SSTI Digest

Bob Crowley, president of the Massachusetts Technology Development Corp., will step down June 30. Crowley has held the position since 2002 and has been with the quasi-public agency since its beginning in 1978.

Mitch Adams, executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is resigning after leading the agency for nearly a decade.

Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, and Keith Crisco, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, have been named co-chairs of the Southern Technology Council.

Thomas Guevara has joined EDA as deputy assistant secretary for Regional Affairs.

Gray Swoope has been named president of Enterprise Florida. Swoope most recently was executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Facing massive government deficits and stagnant regional economies, many states are exploring new options for their economic development activities. Three states recently have taken steps towards eliminating their primary economic development agencies, and replacing them with public-private partnerships, intended to reduce state spending and improve the responsiveness of state efforts.

Arizona
Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed off on a comprehensive economic competitiveness package. The centerpiece of the legislation is the elimination of the Arizona Department of Commerce, and the creation of a new Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). Brewer says that the restructuring is needed to streamline the responsibilities that had been accumulated by the Commerce Department and to clarify the state's focus on creating new jobs. Many of the programs currently associated with the department may be permanently eliminated, including the state's energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment office, the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) program, the Arizona Main Street program and many of the state's technology programs.

The sixth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey and North Carolina. The first five installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26 and Feb. 9 issues of the Digest.

Connecticut

Gov. Dan Malloy, Budget Address, Feb. 16, 2011

“We are combining our economic development efforts under one agency so we can have a single powerful voice when it comes to attracting, retaining, and growing jobs in Connecticut...like our new First Five initiative that will offer powerful incentives to the first five companies that bring hundreds of new jobs to Connecticut.

Gov. John Kitzhaber recently unveiled a two-year spending plan that includes an additional $3 million for the Oregon Innovation Council's (Oregon InC) efforts to facilitate research and technology transfer. The governor's budget also recommends enhancements to the Strategic Reserve Fund used to expand and retain businesses and attract new companies and additional funding for the Industry Competitiveness Fund, a resource for industry clusters, statewide and regional economic development groups, and international trade-oriented businesses.

The proposed budget would provide $19 million (a $3 million increase) in lottery funds for the following Oregon InC signature research centers and programs in 2011-13:

With no significant boost in funding for Michigan's economic development efforts proposed in the executive budget, Gov. Rick Snyder outlined steps to reform the way businesses are incentivized and modify the state's approach to job creation by better supporting local and regional initiatives as a means to transform the state's economy.

The governor's budget includes $199.3 million in FY12 and $199.8 million in FY13 in total funds for the Michigan Strategic Fund within the Department of Treasury. Of that amount, $75 million (the same as last year) is slated each year for the 21st Century Jobs Fund, administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to invest in high-tech industries and university research. Most of the funding ($50 million) would be used for business attraction, economic gardening, innovation and entrepreneurship. The remaining $25 million would support Michigan tourism programs. Budget documents note that business attraction and retention efforts would be augmented with an additional $25 million in general funds.

SSTI recently reported on two important bills passed by lawmakers in Michigan late last year and in New Jersey earlier this year that would provide incentives for taxpayers who invest in emerging technology companies. As an update to the Dec. 8, 2010 and Jan. 12, 2011 stories, both former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have taken action on the bills with opposing outcomes. Gov. Granholm signed HB 5921 into law on December 14, enacting a measure to provide a 25 percent personal tax credit for individuals who invest at least $20,000 in qualified seed and early stage companies. Gov. Chris Christie on Friday vetoed S.2454, the New Jersey Angel Investor Tax Credit Act, along with 13 other bills approved by lawmakers in January as part of a jobs package.

In the “2011 Global R&D Funding Forecast,” researchers from Battelle and R&D Magazine project consistent and positive global R&D spending in 2011. Global R&D (including public, private and nonprofit spending) is projected to increase by 3.6 percent from $1.15 trillion to almost $1.2 trillion. However, 2011 R&D as a percentage of global GDP will remain constant at 1.9 percent. This increase is attributed to a shift in the geographic distribution of investment. Asian countries continue to rapidly increase their investments in R&D spending (China has over taken Japan as the second largest investor in R&D spending to the U.S.) and the U.S. and Europe should maintain nearly flat levels of spending.

U.S. states must develop an export strategy as a component of the state's “competitiveness agenda,” according to a new report from the Brookings Institute. In “Boosting Exports, Delivering Jobs and Economic Growth,” the authors point towards the rapid growth of American exports in comparison to the overall economy's economic growth to highlight the need for effective and efficient state export strategies. Between the third quarter of 2009 and the third quarter of 2011, U.S. exports grew by 12.7 percent almost four times the overall economic growth (3.2 percent). States, the authors contend, fail to export efficiently and effectively for several reasons including lack of data to understand strengths and weaknesses; efforts are reactive, fragmented and inconsistently funded; or states ignore exporting efforts by the federal government and other institutions leading to duplication of and failure to leverage those programs. The report provides three policy prescriptions to remedy those issues. They include:

• “Get smart about assessing exports and the performance of their export promotion activities;”

Alabama then-Governor-elect Robert Bentley on January 3 named former House Speaker Seth Hammett as director of the Alabama Development Office, replacing Interim Director Linda Swann. He also appointed the president of the Birmingham-based Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Bill Taylor, to lead efforts to grow and retain existing Alabama industries, while at the same time recruiting new businesses to the state.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper nominated Dwayne Romero, president of Related Snowmass, to be the new director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

Florida Governor Rick Scott fired John Adams, the current president of Enterprise Florida, so that he can choose a new leader to help promote his job creation and economic development agenda.

Hosted by TechColumbus, SSTI's 15th Annual Conference will be held at the Hyatt on Capital Square in Columbus, Ohio on November 8-9, 2011. Past attendees know SSTI's conference is the premier event for sharing ideas on the best ways to encourage technology-based economic development and foster regional prosperity in a global economy. And 2011 will be no exception.

Central Ohio provides an excellent backdrop to celebrate SSTI's 15th Annual Conference. The state has made science and technology a central focus for its economic development investments, making Columbus a perfect choice to showcase successful technology-based economic development practices and strategies.

SSTI's full report is available for download in pdf format.

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 issues of the Digest.

Maryland
Gov. Martin O'Malley, State of the State Address, Feb. 3, 2011
"To create more jobs, we must leverage the power of our diversity... we must leverage the power of our geography... And we must harness the potential of Maryland's Innovation Economy: bio-tech, green-tech, clean-tech, cyber security, information technology, aerospace, global trade, and next generation manufacturing. ...