SSTI Digest

Using its Occupational Employment Statistics Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the number of employees in about 800 separate occupations for every metropolitan area in the U.S. In the most recent version of its Science and Engineering Indicators series, the National Science Board compiled a chart organizing the number of employees in S&E occupations in 2006, the most recent data available. As a whole, science and engineering occupations include all varieties of engineers, as well as scientists from the computer, mathematical, life, physical and social sciences.   SSTI has prepared a table showing the number of S&E employees and the percent of employees in S&E occupations for the 100 U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of employed people. For the U.S. as a whole, in 2006, just over 5.4 million had jobs in S&E occupations, which represents 4.1 percent of the working population. In the table, the metropolitan areas are organized by the size of their total employee base.   The metropolitan area with the highest concentration of S&E employees was San Jose, whose 126,000 S&E…

A complete description of this opportunity and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The University of Toledo is seeking someone to serve as director of the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio (UCEAO) in the university's Department of Research. The director will be an experienced administrator who will serve as a major spokesperson in Ohio on advanced energy and who can move UCEAO from its present developmental stage to a robust organization that will provide leadership statewide. The incumbent will have significant professional experience in an energy-related field, as well as significant relevant administrative, leadership, and management experience. A bachelor's degree is required; an advanced degree or a Ph.D. is preferred.

Responding to a statewide economic downturn, Gov. Ted Strickland announced two major TBED initiatives, injecting more than $1 billion into job creation and offering a free year of tuition at Ohio public universities for high school seniors.   During his State of the State Address last week, Gov. Strickland outlined his Building Ohio Jobs proposal, a $1.7 billion stimulus package focusing on the creation of high-quality jobs in the fields of renewable energy and biomedicine. The plan would be financed through bonds, which requires legislative approval. Gov. Strickland asked lawmakers to put the initiative on the ballot for a fall vote, and if approved, funds would be allocated starting next year across the following sectors: $250 million in the advanced and renewable energy economy, including solar, wind and clean coal; $200 million to establish the Ohio Main Streets Renewal Initiative to spur redevelopment in downtown neighborhoods; $200 million in the biomedical industry; $150 million for infrastructure projects; and, $100 million in bioproducts that use renewable sources to create plastics and other products. Another $800 million…

Gov. Jennifer Granholm unveiled her fiscal year 2009 budget last week, proposing to refinance a portion of the state’s general obligation and taxable tobacco bonds and reduce spending across nearly all state departments in order to finance new proposals without raising taxes.   In addition to the proposed use of $150 million in pension funds for Invest Michigan! (see related article in this issue), Gov. Granholm outlined several other TBED-focused during her State of the State Address (see the Jan. 30, 2008 issue of the Digest). One of those initiatives – the Michigan Job Creation Incentive – would be paid for by capitalizing on the sale of state bonds. Under the proposal, new businesses in the top 50 growing sectors are not required to pay any taxes the first year of the tax cut, and existing top 50 growth-sector businesses will get a triple tax credit on their Michigan Business tax.   To support the alternative energy industry throughout the state, Gov. Granholm recommends: The creation of four Centers of Excellence linking a university with a job-creating alternative energy company; Tax credits for wind…

The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin’ Gov’s series includes highlights from State of the State Addresses delivered in Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota and Wyoming.   Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, State of the State Address, Feb. 6, 2008 “We can and must accelerate the growth of broadband service, especially to the rural areas of our state. And so tonight I am announcing the Alabama Internet Initiative with a goal of ensuring that every home and every business in our state has high-speed Internet access and will have it within the next four years.”   Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell, State of the State Address, Feb. 6, 2008 “The creation of jobs is always one of our top priorities. And at a time like this, with economic storm clouds on the horizon, it’s more important than ever that we focus on economic development. For that reason, I am recommending $500,000 in operating funds and $5 million in capital funds to support the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology draws upon our strengths in the fields of biology and chemistry and is an economic driver in manufacturing and…

One of the continuing challenges for TBED organizations is successfully documenting how their investments and activities influence the economic landscape of their states and regions. SSTI has selected a few recent state reports as examples of impact assessment, each identifying and utilizing certain measurements to help them tell their story. Their approaches may be of interest to other TBED organizations looking to gauge and share their impact with others. A starting point for many organizations going down the road of impact analysis is determining what they should measure and why they should measure it. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is an example of an organization looking into new ways to evaluate their TBED efforts, to complement the traditional economic development metrics they have used in the past. Measuring Up: Enhanced Metrics for a New Economy steps through Pennsylvania’s four focus areas of TBED activity (research and technology commercialization, company financing, business and technical assistance, workforce development and education) and identifies the metrics associated with the inputs, activities,…

