SSTI Digest

Yuka Nagashima, executive director of the High Technology Development Corp. and center director for the Innovate Hawaii program, has resigned from both posts and will leave the state agency in August. Nagashima will be leaving for Denmark to support her husband's research career. Len Higashi, current senior economic development manager, was selected to become the acting executive director.

Raja Krishnamoorthi has been appointed vice chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council by Gov Pat Quinn.

Jason Hall has been named the St. Louis Regional Chamber's vice president for business development and corporate counsel, effective June 28. Hall's most recent position was as deputy director for the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

London's Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an initiative to transform Olympic Park into a creative and digital business hub for the city. According to an article from startups.uk, the proposed redevelopment promises to boost the United Kingdom's (UK) GDP by $450 million ($692.5 million US) and create more than 6,500 new jobs. In partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation, the city will make major investments in the areas surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including the construction of three feature buildings:

London's Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an initiative to transform Olympic Park into a creative and digital business hub for the city. According to an article from startups.uk, the proposed redevelopment promises to boost the United Kingdom's (UK) GDP by $450 million ($692.5 million US) and create more than 6,500 new jobs. In partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation, the city will make major investments in the areas surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including the construction of three feature buildings:

After a lengthy legal process, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) — an incentive fund for science and technology businesses — violated a state constitutional requirement that bills address only a single subject. According to a Kansas City Star article, the judges upheld a ruling by a Cole County, MO, judge that lawmakers illegally included a clause making the fund contingent upon passage of a separate proposal overhauling the state's tax credit programs. The clause was added during a 2011 special session of the state general assembly (see the October 26, 2011 issue of the Digest). Although the separate proposals never passed, Gov. Jay Nixon's administration implemented the fund in 2012. In response, the Missouri Roundtable for Life and other anti-abortion activists filed a suit against the fund due to fears that it would be used to finance human embryonic stem cell research.

Measuring impact is critical to the success and sustainability of any economic development initiative, and as the national debate over fiscal austerity and taxpayer spending continues, TBED organizations can expect increased scrutiny and accountability for their investments.

Amid growing skepticism from the public, lawmakers increasingly struggle with finding a balance for funding new efforts that may take awhile to pay off with more pressing state needs. This year, measures to encourage the creation or expansion of high-growth companies through the use of tax incentives have been unveiled in several states. At the same time, lawmakers in some states are pushing for greater disclosure requirements through transparency measures. SSTI has compiled pending and recently approved legislation below.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Texas. Our first three installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 issues of the Digest.

Maryland
Gov. Martin O'Malley, State of the State Address, Jan. 30, 2013
“Creating jobs through innovation is not just the responsibility of the private sector. There are things we can do together ”“ through the common platform of our government ”“ to accelerate innovation and improve the business climate ... expanding our successful job creation tax credits for biotech, and research and development. And, by creating a new cyber security tax credit. ...

While Washington remains in political gridlock and the national economy continues sluggish growth, one key trend for political and economic success is apparent: U.S. metro regions experiencing high economic growth have invested federal, state, and private funds in high-speed broadband access.

In a recent NY Times Op-Ed, Thomas Friedman illustrates the impact of local investment in high-speed infrastructure that has contributed to an economic resurgence in Chattanooga, TN. Since installing a city-wide fiber network and smart meters, major global companies including Amazon and Volkswagen have moved operations to the city. The result is that corporate relocations, along with community-based tech-startups, have created over 3,700 new jobs in the past 3 years.

The answer may not be clear, but both sides can agree the U.S. skills gap will continue to deepen if changes do not occur. In the U.S. manufacturing sector, the skills gap may be less pervasive than many believe, according to a report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). BCG researchers estimate the U.S. is short 80,000 to 100,000 highly skilled manufacturing workers. That shortage represents less than 1 percent of the nation's 11.5 million manufacturing workers and less than 8 percent of its 1.4 million highly skilled manufacturing workers. The researchers also found only seven states — six of which are in the bottom quartile of U.S. state manufacturing output — show significant or severe skills gaps. They conclude shortages are local, not nationwide, in nature and reflect imbalances driven by both location and job classes.

While election night's main focus was on the presidential race, the importance of ballot measures for states and metros is growing as public services and budgets are being severely trimmed. A recent article in The New Republic reports on a new trend where states are embracing ballot measures as a potential source of dedicated funds for targeted investments in regional economic growth and development.

Aside from California Gov. Jerry Brown's victory in raising taxes on top earners to help fund education and balance the budget, most state measures to increase taxes were defeated by voters. This includes extending a one-cent sales tax increase in Arizona, a cigarette tax increase in Missouri and implementing a 1 percent sales tax increase in South Dakota — all of which were slated to fund education.

On November 6, in addition to the presidential election, eleven state and two territorial gubernatorial contests will be decided. Seven of these races (Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) include a sitting governor running for re-election, while the remaining six (American Samoa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington) are open races.

Of the races involving incumbents, four are a Democratic governors being challenged, while three sitting Republican governors are up for re-election — two of them for a full term after completing the terms of the previous governors who left for other positions.

Five of the open races are a contest for a seat being vacated by a Democrat, while only one is currently held by a Republican.

SSTI took a look at the TBED platforms of the candidates for governor.

Delaware

Tony Grindberg, executive director at the NDSU Research and Technology Park, has announced his resignation effective Sept. 30. He has accepted a position as the business unit manager for the Aerospace Business Unit of Appareo Systems, LLC. Appareo Systems is headquartered in the NDSU Research Park on the NDSU campus. Grindberg has been with the NDSU Research Park for the past 10 years.

Harold Bradley has retired from the Kauffman Foundation after serving as chief investment officer since 2007. Bradley's departure follows that of Bob Litan, Kauffman's vice president for research and policy, who joined Bloomberg Government in Washington as director of research earlier this month. Mary McLean, the foundation's managing director of investments, will take on day-to-day responsibilities tied to the supervision of the investment staff.

Betsy Biemann, who has served as president of the Maine Technology Institute since 2005 has resigned. Joe Migliaccio, manager of MTI's Business Innovation Program, is serving as interim president.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been named the next president of Purdue University. Daniels will become the 12th president in Purdue's 143-year history in January at the end of his second term as governor.

David Brukardt has been named the associate vice president for economic development for the University of Wisconsin System.

The Missouri Economic Development Council has named Ryan Mooney as its president for the coming year. Mooney is senior vice president for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and will maintain that position while he serves his term with the EDC.