SSTI Digest

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have announced a new initiative to develop new technologies and applications for high-speed broadband networks. The agencies have posted a request for white papers for the initiative, dubbed US Ignite, to identify potential companies, nonprofits, agencies and individuals that can provide resources and infrastructure to facilitate collaboration. Participating organizations will help develop next-generation applications for high-speed networks that cannot yet run on today's Internet infrastructure. Read the announcement...

The five-campus University of Massachusetts System is seeking a dynamic and entrepreneurial professional to become the associate vice president for economic development to help develop the university's role in generating innovation and talent to support the Innovation Economy of Massachusetts. The position will report to the vice president for economic development and be housed at the president's office in Boston, MA.

Jill Kline has been named the State director of the Wyoming Small Business Development Center.

Daniel Hasler has been named the Indiana Secretary of Commerce, effective Sept. 16. He will replace Mitch Roob who is leaving the post to accept a position in the private sector.

The National Governors Association named David Moore as the director of its NGA Center for Best Practices.

Phillip Halstead has been named executive director and CEO of the West Virginia Regional Technology

Park Corporation.

James Watson has been appointed as the president and CEO of CMTC (California Manufacturing Technology Consulting).

SSTI is pleased to announce that John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce, will participate in a plenary session on the changing role of the federal government in TBED at this year's Annual Conference. SSTI's Annual Conference is the only economic development conference this fall with the senior leaders of the Economic Development Administration (EDA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) speaking. Find out more about the plenary session and the full schedule at: http://www.ssticonference.org.

Governors in several states are bringing lawmakers back into session this fall with a more focused agenda on job creation. During a one-day special session on Friday, lawmakers in Mississippi approved a $175 million incentive package to bring two high-tech manufacturing facilities to the state. Meanwhile, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will try again to enact the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) to support science and tech companies and the Compete Missouri Initiative, both which failed to pass during the regular session. In New Mexico, lawmakers will consider legislation clarifying language in the state's high-wage tax credit statute — a measure Gov. Susana Martinez says will make it easier for employers to retain and hire workers.

Governors in Alabama and Connecticut also may bring legislators back into session, but have yet to make an official announcement.

Temple launched the Pennsylvania Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) initiative designed to increase the number of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematics (STEM)-related professionals graduating from two- or four-year institutions and to build a diverse, national STEM workforce necessary to compete economically in a global environment.

As MESA's lead institution in Pennsylvania, Temple will be tasked with developing public/private partnerships with industry, other academic institutions and government agencies to implement the goals of MESA and provide outreach efforts to the state's students to achieve their full potential — regardless of background, gender or economic status. Last summer, Temple in partnership with the U.S. Navy launched three MESA summer academies related to health and medicine, engineering and technology. Other institutions of higher education that operate their state's MESA program include Johns Hopkins, the University of Washington and UC-Berkley.

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices invites applications from U.S. states to participate in a Policy Academy on "Making" our Future: Encouraging Growth Opportunities in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Investment to Assist States in Developing and Implementing Economic Development Strategies aimed at spurring innovation and entrepreneurship in ways that encourage the growth of advanced manufacturing industries. The Policy Academy is designed to assist states in developing and implementing economic development strategies aimed at spurring innovation and entrepreneurship in ways that encourage the growth of advanced manufacturing industries.As part of the application process, states are expected to identify a core team of five to eight members who represent a cross-section of policymakers from relevant state agencies and stakeholder groups. Multiple awards are anticipated. Applications must be submitted to the NGA Center through the governor's office by September 15, 2011 in order to be considered.

Even through the enduring global economic downturn, nations across the world have targeted technology-based economic development initiatives to build their respective country's science and technology (S&T) sectors. The governments contend that building their respective country's Next Economy is necessary to compete in a globalizing world and increase quality of living for their citizens. Canada, India and the European Union have announced initiatives that could help grow their respective countries S&T sectors.

In Canada, the Honorable Bernard Valcourt, the Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and La Francophonie, announced approximately $8.5 million in federal investments in Springboard — a regional commercialization and industry network made up of Atlantic Canadian post-secondary institutions — to support several current activities and the creation of a new program. The funding will be used to:

The University of Kansas' Center for Technology Commercialization is seeking a director that will be responsible for effectively managing faculty-generated intellectual property across all the University of Kansas campuses and deploying it for the greater social good. The KUCTC director's responsibilities include positively representing the University as a member of national professional societies, articulating KUCTC's contributions to the Kansas economy for diverse constituencies that include the Kansas Legislature, industry associations, and the general public, and working effectively within the University's system of shared governance with faculty, the University's administration, the KU Medical Center Research Institute and the Kansas University Center for Research.

JobsOhio, the private, nonprofit corporation authorized to replace Ohio's economic development system, would administer state funded programs and services that have a direct, high-impact on job creation such as business loans, infrastructure grants and deal-closing funds, according to a report to the Ohio General Assembly. At the same time, a newly named Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA) would focus on programs with a more indirect impact on job creation, including federally funded programs and services geared toward communities and individuals. Dividing the state's programs between the two entities is expected to better align economic development functions. Read more...

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Bill Hagerty announced the state will commit up to $2.25 million for the Jobs4TN Regional Entrepreneurial Accelerators program. The grants will award up to $250,000 to a regional entrepreneurial accelerator in each of the state's nine economic development regions. The Jobs4TN Regional Entrepreneurial Accelerators were announced in June as a part of Governor Bill Haslam's INCITE plan. Read the press release...

The Obama Administration has announced that it is extending the comment period for public input on the Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Strong Cities, Strong Communities Visioning Challenge (see the July 13, 2011 and July 20, 2011 issues). Due to the strong interest that EDA has already received, the deadline has been pushed back to September 7, 2011. Respondents will help EDA shape the eventual federal funding announcement for the SC2 Pilot Challenge, in which six cities will be chosen to receive $1 million grants to fund economic visioning efforts. Find out more...