SSTI Digest

A new chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) also means a new challenge and opportunity to improve state economies. This week, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, newly elected NGA chair, announced a year-long initiative designed to improve the capacity and effectiveness of states’ education and workforce training systems and to align those needs with the needs of employers. The initiative kicks off with an intensive effort among six to eight states that will develop and implement a policy agenda to build and strengthen education and workforce training. Referring to a degree or certificate as the “new minimum” in order to gain access to opportunity, Gov. Fallin also hopes to elevate the importance of postsecondary education through the initiative. Read more about America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow’s Jobs

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Utah. Our first four installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 issues of the Digest. ConnecticutGov. Dan Malloy, Biennial Budget Address, Feb. 6, 2013“... Even as we find savings, even as we continue to support our towns and cities — we have to work to grow jobs. “To start with, I am proposing the Bioscience Innovation Act. This new program will establish a 200 million dollar fund to strengthen Connecticut's bioscience sector over the next ten years. ... “... Historically, we've ranked among the top states for patents on a per-capita basis. But now, we're in a global economy. The competition has gotten stiffer. My proposal is that we get Connecticut and UConn back in the game, in a big way. We can do it with an injection of more than 1.5 billion dollars over the next ten years into a new program: Next Generation Connecticut. “This funding will drive innovation, enhance job creation and spur economic growth. It will allow us…

Former Oklahoma Treasurer Scott Meacham has been named president and CEO of i2E. LaunchTN announced Charlie Brock as the organization's new president and chief executive officer and Stuart McWhorter as the organization's new vice-chair. BioCrossroads President and CEO David Johnson was named President and CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, while continuing to lead BioCrossroads, CICP's life sciences initiative, along with his new duties at CICP. David Johnson succeeds Mark Miles. Dan Sharp has been named director of UT Austin's Office of Technology Commercialization. Sharp, who holds both law and engineering degrees from UT, formerly was associate director of intellectual property and licensing at the office. Dominick Murray, who joined the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development six years ago, will succeed Christian Johansson as secretary of the agency. Johansson is leaving for the private sector, after nearly four years as agency chief. Sharon Decker has been named secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Victor Smith will join Gov.-elect Mike Pence's Cabinet as…

In an era of tightening fiscal constraints, states have to make tough decisions, establish clear economic development funding priorities and transform their economic development models to take advantage of immediate opportunities and position their state for long-term economic growth. Mississippi, Oklahoma and Washington have released state-specific strategic plans that make those tough decisions by focusing their resources on key science & technology (S&T) areas to address the economic impacts of the Great Recession and position the state for future prosperity. Each strategic plan also calls for state government to engage the private sector to build partnerships that will help reduce costs and increase impacts. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi unveiled a comprehensive plan to capitalize on Mississippi's energy strengths and bring more energy jobs and research to the state. Endowed with diverse energy resources and a strong energy sector, the plan highlights energy-related activities possess tremendous opportunity for job growth and economic development in Mississippi. Developed in partnership with more than 50 private sector energy leaders…

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration. Winners include programs in AZ, CA, MI, OK, TN, NY, PA, and a WA and OR bi-state partnership, each receiving approximately $2 million in grants. See the complete list of challenge winners and their reward amounts here. This is the third in a series of multiagency Jobs and Innovation Accelerator challenges administered since 2011. Learn more...

A program envisioned nine years ago as a $1 billion endowment that would transform Oklahoma into the research capital of the Great Plains was eliminated last week by the legislature. The Economic Development Generating Excellence Fund, or EDGE Fund, which provided grants to high-tech companies, was unable to secure a long-term financial commitment from the state following an initial appropriation of $150 million in 2006. The balance of the fund, about $161 million, will be transferred to Oklahoma universities for the endowed chairs program to fund academic positions and research. Championed by former Gov. Brad Henry, the EDGE program was conceptualized in 2003 as an endowment to support strategically targeted research across the state. When fully funded, the endowment was expected to generate up to $40 million annually for investment toward matching grants to compete for federally funded centers of excellence, investing in capital for technology commercialization, and providing startup capital to attract researchers to the state, among other priorities. Legislation creating two oversight boards for EDGE was passed in 2006 (see the June 26, 2006 issue of the Digest).…

