SSTI Digest

In an effort to create a high tech center, officials in Ohio's Butler County anticipate spending more than $100 million during the next five years to increase telecommunications, biomedical innovations, electronic commerce, and other research. Funding for the measure would come from as much as a half-penny sales tax hike, according to a story published August 1 by the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Butler County already has approved $2.7 million for an 86-mile fiber-optic network, the article reports. Another $113 million in matching funds may come from the State of Ohio for related projects, including start-up help for high-tech entrepreneurs and the construction of highways to improve transportation. Technical assistance also is coming from the Milken Institute, a California-based company paid almost $300,000 in 2000 to develop a high-technology plan for the Butler County economy and to assist in its implementation. 

The Air Force Dual Use Science & Technology (AF DUS&T) Program is part of a congressionally mandated, tri-service program to cost-share research projects with industry for the development of a technology that has both military utility and sufficient commercial potential to support a viable industrial base. A main objective of the AF DUS&T Program is to obtain for defense procurements the economies of scale, accelerated product improvements, and increased sustainability inherent in the commercial marketplace. 

The Greater Cincinnati Regional Technology Initiative has released revving up the tech engine, a strategic plan with more than 30 recommendations to improve Cincinnati's position in a tech-based economy. Giving themselves just 100 days to complete the plan when they started in Spring, the project was developed through six "Accelerator Teams" involving more than 200 volunteers from the three-state metro area. The teams looked at: start-up capital and resources; research and commercialization; workforce development; e-commerce readiness; Greater Cincinnati’s image as a high-tech player; and public policy. The Accelerator Teams also drew on a regional "Angel Board" made up of seasoned community business leaders for resources and guidance. Major recommendations include:

Ohio businesses experienced a 15 percent increase in overall Internet and website usage between 1999 and 2000, according to the 2001 report released by ECom-Ohio — a public-private collaborative project to increase Ohio's readiness for global electronic commerce.  In Assessing Ohio's Readiness for Global Electronic Commerce, Ohio is said to have extensive connectivity infrastructure. Between May 2000 and June 2001, Ohio's network connectivity increased by more than 150 percent. Ohio's four "cybercities"– Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton – place it among the best connected states in the U.S., the report holds. Overall, Ohio cities saw the total bandwidth available increase by more than 400 gigabits per second since May of 2000. At least 20 cities witnessed more than 100 percent growth in capacity, with 12 new cities said to have network connectivity capacity of 45 megabits per second or more. 

Ohio Governor Bob Taft last week signed legislation creating the Ohio Aerospace and Defense Council to examine state and federal laws, rules, and policies that affect the two industries and associated federal installations in Ohio. Ohio is home to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the state’s largest single-site employer, and the NASA Glen Research Center in Cleveland. Six objectives are to be addressed by the council:

SSTI welcomes Brandon Lawrence to its staff as a Graduate Research Assistant. Brandon holds a BS in microbiology from Miami University (Ohio) and is working on his MBA at Ohio State University.

Due to length considerations, this week's Funding Opportunities Supplement to the SSTI Weekly Digest was sent separately. During the past two weeks, the federal register has announced 15 federally owned inventions that available for licensing from the Army, Navy, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. The full text of the announcements, including descriptions of the inventions in many cases, can be found at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/060101t.htm

A Special Issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest focusing on the SBIR and STTR programs will be released early next week. The issue will include comments on the SBIR Policy Directive from SSTI and three outside exports and other timely items related to FAST, ROP, and several individual agency programs.

Ever wonder how many SSTI Weekly Digest articles have covered tax credits? (Answer is 47) strategic plans? (35), biotechnology? (80), workforce issues?(92), indicators? (14), telecommunications? (77), math & science? (50), capital, both seed and venture? (150) To help make your research efforts easier, SSTI has restored the search feature for our website: http://ssti.org.master.com  Feedback from users would be appreciated. Return to the top of this page

SSTI welcomes Anulet Jones to our team as a Research Assistant. Ms. Jones has an engineering degree from Georgia Tech and is working on her MBA at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

SSTI welcomes Mark Kish to the staff as our new Writer/PR Assistant. Mark will assist with the SSTI Weekly Digest, updating and expanding our website, and planning for our September 19-21 annual conference.

The SSTI Weekly Digest will be taking a brief spring break and will resume publication on Friday, April 6.

Editor’s Note: For the skeptical Digest reader that viewed our assertion in last week’s issue that there is an average of at least one incubator-related article published somewhere in the country each day. Since we have several clippings on hand, it is easy to provide more examples of the continuing explosion of communities and states using non-profit incubators as tools for developing and expanding tech-based economies. Due to space considerations, a list of 17 more local incubator stories published in the last nine days alone is provided on the accompanying web page.