State venture capital programs are an integral part of many state’s technology-based economic development portfolio. These programs can strategically target state investments towards promising high-tech companies at the critical early stages of business development and in areas where private capital is scarce. Venture programs, however, are not always easy to implement. By definition, they require a large fund of investment capital and sufficient manpower to assist and monitor their portfolio companies. Facing these difficulties, some states have turned to other methods of making state investment capital available to entrepreneurs.    One option is to target a portion of public pension fund investments toward in-state businesses. Most retirement systems already dedicate some of their investments to venture capital. Placing geographic restrictions or considerations on investments occurs less frequently, however, in respect for “prudent person” rules for investment (e.g., finding the greatest return at least level of exposure) and the monies belong to future and existing retirees, rather than the public sector.   Few…

Included within the NSF’s National Patterns of R&D Resources series is data detailing the amount of each state’s total R&D expenditures and gross state product (GSP). Total R&D is calculated by combining a state’s R&D expenditures from federal sources, colleges and universities, federally funded research and development centers, industry and other nonprofit institutions.   SSTI has prepared a table showing the total R&D expenditures divided by the GSP, the percentage of which is often called the R&D intensity, for each state and the District of Columbia from 2000 to 2004. Additionally, the chart illustrates the rank of each state’s 2004 R&D intensity, the percent change of R&D intensity over the five-year period, and the ranking of this percent change.   Leading the pack in 2004 was New Mexico, whose R&D intensity was 8.04 percent. This was followed by Maryland (6.22 percent), Massachusetts (5.11 percent), Michigan (4.56 percent) and Rhode Island (4.4 percent). For the U.S. as a whole, the percentage was 2.56 in 2004.   However, the U.S. R&D intensity…

It only seems natural that SSTI celebrate the premiere professional development event for the nation's tech-based economic development community in 2009 in a state that, for 20 years, has pioneered innovative approaches to transform regional economies -­ Kansas. SSTI's 13th annual conference and pre-conference workshops will be held at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel on Oct. 20-22, 2009. Overland Park provides the perfect backdrop for SSTI's 13th annual conference for many reasons. Kansas has a vibrant technology and bioscience community that boasts innovative programs, such as KTEC, KTEC PIPELEINE, Kansas Bioscience Authority, and Heartland BioVentures. KTEC is in the midst of celebrating 20 years as the state’s leading technology economic development organization and has positive relationships with both the state’s universities and private sector. KTEC brings $13 million in technology entrepreneurship to the region, in addition to the $40 million in funding from the Kansas Bioscience Authority. "We are thrilled that SSTI selected Overland Park as the host site for the 2009 conference," said Tracy Taylor, president and CEO of…

A complete description of this opportunity and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. South Dakota State University is creating a new office of technology transfer and is hiring a director to lead this new office. Some of the responsibilities for this position include working with inventors to file invention disclosures and to determine commercial potential; marketing intellectual property and managing the intellectual property protection process; developing training programs; ensuring compliance with policies and procedures relative to technology transfer and commercialization; and drafting and reviewing agreements to advance research opportunities. An MBA, MS, MA or PSM degree in an appropriate field is required.

Analysts Say Request Going NowhereThe last budget request of a lame duck administration rarely musters much attention from Congress as its focus is turned toward the next administration and, for entire the House of Representatives, its own re-election. Not one of the previous seven budgets of the Bush years has been passed on time, so no one in Washington expects this one to be the exception. Nevertheless, the fiscal year 2009 request provides the Bush Administration one final opportunity to outline how it would like to see the federal government spend its money. As in every previous budget request from the Bush White House, that doesn’t include much for economic development programs. “Highlights” for economic development programs include: Every economic development program in the Department of Agriculture is either slated for elimination or deep cuts. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) would receive only $4 million, down from $89.6 million in FY08. Grants from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) would be slashed 60 percent, dropping from $250 million to $100 million. SBA grant programs for entrepreneurial…

Four years ago, President Bush launched a nationwide initiative to increase the availability of affordable, high-speed Internet access. The Administration's Broadband Initiative, which included efforts to expand the wireless spectrum available for commercial use and new funding to support broadband research, sought to eliminate the gaps in service that existed in many areas of the country and to improve U.S. competitiveness through its broadband infrastructure. Networked Nation: Broadband in America 2007, a new report from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA), states this initiative has "to a very great degree" accomplished this mission.   External groups tracking broadband policy and use disagree with that conclusion.   Networked Nation cites an Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report from last year that found the over 99 percent of all U.S. zip codes received broadband service from at least one provider as of the end of 2006. Those zip codes encompassed more than 99 percent of the nation's population. NTIA also concluded that the Administration's…