Tom Walker is departing i2E to join TechColumbus as CEO. Walker, a founding member of i2E, has served the private nonprofit for 14 years. Walker replaces Tim Haynes, who has been serving as interim CEO. Mark Herzog will step down as executive director of the Virginia Biotechnology Association on June 1. Herzog will serve as senior vice president for corporate and government affairs at Health Diagnostic Laboratory, a Richmond-based company that conducts clinical tests. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant named Brent Christensen executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority. For the past 10 years, he has served as president and CEO of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce in Florida. James Grunke has been named the president and CEO of the Missoula Economic Partnership. Grunke has been the interim director for the past six months. Steve VanNurden has been named president and CEO of Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, beginning in late May. VanNurden currently is chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures.

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan. 25, and Feb. 1 editions of the Digest. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, State of the State Address, Feb. 7, 2012 "And today I want to tell you about the best technology resource that you've never heard of. It's buried underground in Ohio. This will set us apart from every other state in America. "It's beyond high speed Internet. And I'm announcing today we're going to increase the speed of OARnet, from 10 gigabytes per second to 100 gigabytes per second and what does that mean? It's not Back to the Future with gigabytes. I mean, this really means something. ... This allows our research hospitals and universities to compete more successfully for the research grants that create breakthroughs in jobs. ... "We're also saying that it's not good enough to do research. If you don't commercialize and create jobs, what's the point? I can find you research on a top shelf in a building 140 years from now. Commercialize. Create jobs. Spinoff companies. "We can get that done, but it's going to…

Steve Biggers, deputy director, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has retired after 31 years of service to the state. He has served at OCAST for the last 19 years. Alex Lawrence has been named vice provost for Innovation & Economic Development at Weber State University. In this role, he will lead the Technology Outreach Center on campus that supports the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) technology economic development initiative. Lawrence succeeds Curt Roberts, who recently accepted a position at Utah State University as associate vice president of regional development and commercialization. Zack Brandon, former deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, has been named director of the Wisconsin Angel Network, effective April 18. He will succeed Joe Kremer, the network's director since its inception, who recently became president and CEO of Power Designers LLC. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin recently appointed Stephen McKeever, an Oklahoma State University research director, to her cabinet as her secretary of science and technology. McKeever currently serves as vice president for research…

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the Oklahoma Aerospace Engineer Tax Credit — reestablishing a tax incentive that was put on moratorium during last year's legislative session. The legislation extends tax credits of $5,000 a year for up to five years to engineers who are hired in Oklahoma. Under the law, companies receive a tax credit equal to 10 percent of the compensation paid to an engineering graduate from an Oklahoma institution of higher education. If the individual did not graduate from an Oklahoma institution of higher education, the company receives a five percent tax credit. The law also grants a tax credit of up to 50% of the tuition reimbursed to a new engineer graduate for the first four years of employment. Oklahoma's aerospace industry is a $12 billion a year industry that employs over 145,000 people. Read the press release...

Alabama then-Governor-elect Robert Bentley on January 3 named former House Speaker Seth Hammett as director of the Alabama Development Office, replacing Interim Director Linda Swann. He also appointed the president of the Birmingham-based Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Bill Taylor, to lead efforts to grow and retain existing Alabama industries, while at the same time recruiting new businesses to the state. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper nominated Dwayne Romero, president of Related Snowmass, to be the new director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Florida Governor Rick Scott fired John Adams, the current president of Enterprise Florida, so that he can choose a new leader to help promote his job creation and economic development agenda. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton chose Mark Phillips, director of development at Kraus Anderson Construction, as his commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the nomination of Kenneth Adams as president and CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation. Gov. Cuomo said the appointment is part of his plan to…

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 issues of the Digest. MarylandGov. Martin O'Malley, State of the State Address, Feb. 3, 2011"To create more jobs, we must leverage the power of our diversity... we must leverage the power of our geography... And we must harness the potential of Maryland's Innovation Economy: bio-tech, green-tech, clean-tech, cyber security, information technology, aerospace, global trade, and next generation manufacturing. ... "... Through InvestMaryland, you and I have the opportunity to unlock $100 million in venture capital. Why does this matter? Because seed and early stage money have all but dried up in the national recession. Passing this legislation can be the difference between running ahead or running in place. ... "... I need your support for the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act, not only to create more renewable energy in Maryland, not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Maryland,…