SSTI Digest

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 ...

The District of Columbia leads the country in science and engineering (S&E) doctorates awarded per capita, according to the latest data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Though California awards more S&E doctorates overall, Washington, D.C., has consistently outpaced all states in per capita awards. While 11.47 S&E doctorates were awarded per 100,000 people in the U.S. last year, D.C. institutions awarded 62.54. Other top states include Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island and Maryland.

A recent NSF survey found that 49,562 research doctorates were awarded in the U.S. during 2009, a 1.6 percent increase over the previous year. Of these doctorates, 33,470 were awarded in S&E fields. S&E doctorate awards rose 1.9 percent in 2009, which the NSF InfoBrief attributes to growth in the number of female S&E doctorate recipients. Biological sciences remained the scientific field with the greatest number of doctorate awards in 2009, with mathematics showing the greatest growth over the previous year. Computer science doctorates decreased by almost 10 percent from 2008, however, the field has doubled its awards overall since 1999.

TBED People
Walter Bumphus has been named the next president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges. Bumphus currently serves as a professor in the Community College Leadership Program and chair of the Educational Administration Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Bumphus will begin his tenure with AACC in January.

Deborah Clayton resigned as the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Commercialization and Innovation. She has accepted a position at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. Warren Nash, deputy commissioner of the same department, also has resigned.

Kansas Governor-elect Sam Brownback appointed State Rep. Pat George to his cabinet as secretary of the Department of Commerce. George is expected to start after Brownback is sworn in on Jan. 10 and the Senate confirms his appointment.

Governors in Arkansas, Mississippi and Wyoming recently unveiled spending plans for the upcoming year or biennium. Funding for many tech-based investments would be maintained or increased under the governors' proposals. New proposals range from additional funds for energy research at the University of Wyoming to new funding mechanisms for colleges and universities in Mississippi. Funding for S&T efforts in Arkansas would remain level.

Arkansas

It is imperative that the Obama administration create a more coordinated and robust federal energy policy focused on advancing energy innovation, according to a new report by the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). They argue the U.S. must be at the forefront of energy technology to increase economic competiveness, protect the environment and improve national security. In Accelerating the Pace of Change in Energy Technologies Though an Integrated Federal Energy Policy, PCAST outlines several recommendations that could position the U.S. at the forefront of energy innovation over the next decade.

The administration should establish a national Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) process to coordinate federal agencies, the executive branch and congress. The QER would be developed not only by government entities, but also include representatives from industry, business, state and local governments, non-government organizations and the public. The QER would:

In Growing New Mexico's Clean Tech Economy, the Clean Technology Commercialization Working Group examines steps that must be taken for New Mexico to capitalize on the state's clean technology opportunity by bridging the funding "valley of death." In a report commissioned by the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the advisory group asserts four high-priority recommendations will accelerate New Mexico's clean technology commercialization. New Mexico's strengths mainly revolve around the state's existing intellectual infrastructure (e.g., research universities and two national laboratories). Currently, the state is a national leader in federal R&D spending. However, the state currently faces several weakness related to private and state financing for clean technology ventures including, state budget deficits, lack of investment banks, lack of larger venture capital firms, insufficient technology maturation funding/programs and missing incentives for venture capital and business R&D. They rank last among all states in state R&D spending.

A survey of medical technology companies and venture capital firms with a presence in the life sciences field revealed that the U.S. is at risk of losing its global leadership position in medtech innovation because of unpredictable, inefficient, and expensive regulatory processes within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Further, survey data indicate that innovators and medical device companies are relocating to other countries in greater numbers to take advantage of more streamlined regulatory processes and lower costs.

The study, FDA Impact on U.S. Medical Technology Innovation, was designed to acquire data that could be used to evaluate the impact of U.S. medical device regulation on innovation and patients, identify where the greatest deterrents to innovation exist within U.S. premarket regulatory processes, and assess the costs these issues place on medtech companies. The current regulatory environment is particularly challenging for startup companies because of their limited financial resources, the study finds. As a result, regulatory submissions for innovative new medical devices have declined in the U.S. over the last several years.

Nationwide downturns in durable-goods manufacturing and construction led to declining real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 39 states last year, according to a recent release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The largest declines were seen in the Great Lakes region, where Michigan, Ohio and Indiana suffered considerable losses in manufacturing. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, Wyoming and North Dakota posted the highest percentage GDP gains. Read the BEA release .