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SSTI Digest
Geography: South Carolina
2008 Excellence In TBED Winners Honored For Achievement In Building Tech-Based Economies
Four recipients selected as best practice models in technology-based economic development were honored during an awards ceremony last week in Cleveland during SSTI's 12th Annual Conference. The awards follow a national competition emphasizing impact and replicability in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies.
"A crucial component to growing the nation's economy is supporting programs that are successful in developing and implementing initiatives that create high-paying jobs and provide U.S. businesses with the tools they need to compete in the global economy," said Dan Berglund, SSTI President and CEO. "This year's award recipients have generated significant returns for local, state and regional economies, each having an impressive story to share."
Incubator RoundUp: Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Supporting Tech Commercialization
Technology-focused incubators are an important component to fostering entrepreneurial development in a region by nurturing businesses in the earliest stages of development and helping them grow into larger companies that employ high-wage workers and bring new technologies to the market. The following select announcements provide an overview of new incubators from across the nation, illustrating the vital role of entrepreneurial development in growing high-tech regional economies.
People & TBED Organizations
Steve Bazinet has been hired as executive director of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development.
Rahindra Bose is Ohio University's new vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the graduate college.
David Fouts was selected as the next president and chief executive of MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network. Fouts replaces Fatima Weathers, who served for a year as acting president.
Denichiro Otsuga was named the first director of technology transfer at South Dakota State University.
Harris Pastides was selected to replace Andrew Sorensen as University of South Carolina system president. Sorenson retired after six years at the helm.
South Carolina Legislature Overrides Veto, Endowed Chairs to Receive $30M Annually
Coming together for a special one-day session last week, the South Carolina Legislature voted to override a line-item veto issued by Gov. Mark Sanford concerning the funding of the state’s Endowed Chairs program, now called the S.C. Centers for Economic Excellence. The override raises the budget allocation for the program from $20 million to $30 million, which surpasses the original multi-year cap of $200 million set for the Endowed Chairs/Centers of Economic Excellence program, when enacted in 2002. The program uses lottery proceeds to fund strategic faculty positions at the state’s three public research universities: Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina.
In a message to the General Assembly dated June 11, Gov. Sanford outlined the following reasons for his office’s concern with the legislation:
Southern States Advance Several TBED Initiatives into 2009
Legislators in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee recently approved spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year. Highlights of appropriations supporting TBED are included below.
Alabama
Alabama legislators wrapped up a special session over the weekend resulting in the passage of a $6.4 billion education budget. Lawmakers agreed to a $5 million increase ($40.8 million total) for the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative. The appropriation is $5 million less than Gov. Bob Riley’s recommendation of $45.8 million. The initiative, which received a substantial boost during the last legislative session (see the June 13, 2007 issue of the Digest), was created in 2002 to improve math and science education throughout the state.
South Carolina
People
New Carolina, South Carolina's Council on Competitiveness, has formed the South Carolina Engineering Cluster. Lee Stogner will lead the cluster and its steering committee, which represents government, economic develoment, academia, engineering companies and professional societies aiming to promote engineering in South Carolina.
People & TBED Organizations
Jay Moskowitz was named the first president of Health Sciences South Carolina.
South Carolina Governor, Legislature Spar Over State’s Investment
Capturing an overwhelming majority of the votes needed to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto, the South Carolina Legislature prevailed last week in its efforts to position the state as a leader in hydrogen technology.
The Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Act, S. 243, authorizes the state to offer up to $15 million over the next four years in grants for research related to hydrogen production, storage, distribution and dispensing infrastructure. The bill also offers $300 tax rebates for in-state purchases of flex- and hydrogen-fuel vehicles and up to $500 for conversion equipment purchases. The veto was overridden with a 40-2 vote in the Senate and a 99-1 vote in the House.
South Carolina Governor Proposes $2M for Broadband
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced that his budget for fiscal year 2007-08 will include a request for $2 million to bring high-speed Internet access to rural parts of the state. This allocation from the state’s Capital Reserve Fund would be used to create a Rural Broadband fund to increase broadband penetration in underserved communities and is designed to boost economic development by providing Internet access to students, businesses and entrepreneurs.
High-speed broadband connections are only available in 73 percent of the areas receiving phone service in South Carolina, according to recent data from the state’s Office of Regulatory Staff. The governor’s budget cites a study by the Freedom Works Foundation, which estimates that widespread broadband deployment in the state would add nearly 13,000 jobs and increase gross state product by $4.55 billion. The new fund would support efforts to provide rural counties and other local government entities with high-speed broadband, which could be used to assist local businesses, entrepreneurs and schools.
South Carolina Program Strives to Make Start-ups Successful
Marketing tech-based economic development (TBED) programs can be challenging, particularly with the diverse nature of its target audiences of entrepreneurs, existing companies, financial sources, university researchers and, oftentimes, legislators. Sometimes, even the name of the program can cause misconceptions, particularly when a new initiative is outside the traditional services or roles offered by the TBED organization. A recent example of this comes from South Carolina.
Striving to change the public's perception of a program designed to invest in and support start-up companies, the South Carolina Research Alliance (SCRA) renamed its Innovation Centers program to SC Launch! last winter.
The concept of Innovation Centers give the impression of bricks and mortar, said Jim Stritzinger, executive vice president and general manager of SCRA's Public Interest Research department. "The intent of the program is not to build buildings, but to make companies successful," Stritzinger said. "The buildings will come later."
People
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford named Joe Taylor to serve as the new Secretary for the S.C. Department of Commerce. Taylor succeeds Bob Faith, who is taking Taylor's position as chairman of the S.C. Jobs-Economic Development Authority.
People
Thomas Persons Sr., president and CEO of the South Carolina Technology Alliance, was appointed to the newly created South Carolina Venture Capital Authority.