Rell also signed into law a budget agreement for FY11,
which makes adjustments to the second year of the biennium.
Lawmakers passed the 2009-11 biennial budget last September, which
became law without Gov. Rell's signature (see
the September 16,
2009 issue of the Digest). In December, the governor
ordered a special session to address a projected $466.5 million
budget gap in the current year.
Following are FY11 appropriations for technology-based economic
development (TBED) programs within the Department of Economic and
Community Development:
- $760,000 for CONNSTEP, which provides consulting and training
solutions for Connecticut's manufacturing
industry;
- $500,000 for the Small Business Incubator program;
- $300,000 for Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT)
Manufacturing Supply Chain, which provides services to help small-
and medium-sized manufacturers remain competitive; and,
- $225,625 for Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Economy.
No FY11 funding is included for Entrepreneurial Centers or CCAT
Energy Application Research. Within the Office of Workforce,
$140,000 is appropriated for the Nanotechnology Study and no FY11
funding is included for SBIR matching grants.
A
proposal to merge Connecticut Innovations (CI) and the
Connecticut Development Authority into a newly formed quasi-public
authority failed in the legislature. Connecticut Innovations raised
concerns that the new authority's mission likely would be less focused on the technology economy and
venture investing than CI's current mission.
SB 494, An Act Making Adjustments to the State Expenditures for
FY11, is available at: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/s/pdf/2010SB-00494-R00-SB.pdf.
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$220M Awarded to 15 Communities for Health IT Pilot
Program
Fifteen communities across the U.S. recently were selected to
implement health information technology (IT) infrastructure and
servicing as part of an overall $100 billion federal investment in
science, innovation and technology through the American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act. These pilot communities will receive
a total $220 million for projects that include providing better
control of blood pressure for diabetic and hypertensive patients,
improvements in care coordination and chronic disease management,
and reductions in preventable emergency department visits and
re-hospitalizations. The goal of the Beacon Community program is to
demonstrate that widespread adoption of health IT and exchange of
health information is both feasible and improves care delivery and
health outcomes, which in turn is expected to facilitate job
creation in emerging industries.
Read the announcement ...
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Foundations Invest $506 Million in Education Innovation
Fund
A coalition of twelve private foundations will contribute
$506 million to support U.S. education innovation and reform
efforts. A portion of the contribution will be designated to match
funds from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing In
Innovation Fund (i3), which offers grants to local agencies,
nonprofits and school districts to support innovative education
initiatives. Find out more
about the fund ...
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Bioscience Jobs Grew During Recession, Says
Report
During the first year of the current U.S. recession, the bioscience
industry continued to create jobs, according to a recent report
from the Battelle Memorial Institute and the Biotechnology Industry
Organization (BIO). While overall employment fell by 0.7
percent in 2008, U.S. bioscience employment grew 1.4
percent. Though the authors acknowledge that the full impact of the
crisis was not felt until 2009 (for which employment data is not
yet available), evidence indicates that biotech companies were not
as negatively affected as other firms. In fact, several performance indices of
publicly-traded biotech companies indicate that the
industry has grown since October 2007, something no other sector in
S&P 500 has done.
Between 2001 and 2008, bioscience employment grew
15.8 percent, 4.5 times more than the overall economy. Bioscience
wages also are outpacing national private sector wage growth. Since
2001, real earnings in the bioscience industry have increased 10.1
percent, reaching $77,595 in 2008. Other private sector jobs grew
only 3.2 percent during that period.
The report divides the bioscience industry into four
subsectors: agricultural feedstock & chemicals, drugs &
pharmaceuticals, medical devices & equipment, and research,
testing & medical laboratories (RT&ML). Much of the
growth between 2001 and 2008 was driven by the RT&ML sector,
which experienced a 46.1 percent increase in employment. The sector
added 176,000 jobs during that period and now accounts for 39
percent of bioscience employment. Between 2007 and 2008, RT&ML
grew 2.1 percent, representing a significant slowdown from earlier
growth. Agricultural feedstock and chemicals created the most jobs
between 2007 and 2008, increasing employment by 4.6 percent, while
drugs and pharmaceuticals jobs fell by 2.3 percent.
