SSTI Digest

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) — a $30 million initiative to support up to 10 research and development (R&D) projects focused on advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Projects should propose integrated science and engineering research in three technical areas of interest:

On April 19, 2011, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) held a webinar on the upcoming i6 Green competition. The competition will support regional economic development projects with a focus on energy-related industries and efforts that expand local networks. Unlike the first i6 Challenge, applicants do not have to represent new initiatives. The complete webinar, with slides, is available online at:

http://center.ncet2.org/index.php?option=com_joomla_lms&Itemid=53&task=course_guest&id=46

Last week, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley released the results of 18 months of work by the Maryland Economic Development Commission (MEDC), laying out the state's strategy for economic growth over the next five years. MEDC's five-year plan provides many economic development policy recommendations, but lists innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship as the first three foundations for growth. Part of this strategy includes the implementation of InvestMaryland, a recently passed initiative that would generate more than $70 million for seed and growth stage companies. Read more about the strategy at: http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/110414.asp

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their annual State and Local Governments' Fiscal Outlook and long-term projections paint a bleak picture. Even though both state and local government near-term fiscal outlooks have improved slightly since 2010, these sectors face long-term revenue declines that will necessitate "substantial policy changes" to stimulate revenue growth. According to the report, without policy changes, governments will face an increasing fiscal gap between receipts and expenditures in the coming years that would force across-the-board programmatic cuts. The primary long-term driver of fiscal challenges is the increasing costs of health-related costs. Based upon current and historical spending and revenue patterns, GAO's model projects the receipts and the expenditures for each sector until 2060. Since 2007, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations for both the state and local sectors using National Income and Product Accounts data collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Read the report...

Canada's innovation economy is at a critical junction, one that will require policymakers to choose what they want out of their science and technology (S&T) investments, according to a new study. The Toronto Region Research Alliance recently published a report that provides an analysis of S&T strategies in 10 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Israel, the Netherlands, India, various African initiatives, Germany and Finland. Each of these national S&T strategies are examined through the lens of the basic motivations behind their investments and how they relate to the policies that have been put in place. The report is intended to promote discussion in Canada about what the country needs from its S&T plan and how those needs can best be translated into effective policies.

The authors place the 10 national strategies into five categories. These include:

International collaboration in science and technology (S&T) research has risen over the past 15 years from approximately 25 percent to over 35 percent, according to Knowledge, Networks and Nations: Global Scientific Collaboration in the 21st Century — a new report from the Royal Society Science Policy Center. The special advisory group established by the Royal Society analyzed data that include research articles in international journals, citations in those articles, national rates of patent registration, number of researchers per nation, national expenditures on research and development (R&D) and the impacts of S&T research. Data was collected using several methods and sources including a call for evidence, data mining and face-to-face and telephone interviews.

Though U.S. venture capital (VC) investment grew in 2010 after a disastrous 2009, overall venture activity remains well below 2006-2008 levels. Last year, U.S. venture firms invested $21.8 billion in American companies, 27 percent less than in 2007 (the last peak year before the current economic downturn). Most U.S. states experienced a similar pattern over the past five years, peaking in 2007, hitting a decade low in 2009, and recovering a bit last year.

California continues to have the highest level of venture capital activity by far, followed by Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Washington. Both Illinois and North Carolina had a strong 2010 and both joined the top ten states for total VC dollars invested for the first time since 2003. Though Georgia ranked 13th in VC investment dollars, the state ranked in the top 10 for total number of deals.

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission is seeking a highly talented and experienced individual for the position of Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for the West Virginia Regional Technology Park located in South Charleston. The selected individual will have the opportunity to help refine and implement the vision for this property and its role in technology development, economic development, education, research and innovation in West Virginia and the surrounding region.

Tom Thornton, president and CEO of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, submitted his letter of resignation to the board effective immediately. David Vranicar, president of the authority's Heartland BioVentures division, was named interim president and CEO.

Spencer Eccles, executive director of the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development has named Sophia DiCaro as his new deputy director. Prior to this appointment, DiCaro served as the GOED Finance director.

Ann Arbor SPARK has selected Paul Krutko, a Silicon Valley economic development executive, as its next CEO. Krutko, who currently serves as secretary/treasurer of the International Economic Development Council, most recently led the economic development initiatives of the city of San Jose as chief development officer. Krutko succeeds, Michael Finney, who resigned to become CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

House and Senate appropriators have released details of the almost $40 billion in spending reductions that were agreed upon over the weekend in order to avoid a federal government shutdown. The six-month continuing resolution (CR) would set FY11 spending levels at $1.049 trillion, $78.5 billion less than President Obama's FY11 budget request (see the February 16, 2011 Special Federal Budget Issue) and $39.9 billion less than the FY10 spending bill as enacted. More than half of the total spending reductions relate to health, labor and education, including the elimination of over 55 programs in those areas. The CR would allow the federal government to continue to operate until September 30, 2001, the end of the fiscal year. Another high-stakes debate over federal spending is expected next month, when Congress must vote to raise the federal debt ceiling to avoid a default.

Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions. A bill to revive the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, which failed in the legislature last year, recently passed the House with broad, bi-partisan support, restoring hope for the program that aims to grow science and technology companies. Meanwhile, two bills in Connecticut seek to boost technology transfer and lawmakers in Alaska and Florida are pushing for statewide R&D tax credits. An overview of select bills relating to TBED is included below.

SSTI is introducing a new category in our awards program to recognize the Most Promising TBED Initiative. Through strategic partnerships, leveraged resources, and diversified funding, these initiatives have "all the pieces of the puzzle," they just haven't been around long enough to demonstrate the impact SSTI generally seeks in an Excellence in TBED award winner. Proposals submitted in this category should address a specific need in a community geared toward improving overall economic conditions. This is a great opportunity to capture national recognition and secure support for your program. Scoring will be heavily weighted on innovativeness, transferability and partnerships. Look for more details in the coming weeks! http://www.ssti.org/Awards.