In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
Legislative Wrap-Up: Support for TBED Initiatives in DE, ME,
NV, NC, TX
Lawmakers in several states wrapped up their 2011 sessions in
time for the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1 for most
states, allocating funds and passing bills in support of tech-based
economic development.
Delaware
Several of Gov. Jack Markell's economic
development proposals were approved by the legislature, including
the New Job Creation Tax Credit and Jobs Infrastructure Fund. The
New Job Creation Tax Credit (SB
40) makes permanent certain elements of the
state's Blue Collar Jobs Act Tax Credit and
increases the credit by 25 percent. The measure also extends the
scope of the credit to include clean energy technologies to attract
manufacturing facilities.
A new Jobs Infrastructure Fund aimed at accommodating relocation
or expansion of large employers and additional funding for the
state Strategic Fund are included in the FY12 Capital Budget signed
by the governor earlier this month. The bill allocates $40 million
in one-time special funds and authorizes $15 million in bonds for
the Infrastructure Fund. Another $31.9 million in general funds is
included for the Strategic Fund (a $1.5 million increase from
FY11), which is the primary funding source used by the Delaware
Economic Development Office to provide customized financial
assistance to businesses. EPSCoR will receive $1 million in FY12,
the same as last year.
The FY12 Capital Budget is available at:
http://budget.delaware.gov/fy2012/capital/cap_bond_bill_sb130.pdf.
Maine
Gov. Paul LePage earlier this month signed into law a
measure expanding the state's seed capital tax credit program.
Currently, the program provides a 40 percent tax credit for
investments in smaller, in-state businesses involved in
manufacturing, advanced technologies or out-of-state exports, while
a 60 percent credit is available in areas of high unemployment.
Under the new legislation, the 60 percent credit will be available
in all areas of the state. The bill also eliminates the up-front
tax credit that investors currently receive for investments in
private venture capital funds, in favor of a 50 percent credit for
investment by venture funds in eligible businesses.
Nevada
Lawmakers last month passed
AB 449, reorganizing the state's economic
development efforts and establishing a fund to provide grants and
loans to regional development authorities. The bill was a major
priority of Gov. Brian Sandoval announced during his State of the
State address (see the Feb.
2, 2011 issue of the Digest). Under the bill, a Board of
Economic Development is established and headed by a cabinet-level
officer appointed by the governor. The bill also creates a Catalyst
Fund to provide grants and loans to regional development
authorities. The fund is seeded with $10 million in FY12 in the
recently enacted budget.
The bill also establishes the Knowledge Fund for development and
commercialization of research and technology at the University of
Nevada-Reno, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and the Desert
Research Institute. An appropriation of $8 million each fiscal year
is provided for the fund through an annual transfer from the
operating budgets of the three institutions. The fund will be used
to recruit and hire research teams, construct research labs, and
provide matching funds for federal and private sector grants.
An Advisory Council on Economic Development also is created and
charged with attracting more businesses to the state.
North Carolina
North Carolina's budget continues to support
the life sciences industry in FY12, but at a slightly reduced
level. Overall, appropriations for life science activities are
reduced 3.9 percent in the coming year, compared to 8.2 percent for
all government operations supported by the general fund, reports
NCBIO. The North
Carolina Biotechnology Center, which received a 34 percent increase
in 2010 will be reduced by 10 percent in 2012 to $17.5 million. The
center administers workforce development programs, university
research grants, small business startup loans, life science
business recruitment, and agricultural biotechnology programs.
The Biofuels Center of North Carolina, charged with supporting
the development of a large-scale biofuels industry sector, will
receive $4.5 million, down from $5 million. No new funding was
appropriated for the One North Carolina Small Business Fund, which
received $1.5 million in non-recurring funds last year to make
matching grants for SBIR awards. Additionally, no new funding was
appropriated for the NC Green Business Fund, a competitive grants
program to help small businesses develop and commercialize green
technologies and services. Previous
years' funding included $1 million per year in
state appropriations during FY08 and FY09 and $5 million per year
in DOE funding via ARRA funds during FY09 and FY10. Legislators did
not reduce funding for the North Carolina Research Campus or the
University Cancer Research Fund.
The enacted budget, which was vetoed by the governor and
subsequently overridden by the legislature, is available at:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H200v9.pdf.
Texas
The state's two major economic development
funds will not lose funding over the next two years, but no new
funding was appropriated during the legislative session. The
2012-13 biennial budget signed by Gov. Rick Perry includes $140.5
million for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) and $150
million for the Texas Enterprise Fund, which is roughly the same
amount both funds have in unexpended balances as of the end of the
current biennium plus interest and earnings. The governor
recommended adding $15 million for the ETF, which provides grants
to emerging tech companies.
Gov. Perry signed into law a
bill establishing greater oversight of both funds amid
speculation regarding transparency and accountability. The bill
allows the lieutenant governor or speaker of the House to override
grants and awards under certain conditions. It also requires
greater reporting and calls for more information about
applicants.
