SSTI Digest

Early registration has ended and the conference hotel is full, but you still have the opportunity to join representatives from more than 40 states, provinces and three continents at the nations premier gathering of the technology-based economic development field. This is one conference you do not want to miss!



Transforming Regional Economies, SSTI's 10th Annual Conference is only three weeks away. The event, built around 22 timely breakout sessions, engaging plenary sessions, and a gala opening reception, will be held in Oklahoma City on Nov. 1-2, 2006. Four intensive pre-conference options, including a hands-on look at the transformation of Oklahoma City, are offered on Oct. 31.



The Renaissance Hotel graciously expanded SSTI's room block several times before the place was sold out. Don't despair! Rooms are available in two nearby hotels. Both had rooms available as of Oct. 11:



Courtyard Oklahoma City Downtown

2 West Reno Avenue

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102

Phone: (405) 232-2290

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has announced a trio of new programs. Last month, the OCAST governing board approved a business plan for 2007 that committed $10 million of recently appropriated revenue for high-tech development. OCAST is devoting much of this funding to a new seed capital program, awards for plant science research, and a program to encourage the use of nanotechnology in manufacturing.

The OCAST Seed Capital Fund is a $5 million program to provide an accessible source of seed capital to technology entrepreneurs. Firms may apply for equity and other investments, with the stipulation that they receive additional co-investment from private or other non-state capital sources. OCAST's board and an appointed Investment Committee will oversee the program's operations. The Fund will issue its first RFPs in January 2007.

How Should TBED Adjust to the Changing Face of U.S. Industry? Join your peers and colleagues from around the country at SSTI's annual conference to discuss the trends described in "Whither U.S. Industry" (see story above) and other critical issues. More information is available at http://www.ssti.org/conference06.htm.

If there is ever an example of a city-region that can demonstrate the benefits of working as a team to transform its economy through all aspects of tech-based economic development, it would have to be the Oklahoma City area. And fortunately, the vibrant community is based in a state that both understands what is needed for transforming an economy from being natural resource-based to knowledge-driven and is matching talk with real money.



Whether they realize it or not, several state and regional TBED programs around the country owe their structure and existence to the pioneering TBED work done in Oklahoma since the 1980s. Much of the portfolio of programs offered through OCAST, its private sector partner I2E, the Oklahoma Alliance for Excellence in Manufacturing, and the "Oklahoma model" for increasing equity capital availability has been replicated around the country.

SSTI is pleased to give regular Digest readers the first peek at the four intensive pre-conference workshops, which will precede SSTI's 10th annual conference on Nov. 1-2. Registration may be completed online at: https://www.ssti.org/Conf06/registration.htm.

 

Turning Innovations into Enterprises: A Practitioner's Guide to Technology Commercialization

A name and face familiar to many SSTI members, Dr. Randy Goldsmith, president of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, brings his internationally popular technology commercialization workshop to this years SSTI pre-conference in a half-day format especially designed for TBED professionals. The Goldsmith Technology Commercialization Model has been adopted by NASA and by economic development organizations in the United Kingdom, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and elsewhere.

Nearly $300 Million Tagged for TBED
It took moving into a special session and negotiating a late deal between lawmakers and Gov. Brad Henry last week for the Oklahoma legislature to pass several bills related to the state's budget for fiscal year 2007, which begins this weekend. The final product includes several of the governor's top priorities for the state's portfolio of technology-based economic development initiatives, including $150 million for the new EDGE Research Endowment to support research, $95 million for research infrastructure improvements at the state's universities, and a 75 percent increase for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST). The budget also cuts the state's top marginal income tax from 6.25 percent to 5.25 percent by 2010.

With preparations for SSTI's 10th Annual Conference in Oklahoma City on Oct. 31-Nov. 2 well underway, we have received many questions from local, regional and state organizations wanting to host the premier event for the tech-based economic development (TBED) profession in 2007. Because of the increased interest, SSTI has bumped up its schedule for selecting the 2007 site. We are accepting nominations of host organizations and locations for SSTI's 11th Annual Conference until July 30, 2006.

Held in October to early November each year, SSTI’s annual two-and-a-half day event attracts approximately 300-400 participants from more than 40 states and several countries. The conference is especially designed for those engaged in TBED on the local, regional, state or national level. Over the past 10 years, SSTI’s annual conference has grown to become the nation’s largest and most diverse gathering of the TBED community.

One of the latest examples of the important role a foundation can play in tech-based economic development strategies comes from a recent $15 million donation to Tulsa University. The Chapman Trust, established after the deaths of Oklahoma oilman James Chapman and his wife Leta Chapman, made the donation to perpetually endow nine new junior faculty positions at the university.

University President Steadman Upham announced the creation of the nine Wellspring Professorships in his Spring 2006 letter to the campus, saying the positions were all related closely to "the goals of the strategic plans of the collegiate deans." All nine tenure-track positions also mirror the globalization, entrepreneurship and diversity issues raised by many in the tech-based economic development community and popular business press of late:

It only seems natural that SSTI celebrate a decade of convening the premiere professional development event for the nation's tech-based economic development community in a state that, for nearly 20 years, has been a pioneer for innovative approaches to transform regional economies — Oklahoma. SSTI's 10th annual conference and pre-conference intensive workshops will be held at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

The first three installments of SSTI's four-part look at how TBED will play in the 2006 legislative priorities of the governors can be found in the Digest archives at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm

Oklahoma

Gov. Brad Henry, State-of-the-State Address, Feb. 6, 2006

"While the energy and agriculture industries will always be vital to Oklahoma and its economy, we must be prepared for the demands and innovations of the marketplace of the future.

Upon ruling in favor of a $50 million bonds issue last month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court cleared the way for an endowed chairs program at colleges and universities throughout the state .