SSTI Digest

Hard evidence of the increasing global research competence discussed in the Thursby's paper above was provided last week when the Singapore Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) announced plans last week to commit $7.5 billion ($4.6 billion US) over the next five years to sustain innovation-driven growth through economic-oriented R&D. All figures below are in U.S. dollars.

To help Digest readers to appreciate the size of the commitment, Singapore had an estimated population of 4.4 million residents in July 2005, which would rank it 25th among U.S. states -- comparable to Colorado, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina or Kentucky in population size.

Stem cell research, an expanded tax zone redevelopment initiative and faculty/researcher recruitment are all beneficiaries in the fiscal year 2007 budget proposal submitted by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich last week. In addition, while overall funding for the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is down 16 percent from the FY 2006 appropriation, the governor's request includes several new programs to assist technology entrepreneurship. Highlights of the economic development portions of the budget are provided below.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell is using the midterm budget request as the vehicle to substantially overhaul how the state supports the entire economic development process. Connecticut Innovations, one of the nation's oldest state-created equity finance programs for tech businesses, would be consolidated with departments that cover focus areas ranging from health education and housing to traditional economic development financing.

During her State-of-the-State Address earlier this month, Gov. Rell unveiled her fiscal year 2006-07 midterm budget adjustment proposal and announced plans to restructure the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). Under the plan, the new Department of Business and Employment (DBE) will provide programs previously administered by DECD, but with enhanced planning and programmatic features, according to the governor's office:

Improving higher education is a top priority in almost every state, but fewer than half of states have set specific, measurable goals to track their progress in enrolling, retaining and graduating students, according to a new report from Jobs for the Future (JFF), By the Numbers: State Goals for Increasing Postsecondary Attainment.

The Boston-based nonprofit organization found just 23 of the 50 states have set at least one numerical goal for increasing the number of students who enroll in college, stay in college, and graduate with a college degree. Only 10 have set numerical goals for all three. In addition, only 11 have set even one goal related to improving the success rate among minority students.

Despite a decrease of $44.6 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding from fiscal year 2003,  Boston held the top spot in total NIH funding for FY 2004, maintaining its lead over New York. The two cities had $1.57 billion and $1.25 billion, respectively.

Baltimore moved up to third place in the annual ranking after receiving a significant increase of $70.3 million in NIH funding. That resulted in Philadelphia dropping to fourth, with Seattle, La Jolla, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago and San Francisco rounding out the top 10, respectively.

Using NIH data, SSTI has crafted a table ranking the top 100 cities for FY 2004 NIH funding. The table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/022006t.htm

The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, invites applications for the position of Associate Director for Research. In addition to overseeing research activities and helping to generate new projects, the successful candidate will have an important role in supervising graduate students in applying regional models and providing other types of technical assistance to businesses and communities. Applicants should have graduate training in economics, regional science, city planning, business, public policy or a related field and 3-5 years of experience. A Ph.D. is preferred. A complete job description is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Temi Bova is the new director of Union College's U-start technology business incubator in Schenectady, N.Y.

The Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania promoted Stephen Brawley to serve as president and CEO.

Alan Brown was named executive director of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, a newly formed economic development initiative.

The Wright Center of Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis changed its name to daytaOhio and named Paul Cashen as its new president.

Temi Bova is the new director of Union College's U-start technology business incubator in Schenectady, N.Y.

The Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania promoted Stephen Brawley to serve as president and CEO.

Alan Brown was named executive director of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, a newly formed economic development initiative.

The Wright Center of Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis changed its name to daytaOhio and named Paul Cashen as its new president.

Former Lansing Community College president Paula Cunningham is the new director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.