In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
Digest Celebrates 15 Years; SSTI Now on
Facebook
Fifteen years ago this week, the SSTI Weekly
Digest launched with two pages faxed to a distribution list of
56. We faxed it on Fridays because, at the time, Sprint offered
free faxing on Fridays. When we started the Digest, one of
our board members expressed concern about not having enough
material to produce a weekly newsletter; as it turned out, that's
never been a problem. As technology has changed, so has the
Digest, and we're always looking for the best ways to
communicate and get out the news. It seems fitting that after 15
years of publishing the Digest, SSTI would launch a Facebook
page. Betty White said on her Facebook-generated appearance on
Saturday Night Live, "I didn't know what
Facebook was. And now that I know what it is, I have to say it
sounds like a huge waste of time." We promise that if you "like" us
on Facebook, it won't be a waste of your time. It will be a primary
mechanism for getting you the latest news as fast as we can. The
Digest will remain the weekly source for the most important
news to the tech-based economic development community, but Facebook
will provide us an opportunity to get breaking news to you (and
some news about SSTI) as soon as we learn about it. So take a
moment, Facebook users, and join us by going to http://www.facebook.com/ssti.org.
Oh, and if you're interested in seeing the very first issue of the
Digest (and the original distribution list), go to: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2011/firstdigest.pdf.
From our avid supporters who have read nearly every article over
the last 15 years to our new subscribers who may have just read
their first Digest article, we sincerely thank you for your
readership.
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Department of Labor Commits $40 Million to Support Green
Jobs
The Department Labor (DOL) will commit $40 million to a new
Green Jobs Innovation Fund (GJIF). DOL intends to support up to
eight projects that will increase the number of individuals
who complete training programs for employment in green jobs."This
grant program is an important effort in supporting green
investments and equipping workers with the knowledge, skills and
abilities they need to succeed in green occupations," said
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. National and statewide
organizations with local affiliates that have existing career
training programs are eligible to apply for GJIF grants. Proposed
programs must benefit a minimum of six communities per grant.
Applications are due March 29, 2011. Read the announcement
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Expanding Tax Credits for R&D, Tech Commercialization
Among Govs' Priorities in NJ, LA
Recognizing the value in supporting companies that innovate to
create high-quality jobs, governors in New Jersey and Louisiana
recently outlined proposals to enhance tax incentives for R&D,
technology commercialization, and transferable tax certificates
during the upcoming legislative sessions. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris
Christie proposed increasing the R&D tax credit to 100 percent
and restoring full funding for the Technology Business Tax
Certificate Transfer program as part of his FY12 budget
recommendations. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his
intentions to work with the legislature to extend and enhance two
innovation-related tax incentives — the R&D
tax credit and the Technology Commercialization Credit/Jobs Program
— when the session convenes in April.
New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie's FY12 spending plan
provides funding to increase the state's R&D
tax credit and restore full funding for the Technology Business Tax
Certificate Transfer program. To capitalize on the
state's fastest growing sectors of the economy
such as life sciences, Gov. Christie proposed an increase in the
R&D tax credit for corporations to 100 percent, up from 50
percent beginning in FY12. Additionally, the governor
would restore full funding ($60 million) for the Technology
Business Tax Certificate Transfer program, which was cut in half
last year to help fill the budget deficit (see the July 14,
2010 issue of the Digest). The program allows promising
technology and biotechnology companies that currently are not
turning a profit to sell unused tax credits and use the capital for
equipment, facilities, or other allowable expenses. Read the
governor's FY12 budget summary: http://www.nj.gov/treasury/omb/publications/12bib/BIB.pdf.
Louisiana
Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his intentions to work with the
legislature to extend and enhance two innovation-related tax
incentives — the R&D tax credit and the
Technology Commercialization Credit/Jobs Program
— when the session convenes in April. Both
programs would be extended six years and enhanced by changing the
structure from a refundable credit to a rebate. The R&D credit
provides up to a 40 percent refundable tax credit for qualifying
R&D businesses activities and enables recipients of SBIR awards
to receive a tax credit worth 40 percent of their award. Similarly,
recipients of the technology commercialization credit receive tax
credits of 40 percent on business investments related to
commercialization activity. The governor also plans to work with
lawmakers to introduce legislation to improve the Digital Media Tax
program, which is available for video game development, software
development and digital media products. Read the
governor's press release:
http://www.gov.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&catID=2&articleID=2706&navID=12.
