SSTI Digest

With the passage of the state's biennial budget, North Carolina's small businesses are now eligible for follow-on support from the state for research projects funded under the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

A provision in the budget creates the One North Carolina Small Business Fund, a special revenue fund of up to $3 million to be used for the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Incentive Program and the North Carolina SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program. Both programs will be administered by the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology.

Joan Myers, president and CEO of Raleigh-based N.C. Technology Association, is the 2005-2007 president for the Council of Regional Information Technology Associations (CRITA).

Ronnie Bryant, president and chief operating officer for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, is leaving to become president and CEO of the 16-county Charlotte Regional Partnership in North Carolina.

Building high-quality communities is the underpinning of long-term economic development, suggests new Southern Growth Policies Board research. A report published by Southern Growth, The New Architecture of Rural Prosperity, states that although measurable progress has been made in the past several decades, the rural South continues to lag the nation in educational achievement, health care and economic performance.

The inclusiveness in the development of the report's recommendations is a credit to Southern Growth. More than 2,200 southerners participated in focus groups, forums and surveys to provide input. Participants indicated that lack of job opportunities for educated young people and quality of education are the biggest barriers to economic prosperity in their communities.

The South represents 20 percent of the nation's economic activity but attracts only 9 percent of the total U.S. venture capital invested. In an effort to bring those numbers closer together, the Southern Growth Policies Board recently announced the creation of a multi-state task force dubbed VentureSouth. Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a former venture capitalist himself, will chair the group as it develops strategies to increase the flow of venture capital in the 14-state region.

Membership in the task force will be capped at 100 firms, with participants primarily coming from the private sector - entrepreneurs and professionals in the venture capital industry. The remaining members will be comprised of policymakers - governors, legislators and state government science and technology directors.  The membership fee to join VentureSouth is $500.

As low-skill, labor intensive jobs are increasingly replaced by technology or outsourced in the emerging knowledge-based economy, a two-tiered labor market has emerged, thus presenting a challenge for workers to either work cheaper or work smarter, says a new report from the Southern Growth Policies Board. Only one of those options is appealing for those trying to improve your standard of living.

Refusing to have the region left behind, Southern Growth developed a goal to create the talent pool needed to meet ongoing market needs and opportunities. The Southern Workforce Index is a working plan for tracking the South's progress in developing a knowledge-economy workforce and is intended as a guide for states to pursue their own individualized strategies.

Diane Duff, former director of economic development and commerce for the National Governors Association, is the new executive director of the Southern Governors' Association.

Western Carolina University (WCU) Chancellor John Bardo recently unveiled plans for a comprehensive regional economic development strategy that would more than double the size of the campus and promote university-industry partnerships.

The recent acquisition of 344 acres adjacent to the current campus would be used to develop a Millennium Campus at WCU, similar to traditional technology parks. The university likens the campus to a multi-use neighborhood that would encompass a mix of academic buildings, research facilities, business, industry, and housing. State-approved legislation in 2000 made it possible for University of North Carolina institutions to seek public-private partnerships and also authorized the Millennium Campus.

The rapid increase in federal spending for defense and homeland security has led a number of states to establish initiatives targeting potential economic development from these activities. North Carolina becomes the latest of those states, with its proposed Defense Technology Innovation Center.

The North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA), in collaboration with MCNC, has presented a formal plan to develop the incubator/accelerator in Cumberland County. The plan aims to convert North Carolina's technology and R&D assets into products and companies, emphasizing the state's military presence to enhance economic development in the region, said NCTA.

Tom White, president of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, announced he will resign his position after 28 years with the organization.

John Merrill will serve as executive director for the Greensboro Center for Innovative Development, a joint millennium campus and research park between University of North Carolina Greensboro and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Earlier this month, Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced Darrell Brock and Jim Host as new co-chairmen of ConnectKentucky. Brock, commissioner of the governor's Office for Local Development, and Commerce Cabinet Secretary Host joined existing chairman John Hall, retired chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc.