SSTI Digest

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking input from the public and NIH staff on the proposed creation of a new center that would support translational science and consolidate several existing translational research programs. The National Center for Advancing Translations Sciences (NCATS) would support the development of therapeutics and clinical care from basic research discoveries. Charged with streamlining NIH's structure, the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) recommended establishing NCATS to house a number of NIH programs that could collaborate to decrease the risks involved in private drug and therapeutic development projects. Skeptics at a recent SMRB meeting expressed concern that the restructuring might endanger current NIH programs.

U.S. students perform just slightly above or below average in the three categories (reading, math and science) of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) according to a new Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report. The report, Highlights From PISA 2009: Performance of U. S. 15-Year-Old Students in Reading, Mathematics, and Science Literacy in an International Context, provides an assessment of students' educational achievement and their ability to apply that knowledge in real world contexts. In comparison to the other 34 OECD member states, U.S. students (age 15) finished 14th in reading literacy, 17th in science and 24th in mathematics. If the OECD partner countries are included, those rankings fall to 17th in reading literacy, 23rd in science and 31st among the 65 countries surveyed. In 2009, approximately 470,000 students from 65 developed and underdeveloped countries took the PISA.

An interagency government initiative was launched last week to promote the nation's renewable energy sector, helping to meet the goals of the National Export Initiative and President Obama's challenge to become the leading exporter of clean energy technologies. Seven government agencies, including the Department of Energy, will lead market research and discovery efforts such as identifying U.S. manufactured energy efficiency products likely to be competitive in global markets and exploring the creation of guides for foreign buyers listing technologies and services available from U.S. providers. Read the press announcement: http://www.energy.gov/news/9864.htm

The Philadelphia region increased retention of non-native students (students who are not originally from Philadelphia but attended undergraduate or graduate school in region) by 165% from 2004 to 2010 due to an increase in regional involvement opportunities for students (e.g., volunteer opportunities, internships, off-campus work opportunities and local cultural/entertainment activities), according to a new survey by Campus Philly. The report also found a high correlation between a student having a summer internship and remaining in the region for a year or more (70% of respondents). In comparison, only 40% of students were retained if they interned outside of the region. The report, "From Student to Resident: Findings from Campus Philly's 2010 Student Retention Survey," utilizes data collected from 4,600 students (including undergraduate and graduate students) and recent alumni of Philadelphia colleges and universities.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is asking for support in its effort to amend the current federal tax bill to extend the bond finance provisions of the Recovery Act. These provisions include the Build America Bonds, the Recovery Zone Bonds, the elimination of the alternative minimum tax on tax-exempt bonds, extending the Federal Home Loan Bank authority to issue letters of credit on tax-exempt non-housing bonds and continuing the relief offered to bank-qualification 501(c)3 bonds. The Senate version of the bill, which did not extend the provisions, passed on Wednesday. CDFA is now encouraging interested parties to contact their representative to ensure that the provisions are included in the House bill. Read the CDFA latest update ...

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), Community Innovation Services, is seeking a group manager for research. The EI2 Community Innovation Services team supports communities with economic and community development research, analysis and planning. Projects range from strategic planning to workforce analysis, from fiscal impact analysis of new or expanding firms to sustainable development strategies for communities of all sizes. The group manager is responsible for the successful completion of all funded projects, for overseeing and advising a team of high-performing project managers, and assigning projects to individual team members within CIS.

Michigan lawmakers last week passed a measure aimed at increasing access to capital for small businesses by allowing taxpayers to collect an income tax credit worth 25 percent of a qualified investment in emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing and life sciences. Under HB 5921, the investment must be at least $20,000 and certified by the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF). MSF can certify up to $9 million in credits in a single year with up to $250,000 for each business. Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed the angel tax credit during her State of the State address earlier this year (see the Feb. 10, 2010 issue of the Digest). The measure was passed with broad support by a vote of 85-14 in the House and 34-0 in the Senate. Read the governor's press release ...

Although fiscal year 2011 will present a slight improvement in state fiscal conditions, spending and revenue is unlikely to return to pre-recession levels for several years, according to the Fall 2010 Fiscal Survey of States. The loss of federal stimulus funds in 2012 will compound the problem and is anticipated to create significant gaps between current spending levels and total available funds in many states. Based on enacted budgets for FY11, states are projecting a 5 percent increase in sales, personal income and corporate tax collection relative to FY10 — a silver lining in the report. However, those three revenue streams, which account for about 80 percent of general fund revenue, all declined in 2009 and 2010 leaving large gaps in state budgets.

In Growing the ICT Industry in Canada, David Wolfe and Allison Bramwell present an overview of the current state of the global Information and communications technology (ICT) industry with a predominate focus on Canada's ICT industry. A detailed discussion of the current state of the ICT industry and the impact of the recession on the sector is covered in the first section of the report. After discussing the state of both the global and Canadian industry, the report draws on recent research and industry insight into factors and strategies that are essential for developing successful ICT clusters and a national digital strategy. The report also provides a summary of national digital economy strategy from selected developed countries.

Two economic development reports, one outlining strategic initiatives to transform the state's economy and the other making recommendations for reforming the state's tax programs, were delivered last week to Gov. Jay Nixon. The governor's Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth, launched in May, submitted initial job-creation proposals focused in the areas of advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, bioscience, health science and service, information technology, financial and professional services and transportation and logistics. Meanwhile, a 27-member commission established by the governor to review the state's tax incentive programs suggested eliminating 28 tax credit programs, including the film tax credit, which they say should be replaced with a new angel tax credit program to address the financial gap serving as an obstacle to growing new businesses.

Sacramento's Green Capital Alliance reports that the six-county region is now home to 13,000 clean technology jobs and 98 clean energy companies. In a five-year progress report on Sacramento's clean energy cluster roadmap, the group document's Sacramento's rise as one of the country's key hubs for clean energy technology development. The report provides a detailed look at the alliance's efforts to leverage regional partners over the past few years and its immediate plans to expand the region's data gathering and smart grid infrastructure. Read the progress report ...

The Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation announced its first Women in Science and Engineering Business Idea Competition to encourage female scientists and engineers to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. The competition's goal is totap into the "growing pool of highly educated women who have the potential to start scalable science and engineering-related ventures". Competition winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to TED 2011, where they will be afforded an opportunity to present their idea in front of the "world's most fascinating thinkers and doers." The competition is hosted by Kauffman Labs and sponsored by Kauffman FastTrac and Astia. Entries are due Jan 15, 2011 and winners will be announced in early February. Read the press release ...