SSTI Digest

Encouraging university researchers to bring their discoveries to market is a key component of many regional innovation strategies, but entrepreneurial activity by faculty may come at a cost, according to several recent scholarly articles by Andrew A. Toole and Dirk Czarnitzki. Toole and Czarnitzki examined the publication and commercialization histories of U.S. university-based life scientists and found that engaging in entrepreneurial activities tends to lower their publication rate, even after returning to the university full-time. This reduction in publication has a nontrivial impact on knowledge creation in the nonprofit research sector, particularly since researchers who engage in entrepreneurial activity tend to publish at a higher rate than other faculty before they leave to pursue private sector opportunities. Although the commercialization of new technologies is important for the economy, reducing the research output of star professors could have longer-term negative consequences. The authors suggest that the correct balance of research and commercialization has not yet been achieved.

TBED People
Anne Barth has been named the executive director of TechConnect West Virginia.

Joann Rockwell MacMaster has been appointed site director for the Arizona Center for Innovation at the UA Tech Park.

Catherine Renault resigned from her position as director of the Maine Office of Innovation effective December 3.

Sandra Watson, COO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, received the Chairman's Award during the 2010 Governor's Celebration of Innovation awards. The award is given by the Arizona Technology Council and Arizona Commerce Authority.

Renée Winsky, CEO of the Tech Council of Maryland, received the Technology Advocacy Award at the Howard Technology Council's 2010 Annual Technology Awards dinner. The award is presented to an individual who has made a significant difference in the technology business community in Maryland.

After months of closed-door negotiations, the chairs of National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has released a draft list of proposals to reduce the growing federal deficit. The proposals include drastic cuts to the federal government's economic development agencies, including the elimination of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP), as well as the merging of the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration (SBA). The commission also has proposed funding cuts for research into fossil fuels, defense and private sector space flight. While the proposals would have far-reaching consequences for the TBED community, commissioners have emphasized that the current draft does not represent the final report and many changes are expected before it is released later this year. President Barack Obama has said that he will comment on the commission's proposals once the full report is released in December.

Massachusetts remains the state best prepared to navigate the changing economy, according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's (ITIF) 2010 State New Economy Index. ITIF uses 26 indicators in five categories to evaluate the economic structure of states and assess their capacity to drive innovation-based growth. Massachusetts ranked number one in economic preparedness by a wide margin, as it has since the first index was released in 1999. Other top states include Washington, Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut. Overall, most states and the U.S. as a whole improved in most indicators between 2008 and 2010. Only three U.S. indicators showed a marked decline during that period: patents, non-industry R&D, and venture capital.

Facing the largest budget deficit in the European Union, British Prime Minister David Cameron will not to cut spending on S&T. The European Commission predicts the UK will face a 12 percent budget deficit in 2011. To combat this deficit, the Cameron led Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition took drastic measures to reduce the deficit by 2014. In October, Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the budget plan, which will cut almost all government departments by an average of 19 percent over four years. This austerity plan should reduce spending by almost £80 billion pounds (roughly $126 billion) according to Fox News.

The Department of Defense (DoD) lacks complete data on the number of technologies commercialized and therefore cannot determine the return on its space-related SBIR investment, finds a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). To meet space-related technology needs, DoD invested $5 billion, or approximately 11 percent of its total SBIR budget, on space-related Phase I and Phase II contracts over fiscal years 2005-09. However, the GAO report finds that DoD does not have a complete picture of contract awards and does not know how effectively it is commercializing SBIR technologies. Specifically, DoD is lacking complete data on Phase III and is inconsistent in recording and defining commercialization. Further, the report finds DoD does not require the services and components to track and report the data. The report offers three short- and long-term recommendations to overcome the challenges, including collecting data on all SBIR technologies that transition into DoD acquisitions or commercial-sector products or services. Read the report ...