Lawmakers passed a
bill during the session creating the Texas Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship
Program. Under the bill, public colleges and universities can
partner with businesses and industry to identify local employment
needs in STEM fields. The Higher Education Coordinating Board will
administer the program, and scholarship funds require a 50 percent
match from private funds.
Gov. Perry's proposal to freeze tuition was
not included in the final budget. However, a separate bill,
HB 2999, includes language permitting institutions of higher
education to develop a fixed tuition rate program for students who
transfer to the institution within 12 months of earning an
Associate's Degree. The bill was signed by the
governor.
The enrolled version of HB 1, the General Appropriations Bill,
is available at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/HB00001F.pdf#navpanes=0.
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Iowa Governor Signs Bill Creating Two New Economic
Development Entities
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed House File 590 into law,
establishing a new economic development public-private partnership.
The Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress (IPEP) will be comprised
of two separate entities — the Iowa Economic
Development Authority and the Iowa Innovation Corporation. Both
entities will be tasked with promoting and marketing the state to
attract new investments and jobs. IPEP replaces the
embattled Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED).
The Economic Development Authority will take over the current
responsibilities of the IDED. However, unlike the current IDED, the
Economic Development Authority will be run by a board of directors
comprised of private sector individuals. The governor will appoint
an 11-member voting board of directors comprised of private sector
individuals including representatives from small business, labor
and advanced manufacturing. The board also will consist of a seven
nonvoting, ex-officio members comprised of representatives from the
state legislature and higher education.
The Iowa Innovation Corporation, a nonprofit organization, will
focus its efforts on spurring innovation in the state. It will
receive and distribute funds from public or private sources
"to further the overall development and economic
well-being of the state." A seven-member board of
directors will be appointed, with an appointed chief executive
officer overseeing the day-to-day activities of the organization.
The passage of the bill achieves one of Gov.
Brandstad's top campaign priorities
to shift the state's economic development
efforts away from government and more toward the private
sector. According to
DesMoinesRegister.com, the governor believes IPEP,
"is needed to raise incomes 25 percent and create
200,000 jobs in the next five years"
— two of the governor's
campaign promises. Read the
bill...
The Iowa Business Council (IBC), a nonprofit organization
comprised of the leaders of the largest employers in the state and
the three public universities, also released a new report
that looks at the state's competitive advantage
relative to other states over a 10-year period between 2001 and
2010. The report outlined several positive economic indicators, including
Iowa's value as a percent of the gross state
product ranking second in the U.S. in 2010, up from eighth in 2001.
Higher education achievement also increased over the same time.
However, Iowa's overall competitive advantage
has increased only slightly relative to other states over the last
10 years. In the first Annual Iowa Competiveness Index,
researchers examined variables within five key areas of the state's
economy:
- Economic growth;
- Education and workforce readiness;
- Governance and fiscal matters;
- Health and well-being; and,
- Workforce demographics and diversity.
Researchers rated each of the five areas as improving (green),
no significant progress (yellow) or worsening (red).
Four of the five categories received a grade of
"no significant progress." Only
Health and well-being received an improving grade. Tom Aller, the
IBC's chairperson and president of Alliant Energy, regards the results as positive. "We've
got some real strengths, and if we build on these we can make some
real progress moving forward," said Aller. Read the
report...
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EDA Seeks Public Comments On New Competition
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has issued a
request for public comments on the structure of Economic Visioning
Challenge, part of the recently announced
Strong Cities, Strong Communities
(SC2) initiative (see the 07/13/11 issue for details). EDA will
administer the challenge, which will competitively select six
cities to receive $1 million grants so that those cities can offer
an "X-prize style" competition to
develop economic and community development proposals. Read the
request...
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New Report Outlines a Framework for K-12 Science
Education
In a Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices,
Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas, an 18-member committee
comprised of experts in education and scientists proposes a
foundation for new national K-12 science education standards. The report identifies core ideas in four areas that students should understand by the time they finish
high school. The four areas include:
- Life sciences;
- Physical sciences;
- Earth and space sciences; and,
- Engineering, technology and the applications of science.
"Rather than acquire shallow knowledge of many
topics," the report contends this framework would
"help students gradually deepen their knowledge
of core ideas in four disciplinary areas over multiple years of
school." It emphasizes eight specific practices of
science (e.g., asking questions, defining problems and
interpreting data) and evidence-based discussion. The
committee also identified seven crosscutting concepts that have
explanatory value across much of science and engineering
— such as "cause and
effect" and "stability and
change." According to the report, not only must
these concepts be taught in their core disciplines, teachers also
must use a common language for these concepts across disciplines,
so that students understand the same concept is relevant in many
fields. The National Research Council, a division of the National
Academies, authored and published the report. Carnegie Corporation
of New York sponsored the study. Read the report...
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ITIF Ranks U.S. Fourth in Global Index of Innovative
Economies
In an update of their 2009 The Atlantic Century report,
the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reports that
the U.S. continues to rank fourth in innovation-based
competitiveness and second-to-last in innovative progress. Among
the 43 nations included in the study, only Italy ranked lower than
the U.S. in improving their innovative competitiveness. Certain
U.S. regions performed much better than the country as a whole. For
example, Massachusetts, if taken as an independent economy, would
rank as the most innovative economy in the world. Read the
report...