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Connecticut Gov Proposes Grant Consolidations, Incentives for
Large Companies
Citing a lack of coordination among the
state's economic development agencies as an
obstacle for small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to set up
shop, Gov. Dan Malloy unveiled a plan to consolidate job training
and grant programs as part of the 2012-13 biennial budget. The
governor's budget also would incentivize large
employers through a competitive program rewarding the first five
companies that create at least 200 new jobs within two
years.
Within the Department of Economic and Community Development
(DECD), the governor recommends $3.7 million in FY12 and $3.6
million in FY13 general funds for the Strategy and Policy program,
an increase from current levels, totaling $3.2 million. Of this
amount, $2.5 million each year is slated for a new Economic
Development Grants account. Several grant programs focusing on TBED
would be consolidated into the new account, and budget documents
note a reduction in funding for certain grants by 15 percent each
year. Grant programs slated for consolidation include: the Small
Business Incubator Program, Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Economy, Southeast
CT Incubator, CT Manufacturing Supply Chain, CONNSTEP, Development
Research and Economic Development Assistance, Nanotechnology Study,
Spanish American Merchant Association, and Small Business
Innovation Research.
Many of the state's job training programs,
including 21st Century Jobs and Opportunity Industrial
Centers, also would be consolidated into a new Jobs Training
account in DECD. The Office of Workforce Competitiveness and the
Commission on Culture and Tourism would be consolidated within DCED
under the governor's plan to reduce the number
of agencies by 30 percent.
Hoping to generate a significant number of new jobs over a
relatively short time period, the governor would combine existing
tax credits with new funding to entice businesses to create 200 new
jobs in two years or invest $25 million in a business development
project. The first five companies to sign onto the program also
would be exempt from certain statutory requirements that could
delay the delivery of incentive packages, according to the
governor's office. Additional funding for the
program would come from raising the cap on the Urban and Industrial
Site Reinvestment Tax Credit Program from $500 million to $700
million, raising the annual cap on the Job Creation Tax Credit
Program from $11 million to $20 million, and authorizing $80
million in additional bonding for the Economic Development and
Manufacturing Assistance program. Read the
governor's
bill.
In addition to spending cuts, Gov. Malloy's
budget calls for tax increases on individuals and corporations to
help fill a projected deficit of $3.2 billion. The state sales tax
also would increase from 6 percent to 6.25 percent and the property
tax credit would be eliminated. Budget documents are available at:
http://www.governor.ct.gov/malloy/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=473940.
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President's Council on Jobs and
Competitiveness Met for First Time
On February 24, 2011, the President's Council
on Jobs and Competiveness held its first official meeting.
President Obama opened the session with a
brief speech urging those in attendance to develop ideas that
will lay the foundation to win the future
over the long term. The purpose of this first meeting
was to develop new strategies that will lead to increased investment
in businesses, encourage hiring, create a highly-skilled
workforce, and attract new jobs and businesses to the country.
Visit the Council's
website
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Small Business Administration Announces a Startup America
Entrepreneurial Mentor Corps
The Small Business Administration(SBA) announced a new pilot program
that will to support more than 1,000 startup and earlystage firms
across the country. The goal of the Entrepreneurial Mentor
Corps' (EMC) is to mobilize
members of the current generation of successful business owners to
mentor and support startups and entrepreneurs to help them become
the next generation of great American companies. In
February, SBA Administrator Karen Mills announced one of the
EMC's first initiatives to match approximately
100 clean energy startups with mentors. Four regional
‘accelerators’ will identify and
match mentors with the clean energy startups. The four accelerators
funded in the initial stage of the EMC's clean
energy project include:
- CleanTech Open (Bay area and New England);
- CleanTECH San Diego (Southern California and the
Southwest);
- Clean Energy Trust (Midwest); and,
- Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization
(Mountain Region).
