SSTI Digest

SSTI annual conferences don't come in a box. We don't publish proceedings or post conference materials. Each year's event is designed as an intensive learning experience; it's about the question and answer, the give and take, the push and pull, the dialogue as much as the individual presentations. You have to be present to win, if learning and growing is winning. We think it is.

We're happy to say we know of multimillion-dollar state science & tech initiatives that have been launched as a direct result of the ideas, the enthusiasm, and the energy that past conferees took home after attending SSTI annual conferences. The key was the dynamic nature of the experience.

Need yet another reason why this conference fits your training needs? SSTI’s 8th Annual Conference is recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as a professional development event that counts toward the recertification of Certified Economic Developers (CEcDs).

CEcDs greatly enhance their skills and marketability by attending the nation’s most comprehensive and intensive learning opportunity for building tech-based economies — SSTI's annual conference!

Seattle 2003 Sold Out. Register Early to Ensure a Seat in Philadelphia We heard from some of you last year about your disappointment and disbelief that you couldn't attend our annual conference in Seattle because it was sold out. It happens with SSTI conferences because our first concern is the quality of the event for our participants.

We feel it's tough to have productive discussions continue and build from breakout session to session or to count on running into the same new friends when you are one of a 1,000 or even 500 registrants. So we limit attendance.

Frank Horrigan is leaving Innovation Works in Pittsburgh to become director of the Governors Action Team SW Regional Office.

Pete Tartline has resigned his position as president and CEO of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania.

Financial success for any start-up tech firm more often depends on adequate financing and proper management than the specific technology, experts say. Two tech-based economic development organizations in Pittsburgh have formed a new alliance to offer entrepreneurial life science firms with an eye toward greater sustainability and profitability.

The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG), a partnership to put the region's life sciences industry on a fast track for growth, and Idea Foundry, a nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs transform their ideas into sustainable businesses, entered into a joint funding agreement for early stage medical device companies.

A study released last week by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development finds that, within a region, universities are best able to affect the growth of young, emerging clusters. The study, Universities and the Development of Industry Clusters, concludes a "university must have a large base of research and development in order to significantly impact a cluster..."

For a university to have the maximum benefit for local cluster development, the institution must align services and community involvement with regional interests and industry clusters across a broad spectrum, not just in terms of technical knowledge and R&D. In other words, the university needs to actively address business, workforce and community issues in addition to developing an exceptional research capacity.

Jill Felix, chief executive officer of the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, has announced she is stepping down.

The Allegheny Conference on Community Development announced the following three staff appointments: Leigh McIntosh was named special projects director, Katherine Needham is a new senior vice president, and Roger Cranville will serve as senior vice president of business investment for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

A significant reduction in employment among southwestern Pennsylvania's technology industries in 2002 was not enough to offset signs of a turnaround, according to new data released by the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC). Over the second half of the year, a turnaround began to emerge and technology companies accounted for nearly 17.5 percent of the region’s workforce, PTC's annual State of the Industry Report shows. The region's technology industries also experienced an average 4 percent increase in annual wages.

Released last month, the PTC report attempts to take a deeper look at the emerging technology clusters found in southwestern Pennsylvania. The updated report considers the contributions of technology companies to the 13 counties comprising the region, drawing on growth numbers from 2002.

Shortly after a General Assembly vote last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell announced the bipartisan approval of the remaining components to the state’s economic stimulus package. The governor's plan is intended to fuel major new investment in communities across the state.

Eight final programs were approved by the General Assembly, adding to the previous five that were passed in December 2003 and February 2004. The passage of all components of Pennsylvania's stimulus package calls for more than $2 billion in investment to attract at least another $5 billion in private investments for community revitalization, site preparation, infrastructure improvement and construction, and businesses. The investments will focus on high-growth companies and provide resources to allow traditional industries such as manufacturing access to new technologies in order to enhance productivity, according to the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Looking to jumpstart the federal policy process regarding broadband Internet access, the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) has released A Nation of Laboratories, Broadband Experiments in The States, a report examining various broadband policies and programs nationwide.

In its report, APT recognizes that some states have productive programs in place, while others have none at all. APT contends that only a national policy can ensure full and equitable access to advanced telecommunications services.