SSTI Digest

This week 37 states held gubernatorial elections. In many states, technology-based economic development took on a central role in the campaign as candidates put forth their ideas on how to create jobs in a difficult economy. SSTI has collected some highlights from proposals put forth by new governors-elect that address topics related to TBED.California

Voters disapproved of several tax-cutting measures appearing on statewide ballots across the nation — a good sign for states facing huge budget deficits. A proposal to roll back the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent failed to garner support in Massachusetts, saving the state's projected deficit from doubling in the next year, according to Stateline.org. Colorado voters also rejected tax-cutting measures, including an amendment to prohibit the state from borrowing.

Measures to generate revenue and shore up budgets didn't fare well either, however. Washingtonians voted against a proposed income tax on high earners while voters in Arizona overwhelmingly decided against raiding two funds to help fill the budget deficit, leaving the state with a $450 million budget gap.

Often credited with contributing significant revenue to states' economies, research parks also house facilities for workforce training and provide resources for tech-based industries, which is especially important as the nation's employment begins to pick up steam. In West Virginia, officials are building a $15 million advanced technology-training center at the state-owned research and technology park, and in Utah, officials recently broke ground on a building that will house engineers and analysts working on the nation's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program.

The Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance is seeking a new president who will play a leading role in developing strategy for modernizing Oklahoma's industrial base. The successful candidate will possess strong leadership skills, demonstrated administrative ability, entrepreneurial management skills, organizational awareness, political sensitivity, and the ability to establish rapport with numerous constituencies. The position requires executive experience in managing budgets, contracts, and operations for a major company or organization.

Mobile app development is emerging as a bright spot in the U.S. innovation economy, according to a report commissioned by CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Application Developers Alliance. The groups estimate that more than 500,000 jobs have been created in the U.S. based on app development since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007. This count includes IT-related jobs in service of app development, non-IT jobs at app companies and jobs in the local economy supported by app developers. As the app economy becomes more important in the U.S., states are beginning to create their own strategies for luring developers and spurring local innovation.

As the private company SpaceX sends its first cargo delivery to the International Space Station, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced close to $500,000 in matching grants in three areas to assist with space transportation infrastructure. This includes $250,000 to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, $24,000 to the East Kern Airport District at the Mojave Spaceport in California, and a $200,000 grant for a feasibility study to the Front Range Airport Authority, east of the Denver airport.

Six teams were selected as winners of the i6 Challenge, a new innovation competition led by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The i6 Challenge seeks to identify and support the nation's best ideas for technology commercialization and entrepreneurship in six different regions of the country. The winning team from each region will receive $1 million from EDA to support their project and may be eligible for additional awards from NIH and NSF. Projects include efforts to drive innovative technologies in the medical and bioscience industries to market more quickly by bringing experts in science and academia together with public and private sector businesses and entrepreneurs.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the selection of 10 regional economic development and job creation efforts through a new pilot program, Innovative Economies, that supports small business participation in regional economic clusters. SBA's funding is designed to expand the opportunities and the role small businesses play in these regional collaborations. The awardees were selected from among 173 applicants. Awards went to organizations in: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina. Read the full release

With 37 governorships up for election in 2010, one thing is certain: Transitions in state and local economies are on the horizon. In a special series leading up to the November elections, SSTI is tracking news, reports, and analysis from the gubernatorial candidates to report on the most pressing issues for the tech-based economic development community. Over the next several weeks, we'll highlight announcements and campaign platforms from select states across the U.S. The first installment includes competing jobs plans in Iowa unveiled by incumbent Gov. Chet Culver (D) and challenger Terry Branstad (R).

Since 2006, Michigan's economic development programs designed to transition its economy from the traditional manufacturing-based economy to an economy driven by clusters of innovative manufacturers and service providershave led to more than 24,407 direct and indirect jobs created or retained, the creation of approximately 1,500 new companies and almost 900 patents. A Foundation for the New Michigan Economyprepared by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation details the initial results of three programs —the 21st Century Jobs Fund (21st CJF), the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor (MLSC) and the Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor (MTTC) —that are designed to commercialize new technologies and increase access to capital for new and existing businesses.

The United States finished third out of 71 countries in entrepreneurship on the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) according to a report commissioned by the SBA's Office of Advocacy. Denmark and Canada, respectively, were first and second due to strong scores across the three sub-indexes (i.e., Attitude, Activities, Aspirations). ). The U.S. finished first in the entrepreneurial aspiration sub-index but lagged behind in entrepreneurial attitude (6th) and activities (8th). The authors —Zoltan J. Acs and Laszlo Szerb —recommend that these findings serve as an eye-openerand not a cause for alarm. Entrepreneurship performance will remain strong in the U.S. but other countries will continue to increase their entrepreneurship performance. To keep pace with the growth of these foreign countries, the authors provide a list of policy goals that would strengthen our current score on the GEDI and resolve areas of concern.

In an attempt to solve the nation's challenges, the Obama administration recently launched challenge.gov. Challenge.gov — a prize platform that cultivates social problem solving — provides Americans with the opportunity to participate in federal government challenges. For their efforts, entrepreneurs, innovators and citizen solvers will be rewarded with prizes and recognition for solving tough problems. In the future, the site will promote and publish challenges from all the federal agencies. Challenges will cover many topics (e.g., energy, health, science) and can range from small straightforward opportunities (e.g., idea suggestions, creation of logos, videos) to large proofs-of-concept that combat difficult problems. The administration is hoping this approach will allow it to tap into new, untapped talentto accelerate innovation. Read the press release or visit challenge.gov