Read the Press
Release
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2011 Excellence in TBED Awards Program Kicks off in May; Entry
Fees Reduced
National recognition for your
organization's achievements is priceless. Past
recipients of SSTI's Excellence in TBED
Award tell us the recognition has helped to generate positive
publicity, raise funds, and attract the attention of key
stakeholders and legislators. SSTI's 2011
awards program kicks off May 17 with an open call for
applications. The awards showcase initiatives that greatly
impact state and regional economies through successful and
innovative efforts to: Commercialize and Expand Research Capacity;
Increase Access to Capital; Build a Culture of Entrepreneurship;
and Improve the Competitiveness of Existing Industries. Entry fees
are $75 for SSTI members and $95 for non-members. Learn more about
the program and our past recipients: http://www.ssti.org/Awards.
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Did You Know
Did You Know
- More than 3,000 TBED organizations use the Digest to
follow new trends and policies.
- 3,949 stories have been written to provide readers with
valuable, timely information on critical issues affecting the
tech-based economic development community.
- 844 subscribers have president or executive director in
their title.
- Thousands of subscribers from 57
countries read the Digest each week.
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TBED People and Job Opportunities
TBED People
Bob Crowley, president of the Massachusetts Technology Development
Corp., will step down June 30. Crowley has held the position
since 2002 and has been with the quasi-public agency since its
beginning in 1978.
Mitch Adams, executive director of the Massachusetts Technology
Collaborative is resigning after leading the agency for nearly
a decade.
Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, and Keith
Crisco, secretary of the
North Carolina Department of Commerce, have been named
co-chairs of the Southern Technology Council.
Thomas Guevara has joined EDA as deputy assistant secretary for
Regional Affairs.
Gray Swoope has been named president of Enterprise Florida. Swoope most
recently was executive director of the Mississippi Development
Authority.
Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of Ohio's Board of
Regents, has resigned his post a year before his five-year term
was set to end. Gov. John Kasich named former State Attorney General Jim Petro as the new chancellor
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Staff Picks
Senate Debates Patent Reform
In this post from IPWatchdog, Gene Quinn talks about the debate behind
legislation that would change the way the patent system works from
a first-to-invent system to a first-to-file system.
Read more ...
Supreme Court Considers Ownership of University
Patents
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is considering whether patents on
inventions that arise from federally funded research should go to
the university where the inventor worked.
Read more ...
WIPO Director Addresses the Future of Copyright
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said the central question
facing the evolution of copyright policy is how to maintain a
balance between availability of cultural works at affordable prices
while assuring a dignified economic existence for creators and
performers.
Read more ...
GAO Identifies Savings through Eliminating Duplicative
Federal Programs
The report presents 34
areas where agencies, offices or initiatives have similar or
overlapping objectives. Savings through eliminating or streamlining
programs could result in billions of dollars in savings annually,
the report finds.
Read more ...
American Women Surpassing Men in Educational Attainment, but
Still Paid Less
The first comprehensive federal report on American women in 50
years finds women are more likely than men to have a college or
graduate degree, but
income equality in the workforce is still persistent.
Read more ...
New York Times: New Mexico's Bet on
Space Tourism Hits a Snag
>After years of planning and development to prop up New
Mexico's economy, it is still unclear when
Spaceport America, built for commercial space travel, will launch
its first flight.
Read more ...
Tech Groups Launch TechVoice, Connecting IT Businesses with
Policymakers
CompTIA and the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA)
last week launched TechVoice, an online public advocacy platform
providing tools to create a digital community representing the
interests of the information technology industry.
Read more ...
SSTI Award Winner Featured in Video
Sheryl Bryan, SSTI's 2007 Award winner in the
category Enhancing the S&T Workforce, talks about the
skills job seekers need to land high-tech manufacturing jobs.
View the Video
Tech Transfer Report Examines Best Practices
This report from Apax Partners with help from Economist Intelligence Unit aims to inspire
a deeper understanding of technology transfer by examining the
enablers and hallmarks of best practice in technology transfer in
five countries: France, Germany, Israel, the UK, and the U.S.
Read more ...
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