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Useful Stats
Academic R&D Expenditures by Date and Source,
2004-2009
The District of Columbia led the country in per capita academic
R&D expenditures in 2009, spending about $543.19 per resident,
according to new data released by the National Science Foundation.
Maryland followed closely behind with $530.06 per resident, while
Massachusetts ranks a distant third with $373.60. While California,
New York and Texas led in total expenditures, smaller states, such
as North Dakota, Rhode Island and Hawaii placed in the top 10 for
per capita spending.
SSTI has prepared several tables with academic R&D
expenditures by state from 2004 to 2009. The tables include data
on total expenditures for each year, 2009 rank, per
capita expenditures, five-year change, expenditures by funding
source (federal government, state and local government, industry or
institutional funds) and federal funding per capita. (Tables also
available in Excel format.) In the coming weeks, SSTI will provide
additional data on R&D spending by science and engineering
field and the sources of funding by agency.
In the District of Columbia, about 82 percent of all academic
R&D spending derived from federal funds. Only Alaska received a
higher percentage (85.5) of its academic R&D funding from the
federal government. D.C.'s private institutions,
particularly Georgetown University and George Washington
University, led the district in R&D spending.
Maryland also received the bulk of its academic R&D funds
from the federal government (74.3 percent). The Johns Hopkins
University spent more than half of the state's
total and federally-sourced academic R&D funding.
The federal government provided 59.3 percent of national
academic R&D funding in 2009. State and local governments
provided 6.6 percent of total funding, industry sources provided
5.8 percent and the institutions themselves provided 20.4 percent.
The share came from other, non-specified sources. North Dakota had
the highest percentage of funds from state and local governments
with 23.1 percent. The campuses of North Dakota State University,
the state's leading institution for R&D
expenditures received a high percentage of its funds from
non-federal sources, with 32.9 percent from state and local
government and 24.6 percent from institutional funds.
North Carolina had the highest percentage of R&D funds from
industry with 12.3 percent. Duke University, in particular, had a
high share of industrial funds. (22.8 percent). Wyoming, with its
sole institution the University of Wyoming, led in
institutionally-sourced R&D expenditures. More than half (53.7
percent) of the university's expenditures came
from the university itself.
Read the NSF release at:
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf11313/.
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Staff Picks
Federal Debt Crisis Amid Record Surpluses in States
About 12 of the 46 states that just ended their fiscal year are
on track to record surpluses, reports the National Association of
state Budget Officers. At the same time, the federal government is
in the midst of a debt crisis.
Read more ...
Congress Trying to Expand the Qualified Therapeutic Discovery
Program
A bill introduced in May would expand the program through 2017
and provide funding of $1 billion per year. Supporters say it has
fulfilled its promise, delivering all its available $1 billion for
the 2009 and 2010 tax years to 2,923 biotech companies.
Read more ...
Publicly Submitted White Papers Available from TIP
TIP has several white papers across all areas of TBED available
for download. The papers are a result of input from the public,
industry and research communities. View the
papers.
NY Times: The Start-Up of You
A new book by the co-founder of LinkedIn says the uncertain,
rapidly changing conditions in which entrepreneurs start companies
is what it's now like for all of us fashioning a
career.
Read more ...
Report Calls for Linking Higher Ed Funding to
Performance
States should base financing for higher education on
ROI for taxpayers using such metrics as graduation rates, says the
National Governors Association.
Read more ...
New NGA Chair Announces Economic Initiative
Gov. Dave Heineman announced the Growing State Economies
initiative, which will provide governors with a set of policy
options shown to foster job growth. A major emphasis
will be on understanding how a small business becomes a
fast-growing firm and what policies support that transformation.
Read more ...
Students Face Double-Digit Tuition Hikes this fall
Students will pay double-digit tuition hikes in colleges and
universities across the country this fall. At least half the states
cut funding for higher education during the recent legislative
session.
Read more ...
Industry Week: Build a Plan for Manufacturing
Innovation
Douglas Woods, president of the Association of Manufacturing
Technology, argues the need for innovation-based public policy
initiatives that directly affect U.S. manufacturers and outlines a
three-part mandate touted by his group.
Read more ...
Kauffman Launches Online Entrepreneurship Program
The two-part program is based on a book drawing from eight
essential life lessons with narrated chalkboard presentations,
video interviews and case studies.
Read more ...
U.S. May Lose Competitive Edge in Nanotech, say
Supporters
In support of reauthorizing the National Nanotechnology
Initiative created in 2000, nanotechnology experts warn Congress
that nanotech needs more funding to remain competitive.
Read more ...
Washington Post: Outsourcing Reaches Rural
India
With many college grads and skilled workers wanting to stay in
their hometowns, India's smaller cities are fast
becoming the engines of the country's economic
boom.
Read more ...
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