In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
Officials in Louisiana, Rhode Island Tout Tech Hub
Proposals
One is a proposed tech corridor focused on energy and
environment in southeastern Louisiana and the other is being called
a "knowledge district" meant to
capitalize on the life sciences sector in Providence, but both have
the same goal: growing high-tech industry sectors and creating
high-wage jobs. Though the concept has been around for decades and
is successful in many areas of the country, some states and regions
are just now finding their niche and gaining support to establish
tech hubs.
Officials from the University of Louisiana (UL) and business
leaders unveiled this week a proposed Regional Innovation Corridor
to be located in the southeastern part of the state. The area is
home to scientists, engineers, state and federal agencies, UL, and
other research groups, reports The Advertiser. Officials
will focus on industry sectors that make the most sense for the
region, including energy, environment, water management, and health
care, the article states.
In the Northeastern part of the country, Rhode Island Gov.
Lincoln Chafee recently toured the site of a proposed life sciences
hub in Providence called Knowledge District. Spanning 19-acres, the
area houses old industrial buildings being converted into research
space for Brown University. The university purchased multiple
buildings in the Old Jewelry District in recent years to become the
anchor of the new district, reports The Associated Press.
Legislation pending in the General Assembly will determine details
on development of the land. Gov. Chafee said in the article that
the life sciences hub is critical to the growth of the state and
city economy.
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HUD Announces $67M for Sustainable Regional Planning
Grants
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan
recently announced that $67 million will be available for a second
round of the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant
program. These grants support planning efforts that help create
sustainable communities that "connect housing to
jobs while fostering local innovation and building a clean energy
economy." While many of the
program's goals are centered on increasing
housing and transportation options, HUD also intends the grants to
contribute to regional economic development plans that take into
account current and emerging economic clusters.
HUD plans to make awards in two categories: one to support
communities in the initial development of a regional plan, and
another for communities to fine-tune their existing plan.
Applicants in the latter category may apply to help to bring their
regional plans in accordance with the six
"livability principles" established
by HUD's Partnership for Sustainable
Communities. These principles include:
- Providing more transportation choices;
- Providing equitable, affordable housing;
- Enhancing economic competitiveness;
- Supporting existing communities;
- Coordinating and leveraging investment; and,
- Valuing communities and neighborhoods.
Awards sizes will vary by regional population. As was the case
last year, $25 million will be reserved for grants to areas with
populations less than 500,000. Grants will be awarded competitively
to multi-jurisdictional and multi-sector partnerships, as well as
regional consortia consisting of local and state governments,
metropolitan planning organizations, educational institutions,
nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations.
In order to compete for these awards, regions must describe how
their effort will bring these organizations together to achieve all
six of the partnership's livability goals. This
includes planning for economic development activities. The
program's advance notice
(http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/sustainable_housing_communities)
outlines the variety of programmatic goals that meet the
program's economic development requirement.
Highlights of interest to the TBED community include:
- creation or expansion of existing commercial and industrial
centers;
- utilization of structures for new economic development
ventures;
- creation of small business incubators;
- creating economic development strategies to improve the global
economic competitiveness of a region;
- innovative project financing;
- training to support the full range of workforce and worker
needs in the region; and,
- supporting other local, state and federal programs that
strengthen regional economies, industry clusters and job
creation.
Read the announcement at:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-127.
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Excellent Networking & Marketing Opportunities
Available at SSTI's 15th Annual
Conference
As an SSTI Conference Sponsor, you have the chance to showcase your
organization with the decision makers responsible for crafting and
implementing local and state-level policies and programs that
directly contribute to the nation's competitiveness. Today's
marketplace is about belonging and staying connected. No other
event brings together so many of the nation's top players in the
TBED community.
The conference draws more than 300 representatives from 39
states and 190 organizations.
As a conference sponsor you gain:
- Access. You have the opportunity to interact and engage
with attendees during the conference. SSTI's conference provides
in-person networking that can't be beat.
- Exposure. You become a part of the TBED community's most
powerful network.
Please contact Noelle
Sheets to request a complete listing of the current sponsorship
opportunities.