This week, millions of people in more than 100 countries across the globe will participate in activities, forums and competitions geared toward helping young people develop the skills and knowledge needed to grow innovative companies as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010. The third annual celebration co-founded by the Kauffman Foundation and Enterprise UK boasts participation from students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and government officials. In tandem with the global celebration, President Obama proclaimed Nov. 14 through Nov. 20, 2010, as National Entrepreneurship Week, celebrating American entrepreneurs and highlighting the administration's national innovation strategy, which emphasizes entrepreneurship as a catalyst for new industries, new businesses and new jobs, according to a press release. The president's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship currently is collecting input from across the U.S. to recommend policies to bolster job growth.

ASAIO, the oldest society in the world focusing on medical devices, is seeking device developers who are early in development (pre-seed/seed stage funding) to submit abstracts to the New Ventures Forum (NVF). The NVF is based on a partnership between ASAIO and students from MIT Sloan School of Business that seeks to provide a forum for the presentation of next generation medical devices and a robust discussion of the commercialization challenges these technologies may encounter. Approximately three developers will be selected for 15-min presentations at ASAIO's national meeting to be held June 2011 in Washington DC at a separate session for the NVF.Submission does not require any fees. In January 2011 or so, student teams from MIT Sloan will work with selected applicants to develop and refine business plans and their presentations for the meeting. The selected applicants will present to a panel that is made up of experts from the FDA, reimbursement consultants and venture capitalists who will provide immediate feedback regarding the technologies and presentations.

"Despite the clear limitations of existing federal innovation programs, they remain important to our national economic competitiveness," according to a new report from the Center for American Progress. In Silos of Small Beer, authors Maryann Feldman and Lauren Lanahan examine the efficacy of federal innovation programs on the regional economic development of the eastern Midwest region that includes Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania; and Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown in northeast Ohio. Utilizing surveys and one-on-one interviews, the case study not only provides insight into the efficacy of the those federal programs, but also the interaction between actors within the region (e.g., small and medium-sized business, venture capital firms, nonprofit economic development agencies, state and local governments). Researchers found several shortcomings stemming from federal innovation programs and the region in general. However, the report also highlighted some promising news related the emergence of industry clusters in the region.

Academics and policymakers should "be more careful with the assumption that technological knowledge spillovers and networks occur automatically in innovative clusters," according to a recent article on the Cambridge IT cluster. The report, Do Clusters Really Matter for Innovation Practices in Information Technology? Questioning the Significance of Technological Knowledge Spillovers, examines the impact that a cluster has on R&D workers in IT field with an emphasis on territorial learning and knowledge spillovers. Over 100 IT professionals in various R&D job positions — junior developers, Chief Technology Officers to Managing Directors at small firms — from Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK) were surveyed or interviewed. The region's IT cluster is widely considered "one of most innovative and successful high-technology region in the UK and the EU." Author Franz Huber found that 49.1% R&D workers did not find clustering to be "beneficial for their work." However, Huber quickly points out that Cambridge's "guarded culture" may reduce the amount of formal and informal diffusions of knowledge.

Legislative control will shift from Democratic to Republican majority in eleven states and Republicans now control the legislature and governor's office of 20 states, up from nine, after adding more than 675 seats in last week's midterm elections, reports the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The GOP gained control in one or both chambers in the following states: Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Results from elections in New York, Oregon and Washington are still pending. Republicans won control of both chambers in Southern states previously controlled by Democrats, including Alabama and North Carolina, and gained control of both houses in the Midwestern states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana, according to Stateline.org. Sweeping proposals on budgets, taxes, social issues, redistricting and challenges to the federal health care law are anticipated in the coming year, reports NCSL.

With the end of federal stimulus funding for higher education on the horizon, states are considering proposals to retool current funding formulas for colleges and universities and looking to alternative funding sources to sustain their programs and services in the coming years. Ahead of the 2011 legislative session, groups commissioned by governors in Colorado and Virginia recommended a voter-approved tax and more stable funding streams from the state, respectively. In Texas, the Higher Education Coordinating Board endorsed a method in which a percentage of university funding would be based on student outcomes. The proposals were submitted to Gov. Rick Perry and the legislature last week, reports the Austin American-Statesman.

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