SSTI Digest

The budget approved by lawmakers for FY12 includes $15 million in research grant money for three Kansas universities to expand programs in emerging industry sectors as proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback and allocates $10.5 million annually for an initiative to enhance engineering education and increase the number of qualified engineers in the state.

Announced by Gov. Brownback earlier this year, the University Economic Growth Initiative will provide $15 million for research in areas seen as critical to growing the state's economy (see the Jan. 26, 2011 issue of the Digest). This includes $5 million each for animal health research at Kansas State University (KSU), cancer research at the University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center, and aviation research at Wichita State University. The universities must provide a dollar-for-dollar match.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program reauthorizations may face a bleak future due to a recent vote on the Senate floor. Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) said, "Today was our last chance to reauthorize these important programs and provide some continuity to the small businesses that depend on them. This bill, the federal government's largest research and development programs for small businesses, passed out of our Committee with nearly unanimous support, but wound up hitting a brick wall when it reached the Senate floor."

Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal to support innovation, research and product development in Nebraska's small businesses and institutions of higher education was passed with unanimous support in the legislature. Lawmakers also approved an angel tax credit for investments in high-tech companies and a measure to create an internship program matching college students with businesses as part of the governor's Talent and Innovation Agenda (see the Jan. 19, 2011 issue of the Digest).

The Business Innovation Act (LB 387) includes $7 million each year for grants to small businesses for the following activities:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will commit $25 million over the next five years to support the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center, as part of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy. DOE will provide matching grants to universities, national labs, private companies and others to support research in energy efficiency, second-generation biofuels and solar energy. The $50 million contributed by DOE and award grantees will be matched by an additional $50 million in public and private funds from India. Facilities associated with the program will be located in both countries. Read the announcement...

To ensure funding is available in future years for students who complete a more rigorous high school curriculum focused on math and science, the legislature set aside $400 million for performance-based scholarships in the capital budget. The FY12 operating budget also includes $6 million in first-year funding for the program, which will be available to high school students graduating in 2011. Lawmakers last year passed legislation establishing the Alaska Merit Scholarship Program, but failed to provide a funding source (see the April 28, 2010 issue of the Digest). High-performing students, including those taking four years of math and science, are eligible for the scholarships, which provide up to $4,755 annually for postsecondary education and job training. The educational endowment was first proposed by Gov. Sean Parnell in 2009.

The Slovenian parliament recently approved the Resolution on the Research and Innovation Strategy of Slovenia 2011-2020, a comprehensive strategy to establish "a contemporary research and innovation system that will ensure a higher quality of life within the country." According to the UNESCO Science Report, Slovenia is drastically ahead of their counterparts in Southeastern Europe. However, Slovenia still intends to double the government's science budget from 0.52 percent of GDP to almost 1.0 percent of GDP (approximately $554.9 million) in 2012 with an expected increase to 1.2 percent in 2020. By 2012, the government expects to exceed the European Union (EU) required gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) established by the Barcelona Objective (3 percent of GDP).

Getting venture capitalists to invest their limited dollars in a particular business is difficult. Entrepreneurs must aggressively pursue potential investors and use every means at their disposal to pitch their business as a future revenue generator. A recent academic article attempts to explain the role that patenting and investment by the entrepreneur's family and friends play in this interplay between investor and investee. The authors of Show Me the Right Stuff: Signals for High Tech Startups examine the meaning that both patents and family and friends money hold for investors. They find that patents serve as a proxy for technology quality. Family and friends' funding (FFF), on the other hand, indicates the commitment level of the company founder. A mix of both signals yield the best results for firms seeking venture support.

Karel Schubert has been appointed executive director of the Bioscience Association of West Virginia. Schubert most recently founded and is the chief executive officer of BioSynectics, a St. Louis-based bioscience firm.

J. Michael Saul, deputy director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, who served as interim director for a year, is stepping down. Saul had overseen the agency's capital programs such as the Small Business Loan Fund.

Chelsea Burket has joined the team at Fourth Economy as a research assistant.

TechNet and the Illinois Technology Association announced a new strategic partnership to collaborate on a dual state-federal policy and political program for Illinois' fast-growing and emerging technology companies. s

Speaking at the U.S. Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Southwest Region Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Albuquerque, N.M., U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John Fernandez today unveiled a new website to connect Venture Development Organizations (VDO) in America's regions and accelerate economic development efforts that promote growth and job creation. The Regional Innovation Acceleration Network (RIAN) will bring VDOs together to share best practices and leverage resources that will strengthen regional economic ecosystems.

Developed in partnership with the State Science & Technology Institute, the new website — www.regionalinnovation.org — highlights how VDOs are helping entrepreneurs turn their innovations into businesses by providing direct funding and increasing access to capital.

Florida lawmakers approved legislation to reorganize economic development efforts by establishing a new government-run agency to coordinate programs and adding divisions to the public-private partnership, Enterprise Florida. Within the newly created Department of Economic Opportunity, lawmakers established a trust fund and approved $125 million for strategic investments.

The Department of Economic Opportunity will coordinate services and programs related to economic development, workforce development, community planning, and affordable housing. Gov. Rick Scott proposed an economic development overhaul in his State of the State address to consolidate and streamline services related to job creation. Enterprise Florida will remain the state's primary organization for economic development and continue to lead efforts to recruit and expand businesses, according to Florida Trend. The Black Business Investment Board and the Florida Sports Foundation will become divisions within Enterprise Florida and Space Florida and Visit Florida will contract with Enterprise Florida, but remain independent, the article states.

Lawmakers added another five years to the life of a bioscience program established in 2008 to encourage bioscience research and speed technology commercialization (see the May 14, 2008 issue of the Digest). Gov. John Hickenlooper this week signed into law HB 1283 extending the state's Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant program through July 2018. The enacted budget includes $5.5 million in FY12 from gambling tax revenues for the program to distribute proof-of-concept grants and provide support for early stage bioscience companies and infrastructure.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a five-year strategic plan for the agency, focused on education and research impact. Under the goals set in the report, NSF would weigh intellectual merit and the broader impacts of research more heavily when evaluating research proposals. The agency also would increase its use of resources, such as the STAR METRICS project, which provide a clearer assessment of the impact of science investments. Read the plan...