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Most U.S. Metros will Struggle with High Unemployment through
2013, Study Predicts
A sluggish economic recovery, mostly due to no sustained upturn
in housing activity, combined with pressures from rising commodity
costs, supply-chain disruptions, and extreme domestic weather means
most U.S. metros can expect only minimal job growth by the end of
this year, according to a new report
prepared for the United States Conference of Mayors. Job growth in
2011 is expected to reach 1.2 percent and unemployment will not
fall below 8 percent until late 2013. Only in the first half of
2014 will unemployment in the U.S. match its previous peak level of
early 2008, the study finds.
Of course some metros will recover faster than others. Over the
past year, noteworthy improvements have been recorded in the
Midwest as the metros of the rust belt have rebounded from the
severe manufacturing layoffs of 2008 and 2009, the study finds.
Among the largest 100 metros, nine of the 20 greatest declines in
unemployment rate over the last year occurred in the Midwest with
Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Youngstown rapidly reversing
some of the steepest layoffs of the recession. These metros also
have the steepest climb to reach peak employment again, however.
Five metros in the Midwest are not expected to reach those levels
until 2020 or beyond. In all, 48 metro areas are not expected to
return to peak employment during this decade.
The study predicts a modest improvement for economic growth in
the U.S. for the second half of this year rising to 3.5 percent, up
from 1.9 percent growth in the first half. The U.S. Metro
Economies Report is available at: http://www.usmayors.org/metroeconomies/2011/report.pdf.
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14 Universities Rank Among Top U.S. Patent Owners
A recent report from the Intellectual Property Association
revealed the top 300 organizations granted U.S. patents in 2010.
IBM, Samsung and Microsoft led this year's list.
Fourteen universities, including 13 U.S. institutions and one from
China, made the top 300, according to The Chronicle of Higher
Education. Leading universities include the University of
California Regents, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
Stanford University. Read the full list...
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NIH Investments in 2010 Led to the Creation of 487,900 Jobs
In a report published by United for Medical Research, a
consortium of science and research medical organizations, Dr.
Everett Ehrlich found that extramural research supported by the
National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2010 (FY10) led to the
creation of 487,900 quality public and private sector jobs and
produced over $68 billion in new activity across the country.
According to the report, An Economic Engine: NIH Research,
Employment and the Future of the Medical Innovation Sector, the
$68 billion in new economic activity would represent over a 150
percent single-year return on public investment (approximately
$26.6 billion was awarded by NIH in FY10), counting total economic output
from the research as revenue. Ehrlich also found that
NIH supported research is an "important source of
income and employment" for all 50 states and the
District of Columbia.
Sixteen states experienced job growth of over
10,000 due to NIH support. In addition, six states received more
than $1 billion in research funding from NIH including California
($3.3 billion), Massachusetts ($2.4 billion), New York ($2.0
billion), Pennsylvania ($1.4 billion), Texas ($1.1 billion) and
Maryland ($1.0 billion). Ehrlich contends
NIH's impact goes well beyond these quantifiable
metrics by creating knowledge in the "medical
innovation sector." The initial NIH supported research
can lead to the creation of new goods and equipment and spur
private sector investments into research and development. Read the
report...
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Deadline for Award Applications Less than a Month
Away!
The application deadline for SSTI's 2011
Excellence in TBED awards is fast approaching. This is a
great opportunity to showcase on a national level the success of
your initiative. There are several resources to guide you in
writing your application. Download the conference
call detailing the awards program with helpful hints from past
judges and read
excerpts of well-written applications from previous award
winners. Winners will be announced during a special ceremony at
SSTI's Annual Conference in November.
Deadline to apply is July 19! Learn more at: http://www.ssti.org/Awards.
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Useful Stats
State Business Churn Data & Ranking, 2004-2009
Using data from the Small Business Administration's Office of
Advocacy, SSTI has prepared a table showing how each state (and the
District of Columbia) has ranked in business churning from 2004 to
2009. Business churning is a measure of the creation of new
companies and the death of existing companies as share of total
firms. Churning increases as the number of new start-ups and
existing business failures per year increase. A high level of
business churning can be linked to the presence of innovation and
growth in a state, since it may indicate the presence of
entrepreneurial activity and the transition to new industries.
