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SSTI Digest
Geography: Michigan
Proposed Michigan Budget Offers New Incentives for Job Creation
Gov. Jennifer Granholm unveiled her fiscal year 2009 budget last week, proposing to refinance a portion of the state’s general obligation and taxable tobacco bonds and reduce spending across nearly all state departments in order to finance new proposals without raising taxes.
In addition to the proposed use of $150 million in pension funds for Invest Michigan! (see related article in this issue), Gov. Granholm outlined several other TBED-focused during her State of the State Address (see the Jan. 30, 2008 issue of the Digest). One of those initiatives – the Michigan Job Creation Incentive – would be paid for by capitalizing on the sale of state bonds. Under the proposal, new businesses in the top 50 growing sectors are not required to pay any taxes the first year of the tax cut, and existing top 50 growth-sector businesses will get a triple tax credit on their Michigan Business tax.
To support the alternative energy industry throughout the state, Gov. Granholm recommends:
People & TBED Organizations
William "Chip" Farmer was named interim director of the Greater Richmond Technology Council. Farmer replaces Robert Stolle, who left in December 2007 to join Core Consulting, a business and information technology consulting firm.
Hiring Additional Tenure-Track Faculty as a TBED Strategy
The University of Michigan announced last month that it will spend $30 million in the next five years to hire an additional 100 junior tenure-track faculty members to build multidisciplinary research and degree programs. Additionally, the university will participate in the Michigan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, a partnership between the state’s public universities and foundations that would provide entrepreneur training to interested members of the faculty and increase the amount of gap-funding to push research discoveries to market.
Hiring additional faculty on the tenure-track is another strategy for building the research capacity of an institution, in addition to the popular policy of seeking and hiring extremely prolific “star” researchers.
Will the long-term strategy of hiring increasing numbers of tenure track faculty become more commonplace?
People
Daniel Krichbaum was named Gov. Jennifer Granholm's new chief operating officer, replacing Mary Lannoye who left the administration as chief of staff.
Michigan Lawmakers Approve Budget: 21st Century Jobs Fund Spared, Three Universities Receive Special Status
For the better part of the year, lawmakers in Michigan have faced the daunting task of balancing both a budget shortfall for fiscal year 2007 and a nearly $1.6 billion deficit for FY 2008. An agreement between Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers was reached in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, following a one-month extension of the deadline and a brief government shutdown.
Foundations Commit $100M for Detroit’s Next Economy
Ten foundations have joined forces to create an eight-year $100 million New Economy Initiative for southeastern Michigan, with a goal of transitioning the region’s economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries. Three foundations, Ford, Kellogg and Kresge – each created from the personal fortunes made by some of the founders from the state’s historic economic bases – have contributed $25 million toward the effort. Additional support ranging from $1.5 million to $10 million is being provided by seven other community foundations.
The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan will provide organizational management for the effort, which, according to the Sept. 14 Detroit Free Press, will be chaired by Steve Hamp, brother-in-law and former chief of staff to Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford. A search is underway to hire an executive director for the effort.
Report Finds Michigan’s University Research Corridor an Asset to Economy
Public universities in most states compete with other state priorities for appropriations each year or two-year budget cycle. With the state’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, no new budget passed by the legislature and a projected state revenue deficit of more than $1.5 billion for 2008, universities in Michigan may feel greater pressure to assert their importance to the state’s economy. The recent release of an independent analysis of the economic impact of the state’s three research universities, collectively known as the University Research Corridor (URC), may provide timely support for the argument to sustain or increase state investments in its higher education establishment.
Findings of the analysis indicate the URC is a major asset to the state’s economy, with contributions of $12.8 billion in 2006. The URC helped create 68,803 jobs in the state and produced 54 percent of the state’s science and engineering degrees, according to the analysis.
People & TBED Organizations
The business development organizations Ann Arbor SPARK and Ann Arbor IT Zone are in the process of finalizing a merger. The resulting organization will be Ann Arbor SPARK.
People
Rich Cook has joined the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative as venture center director.
People
Lisa Kuuttila is the first CEO of Michigan State University Technologies, a business organization to train MSU students in the commercialization of science and technology.
People
The New York Biotechnology Association has named Nathan Tinker its executive director, replacing Karin Duncker, who resigned in 2006.
Depot Redistributes Life Sciences Equipment to Michigan Companies
The Michigan Innovation Equipment Depot has distributed its first round of life science research equipment to start-ups around the state. The Depot program, developed by Pfizer, Ann Arbor SPARK, MichBio and Michigan's SmartZones, redistributes previously used life science laboratory equipment to new Michigan companies. More than $655,000 and 131 items were awarded in the inaugural round to 18 applicants. The value of this equipment ranged from $25 to $125,000 -- an average of $4,404 per item.
The program is designed to accelerate life science commercialization by reducing the overhead equipment costs of new startups. In order to participate, companies must apply through their local SmartZone representatives and demonstrate a critical need for the equipment, as well as a positive economic impact for the state.