As the most comprehensive resource available for those involved in technology-based economic development, SSTI offers the services that are needed to help build tech-based economies. Learn more about membership...
SSTI Digest
Texas Hopes to Score Big with Video Game Tax Credit
For an industry that takes in more than $10 billion per year, video games receive relatively little dedicated support for economic development initiatives. When video game creators do attract the attention of federal and state politicians, it is often because of allegations of violent content and for encouraging sedentary lifestyles amongst consumers. A handful of states, however, have launched programs and credits that actively encourage the growth of the industry.
Texas joined these states last week when Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill approving up to $22 million in incentives for the entertainment sector, including video game companies. The money will be used to offer grants that will cover up to 5 percent of the total in-state spending on any video game project. The awards may range up to $250,000. Similar grants will be available for film, advertisement and television production through the program.
Georgia Tech’s ATDC Incubator Reaches $1B in Venture Funding
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) within the Georgia Institute of Technology announced its affiliated companies have received more than $1 billion in venture capital funding since 1999. Amassed from 160 separate deals, the amount represents 15 percent of the total venture capital in Georgia, about one out of its every five deals in the state.
Taking a closer look at the numbers over the past eight years, 75 companies at the ATDC received funding from 139 separate venture capital investors. Ten of these companies raised more than $25 million, and 56 percent of the deals came from outside of Georgia.
Considered one of the nation’s most successful technology incubators, the ATDC is a component of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, which is the school’s primary organization for economic development and technology commercialization. Since its creation in 1980, the incubator has developed 112 companies, with locations in the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, and Warner Robins.
Scorecard “Rates the States” in Energy Efficiency Policies
Vermont, Connecticut and California lead the nation in the race to adopt energy efficiency policies, programs and technologies, according to the 2006 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its findings last month, in concert with federal energy legislation being considered by Congress. States spend about three times as much on energy efficiency programs as the federal government and are leading the way on policies that drive energy efficiency investment, according to the authors. The scorecard ranks each state and the District of Columbia within the following eight categories:
Time to Apply for 2007 Excellence in TBED Awards
With the deadline less than two weeks away, we hope you are putting the finishing touches on your Excellence in TBED Award application.
International Recognition, External Validation, and Education and Outreach are just a few of the reasons why you should apply. SSTI’s awards program is designed to celebrate the exceptional achievement in technology-based economic development occurring around us everyday. Nonprofit organizations, local and state governments, economic development councils, and other organizations that promote innovation are encouraged to apply.
Please help us make the inaugural Excellence in TBED Awards program a success. The application and complete instructions are available at: http://www.ssti.org/awards.htm.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute is seeking someone for the position of SBIR Development Manager. For the SBIR Assistance Program, which provides development guidance for Georgia small businesses/companies, the SBIR Development Manager will aid small Georgia technology-based companies in developing commercialization plans and helping with understanding the commercial market for their product. Four to six years of job-related experience in accounting/business, engineering, supervisory/management is preferred. A master's degree also is desired.
DOE Awards $375M for Three BioFuel Research Centers
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced this week it will invest up to $375 million over five years in three new Bioenergy Research Centers to be located in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Madison, Wisc., and near Berkeley, Calif. The winning sites were selected through a competitive, peer-review process that began last year and included more than a dozen applicants from across the country.
Using multidisciplinary teams from several institutions, the centers' research will emphasize understanding how to reengineer biological processes to develop new, more efficient methods for converting the cellulose in plant material into ethanol or other biofuels that serve as a substitute for gasoline. DOE believes this research is critical because future biofuels production will require the use of feedstocks more diverse than corn, including cellulosic material such as agricultural residues, grasses, poplar trees, inedible plants, and nonedible portions of crops.
DOL Releases List of WIRED III Recipients
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently named 13 more regions to receive grants through the third round of the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program. As with the previous round of awards (see the Jan. 22, 2007 issue of the Digest), the recipients will each receive $5 million over the course of three years to integrate workforce training initiatives into a regional technology-based economic development strategy. The winners include:
Legislative Updates: Arizona, New Jersey Reach Budget Agreements
With less than two weeks to go before the new fiscal year, Arizona and New Jersey lawmakers approved funding for cutting-edge research at the close of their 2007 legislative sessions last week. Following is a synopsis of the TBED initiatives slated to receive funding under the respective budget agreements.
Arizona
Following several months of debate, Arizona lawmakers reached a budget agreement last week that is on target with many of Gov. Janet Napolitano’s priorities, including investments in innovation and education (see the Jan. 22, 2007 issue of the Digest).
Texas Governor Vetoes $570M in Spending from Proposed Budget; Slashes University Funding
Last week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed off on the state’s budget, but not before making substantial use of his line-item veto. Overall, the approved $151 billion FY 2008-2009 budget increases general revenue spending by $7.7 billion (11.8 percent) over the current biennium. Much of that new spending will support education in the state; however, a number of programs, particularly those connected to higher education, failed to receive the governor’s approval.
In all, Gov. Perry vetoed nearly $200 million in higher education spending. The largest of the cuts resulted from the governor’s decision to end group health insurance for faculty at the state’s community colleges. The veto is the result of a long-standing argument over whether or not the state should bear the financial responsibility for these benefits, according to a recent Austin-American Statesman article. The governor charged that many community colleges had inappropriately inflated their budget requests to receive funding for costs that should be covered by local taxes and tuition.
South Carolina Governor, Legislature Spar Over State’s Investment
Capturing an overwhelming majority of the votes needed to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto, the South Carolina Legislature prevailed last week in its efforts to position the state as a leader in hydrogen technology.
The Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Act, S. 243, authorizes the state to offer up to $15 million over the next four years in grants for research related to hydrogen production, storage, distribution and dispensing infrastructure. The bill also offers $300 tax rebates for in-state purchases of flex- and hydrogen-fuel vehicles and up to $500 for conversion equipment purchases. The veto was overridden with a 40-2 vote in the Senate and a 99-1 vote in the House.
NAS Provides Suggestions to Improve Business Stats
The national economy is a dynamic system, and the techniques to measure the system must be updated in order to understand its complexity, according to a recent report published by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). In Understanding Business Dynamics: An Integrated Data System for America’s Future, NAS outlines steps that could be taken to properly capture pertinent information about firms, especially the young and small ones that are driving the emerging sectors of the economy. While the report primarily concentrates on the operations of federal agencies and the recording of statistics that are national in scope, it raises an alternative question:
Are the states properly measuring small business dynamics?
The report’s recommendations are divided into three categories, which may be applicable to states wishing to improve their data collection systems:
Useful Stats: Science and Engineering Graduate Students by State, 2001-2005
Every year, the National Science Foundation releases Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in S&E, a report filled with detailed statistics about the characteristics of science and engineering graduates enrolled at U.S. institutions. Using the annual report, SSTI has prepared a table showing the total number of graduate students for each year from 2001 to 2005 in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Additionally, each state is ranked by the percent change in science and engineering graduate enrollment from 2001 to 2005.
For the U.S. as a whole, the country’s science and engineering graduate population increased by 11.5 percent over the five years. Among states, Minnesota experienced the largest increase at 61.8 percent, rising from 6,602 students in 2001 to 10,685 in 2005. North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho and Hawaii rounded out the states with the largest percent increase, all over 30 percent.