Over this period, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah
have consistently been among the top performers. Connecticut, Iowa,
Louisiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin, on the other hand, have
continued to occupy the bottom tier.
Alaska showed the most improvement rising from 36th in 2004 to
6th in 2009. Other states that saw relative improvements include
Maine, Michigan and Ohio. Washington, however, saw a drastic drop
from 2nd to 47th over the same period. Tennessee and Maryland also
saw significant drops in the rankings. A slight methodological
change in data collection that occurred between the 2007 and 2008
reports might be attributable to the drastic change in rankings for
some states.
SSTI's table is available here.
Additional SSTI tables showing state business churning
statistics are available for 1998-2001 and
2002-2003.
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TBED People and Job Opportunities
TBED People
James Weyhenmeyer has been named the vice president for
Research and Economic Development at Georgia State University.
Previously, Weyhenmeyer was the senior vice provost for Research
and Economic Development in the Office of the Provost of the State
University of New York system. He succeeds Robin Morris, who has
assumed the position of associate provost for Strategic Initiatives
and innovation.
Robert McMahan Jr. has been named president of Kettering University.
McMahan joins Kettering from Western Carolina University, where he
was the founding dean and professor of The Kimmel School.
The Wisconsin Manufacturing
Extension Partnership has named Buckley Brinkman as its
executive director and chief executive officer. Brinkman succeeds
Mike Klonsinski, who left WMEP in January to become deputy
secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
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Staff Picks
Startup Foundation Organizing Entrepreneurial
Communities
Seven cities will be assessed for their entrepreneurial
resources and provided with guidance on how to better support
entrepreneurs through Startup Foundation, a sister organization
founded by Startup Weekend — a boot camp style
initiative for creating new companies.
Read more ...
HP Extends Entrepreneur Program
The company has added 40 new training centers to its global
program, HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs.
Read more ...
Politico: Energy-Tech Program in Tug-of-War
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a budget
to cut ARPA-E's funding to $100 million, marking
the latest stop in the energy spending roller coaster.
Read more ...
Blog Post on America's Future: Does it
Include Manufacturing?
In this Forbes post, Rebecca Bagley
answers with a resounding yes, but cautions that it will be
different than in years past as the recession has shaken things up.
Manufactures will have to innovate and draw upon strengths found
within clusters.
USA Today: Texas Wins in U.S. Economy Shift
During the past decade, Texas surpassed New York to become the
second largest economy in the U.S. behind California. States that
focus on raw materials, government and senior citizens have grown
while states that make things have shrunk, according to the
article.
CNN Money: How North Dakota Outpaced the U.S.
Economy
Up 7.1 percent from 2009, North Dakota's economy outpaced the
U.S. as a whole, which grew by a mere 2.9 percent last year. Click
on the
map to see how all 50 states fared in 2010.
Many STEM Teachers Lack Credentials
A survey from the National Center for Education Statistics found
about 30 percent of chemistry and physics teachers in public
schools did not major in those fields or earn a certificate to
teach those subjects.
Read more ...
TX Higher Ed Coalition Formed Amid Controversy
The group, which includes former regents, university system
chancellors and university presidents, was formed in the wake of a
controversy over Gov. Rick Perry's promotion of "seven breakthrough
solutions" written by Austin businessman Jeff Sandefer. The group
hopes to convince regents not to follow those recommendations.
Read more ...
Japan Reclaims Title of World's Fastest
Supercomputer
The K Computer currently combines 68544 SPARC64 VIIIfx CPUs,
each with eight cores, for a total of 548,352
cores—almost twice as many as any other system
in the TOP500.
Read more ...
Six Policy Imperatives for Maintaining Leadership in Med
Tech
America's leadership in medical technology is
being challenged as other nations are catching up. This article
outlines a competitiveness agenda proposing recommendations under
six broad policy imperatives.
Read more ...
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