One distressing trend noted in the report is a decreasing amount of
venture capital available for bioscience companies. As the economic
crisis tightened capital markets, venture capital investment in
bioscience companies fell by 36.7 percent. In 2009, investment fell
below 2004 levels. Federal funding for extramural bioscience
research also is becoming more scarce. Setting aside Recovery Act
funding, funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
decreased 7.46 percent between 2008 and 2009. The report recommends
increasing NIH funding for bioscience research to maintain funding
levels after the recession.
The authors also warn that current trends in K-12
math and science education may lead to problems in the future.
Though the number of post-secondary bioscience graduates grew 12.8
percent between 2006 and 2008, a study by Battelle and BIO last
year indicates that future graduates may not have the STEM
knowledge and skills needed by bioscience companies
In addition to data about the overall U.S. and state
bioscience industries, the report highlights state initiatives
intended to support bioscience companies and research. The full
report and state-by-state profiles are available
at: http://www.bio.org/local/battelle2010/.
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Federal Funding for Basic Research Increasing, NSF Says
A recent report from the National Science Foundation (NSF) shows that
funding for general science and basic research grew by 17.5 percent
between 2008 and 2010. The report divides federal R&D funding
into 20 categories defined by their function. Basic research
comprises 7.2 percent of the proposed FY10 budget, up from 6.2
percent in the actual FY08 budget. Meanwhile, national defense, the
leading target of federal R&D funding, dropped from 59 percent
of total funding to 57 percent. Read the report
...
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Conference to Celebrate South's Auto
Industry
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear will host a conference sponsored
by the Southern Technology Council exploring changing consumer demands and global competitions in the Southern automotive industry. The conference,
titled Driving the Next 20 Years: Creating the New
Automotive Industry in the South, will feature speakers from
Toyota, Ford, Daimer and Nissan and panel discussions on auto
R&D, site location and supporting the industry. The event will
be held June 7-8 in Lexington, KY. Read more about the
conference ...
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JumpStart Shares Best Practices in SSTI Interview
A nationally recognized nonprofit organization creating economic
transformation in Northeast Ohio, JumpStart Inc. provides
resources to entrepreneurs leading high potential, early-stage
companies. JumpStart CEO Ray Leach discusses how the organization
has successfully partnered with regional organizations and
philanthropic institutions to achieve its tremendous success.
Download the
interview ...
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TBED People and Job Opportunities
Job Opportunities
Automation Alley in Troy, MI is seeking a business
accelerator client coordinator. Some of the responsibilities
include managing business accelerator client process from intake to
referral and ongoing client support, coordinating with shared
services for administrative functions and maintaining accurate
SalesForce information for all clients.
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Staff Picks
NASA Labs in Rough Shape
Years of neglect have left many NASA labs that might be used for
such research in rough shape, indicates a report from the National
Research Council.
Read more ...
ARPA-E Awards $106M to 37 Research Projects
ARPA-E has announced 37 research projects that receive
$106 million in a second round of competition. The projects are
located in 17 states.
Read more ...
$60M Available for Small Business Clean Energy
Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy announced that $60 million is
available for SBIR Phase II projects.
Read more ...
Forbes Highlights 11 State Programs
Eleven state programs for tech companies are highlighted in a
Forbes.com slide show. While the information provided is not as
in-depth as Forbes labels it, it's nice to see
them recognize at least some of what the states are doing.
Read more ...
Inc. Writes Up the Youngstown Story
Youngstown, OH has an intriguing economic development strategy
that Inc. magazine does a nice job describing.
Read more ...
Scientists Seeking NSF Funding Will Need to Submit Data
Management Plan
Come this fall, NSF is planning to require that all proposals
include a data management plan in the form of a two-page
supplementary document. The specifics of the anticipated changes
and the agency's expectations for the data management plans will be
released later.
Read more ...
Graduate Education Vital to U.S. Future
A new report from the Commission on the Future of Graduate
Education contends that graduate education remains the engine of a
highly skilled workforce, yet is currently vulnerable on several
fronts. The report argues that developing human talent must become
a national priority and graduate education must be an essential
component of a national innovation strategy.
Read more ...
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