SSTI Digest

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.

It's easy to recognize a great thing when you see it. Over the years, judges of the SSTI Excellence in TBED awards program have seen promising tech-based economic development initiatives worthy of showing off to the community. If your organization is working toward improving economic conditions through a creative approach, we want to hear about it. This is a great opportunity to capture national recognition and secure support for your program. Judges also look for strategic partnerships and a well-defined action plan. Don't forget to register for the June 5 informational call for helpful hints and tips on writing an outstanding application. More information is available at: http://www.sstiawards.org/.

House lawmakers fell short of overriding Gov. Paul LePage's veto of a $20 million bond for R&D projects that would have gone to voters in November following passage in the legislature earlier this month. The money would have been used by the Maine Technology Institute to provide competitive grants to businesses, nonprofit organizations, university research labs and others for R&D and commercialization projects through the Maine Technology Asset Fund (MTAF).

MTAF was formed in response to the voter-approved $50 million bond to help grow the state's economy through high-tech investments in 2007. Another $3 million was approved in 2010. MTAF has achieved significant results through its $53 million investment. Since 2008, MTAF has invested in 35 R&D projects across Maine and leveraged $82 million in private and federal funds to create new jobs and support new product development.

Michigan State University (MSU) launched Spartan Innovations, a newly formed subsidiary of the MSU Foundation, to help its faculty and students form spin-off companies based on technology developed at the university. To achieve this goal, it will provide five key resources to increase the MSU startups including:

• University-wide entrepreneurship education;
• Student stipends to support participation in hands-on new business learning situations;
• CEO mentors-in-residence to help manage new business startup projects;
• Access to a network of external new venture investors; and
• Gap funding to support the earliest stages of MSU technology development.

Spartan Innovations also will collaborate with MSU Technologies, the university's technology transfer office, MSU Business-CONNECT and regional partners to spur local entrepreneurship. Visit Spartan Innovations' website...

Northeast Ohio's Lorain County Community College (LCCC) plans to bring its unique approach to entrepreneur assistance to other parts of the country with support from the Kauffman Foundation. On Thursday, LCCC announced a $1 million grant from Kauffman would help establish pilot versions of the community college's Innovation Fund in three U.S. communities. The current Innovation Fund provides entrepreneurship education, mentoring and early stage funding for the region's startups. The nationwide effort, dubbed Innovation Fund America, will select its three new communities in the next few months. Read the press release...

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the creation of the Massachusetts Big Data Initiative, a number of steps and initiatives that will help turn the state into a world leader in big data — the collection and analysis of data that is too big, growing too fast or is too complex for existing information technology systems to handle. To achieve this goal, the state will partner with several private partners and research institutions to establish several new initiatives including:

The Obama Administration has released details on this year's $26 million Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a multi-agency initiative to assist in the development and implementation of regionally-driven economic development strategies that support advanced manufacturing and cluster development. The challenge will fund approximately 12 new awards, each with a project period of up to three years. The deadline for applications is July 9, 2012. An informational webinar for the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs Accelerator will be available in approximately two weeks at www.manufacturing.gov/accelerator/index.html

Although the U.S. has been at the forefront of the life sciences revolution, a lack of sustained federal funding in biomedical research and intensified competition are threatening its global leadership, finds a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Another problem for the U.S. is a lack of consistency and predictability in the level of biomedical research funding — particularly through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For example, while the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided a temporary increase in NIH funding, a scheduled sequestration in January 2013 would slash NIH funding by at least 7.8 percent, the report states. This boom-bust cycle causes uncertainty and makes it difficult for researchers or businesses to make long-term planning and investment decisions.

Several SSTI members met yesterday with Sen. Moran (R-KS), his staff, and staff for Sens. Coons (D-DE) and Rubio (R-FL) to express support for the creation of a fund to commercialize university-developed technology, and also encouraged the bill's sponsors to broaden eligibility for funding to include public and nonprofit organizations working with institutions of higher education to commercialize technology. SSTI as part of its efforts in DC will be working on this issue over the coming months.

Sens. Moran (R-KS), Warner (D-VA), Rubio (R-FL), and Coons (D-DE) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would continue to spur the economy through the creation of new businesses. Senate Bill 3217, also known as Startup Act 2.0, expands on the initial Startup Act introduced by Sens. Moran and Warner in December, and builds on the success of the JOBS Act passed with bipartisan support in both houses and signed by President Obama earlier this year.

One of the key aspects of the act is to use existing federal funding to support innovation initiatives to accelerate commercialization of university research and development. Grants would be awarded to universities to improve commercialization efforts and to support programs that allow faculty to commercialize research. The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) would be tasked with providing advice on the grant applications and awards.

Other provisions in Startup 2.0 include:

Two common themes emerged in a trio of reports aimed at growing the bioscience sectors in Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania: the need for a sustained financial commitment from the states and the importance of a shared vision and better communication between policymakers and industry leaders. In all three reports, the authors say the payoff is big for the states. The bioscience and life science industries support high-wage jobs and attract significant federal funds.

Indiana

The Indiana Health Industry Forum unveiled a five-year strategic plan designed to create a renewed interest in growing Indiana's health sciences sector. Developing an early stage funding mechanism focused exclusively on health sciences and complementing the funding with a statewide support infrastructure geared towards health sciences-specific entrepreneurial support are listed as the top two recommendations.

Throughout our travels across the country, SSTI always is impressed by the important work TBED organizations are doing to improve economic conditions for their state or region. Many of these organizations have been around for decades, and continue to innovate and evolve, while others are just getting off the ground with a creative approach. SSTI seeks to honor these initiatives as part of the 2012 Excellence in TBED awards program. Recipients of this award are invited to attend the annual conference as guests of SSTI (a $595 value) and showcase their work during a dedicated breakout session. Remember, you have to apply to win! Applications are due July 17. More information and complete instructions are available at: http://www.sstiawards.org/.