SSTI Digest

Over the past few months, several states have enacted spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year and passed legislation to support renewable energy initiatives and tax credits for R&D. While some TBED programs will face dramatic cuts in FY10, others are slated for slight decreases or will receive level funding. The following synopsis provides an overview of the 2009 legislative sessions across the following states: Massachusetts Lawmakers rejected Gov. Deval Patrick's amendment to the state budget aimed at securing funding for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) in the upcoming year. Although the enacted budget includes $10 million for grants, loans and investments through the MLSC, the appropriation is contingent on a consolidated net surplus for FY09, which currently reflects a zero balance, according to the state's projected financial statement released on June 29. Shortly after the budget was passed, Gov. Patrick asked the legislature to provide $20 million for MLSC outside of the surplus. The legislature rejected the Governor's proposal, and as a result, the original language in the budget was signed into law, meaning MLSC is unlikely to…

As companies across the nation continue to announce massive layoffs during the economic recession, states, localities and private foundations are encouraging entrepreneurial training and providing support services to help create new jobs and assist struggling businesses. Last month, the Kauffman Foundation announced an intensive effort to quickly train entrepreneurs and bolster the nation's economy. The $1 million FastTrac LaunchPad program is a combination of two existing initiatives - the FastTrac NewVenture and FastTrac GrowthVenture - offered in shorter lengths than the normal ten-week courses. The Kauffman Foundation points to U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamic Statistics data, which indicates that while business startups decline slightly in most of the cyclical downturns, startups remain robust even in the most severe recession over the sample period (in the early 1980s). The following is a sampling of recent announcements in support of entrepreneurship from across the country. New York City New York City, which has suffered major job losses throughout the financial sector, was the first to sign on to Kauffman's FastTrac program. The city's…

Using the state’s regional advantage, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) wants to create high-wage jobs in targeted industry sectors and establish new equity and financing programs that provide growth capital to sustain the ventures, the agency announced last week.   RIEDC released an economic growth plan with the goal of increasing the percentage of jobs that pay above the national average from its current 40 percent to 60 percent over the next 10 years. The average private sector wage in Rhode Island is $38,700 -- $4,600 less than the national average and much lower than neighboring states Connecticut and Massachusetts.   The advantage of being located in a “knowledge-rich corridor” that expands from Boston to New York City and encompasses 86 colleges and universities is the formation of a strong R&D and entrepreneurial base, the report states. Rhode Island can build upon this base by targeting industries that depend on knowledge resources and workers, according to RIEDC. The report recommends expansion and attraction efforts within six of these high-wage sectors, including Health and Life…

Thomas Rainey was named the new president and CEO of the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies.

Starting next year, every Rhode Island high school student will be able to participate in the Vex Challenge, an international robotics competition that gives students firsthand experience with project management and engineering. A coalition of education and science and technology advocates, led by the nonprofit Business Innovation Factory, will cover the costs to schools and funding for an annual statewide tournament beginning in 2007. Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri has endorsed the program, which he calls an important part of our plan for educating Rhode Islands next generation of science, technology, and engineering leaders.   FIRST, a nonprofit STEM organization founded in 1989 by Segway-inventor Dean Kamen, began the Vex Challenge last year as a spinoff of its advanced competition for college students and professional engineers. Students are issued a basic robotics kit and set about designing a robot that will complete certain basic tasks, such as placing balls in goals or racing towards a finish line. At the statewide tournament, participating teams go head-to-head and score points by completing these tasks. Kits can be reused year after…

John Cronin was named state director of the new Rhode Island Small Business Development Center at Johnson and Wales University in Providence. Cronin is CEO of the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri promoted Saul Kaplan to serve as the new director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. Kaplan replaces three-year veteran Michael McMahon, who left to launch a new equity firm.

Like many low-population states that cannot benefit from tax revenues from oil and gas exploitation such as Wyoming and Alaska, Rhode Island must leverage its existing university and industry research capabilities more fully and encourage more private investment activity, according to the five initial recommendations of the Rhode Island Science & Technology Advisory Council (STAC). The council, created by Gov. Don Carcieri in April 2005, is comprised of leaders from the business, academic and government sectors of the state's economy. The group's first recommendation is to encourage greater collaboration in more focused or concentrated methods through the creation of a Rhode Island Collaborative Research Alliance. Using the model of the widely respected Georgia Research Alliance, STAC recommends the state invest $1.5 million as match for a $6.75 million federal award from the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Coupled with the Rhode Island alliance would be the appointment of a commission to propose strategies for improving the…

To improve the way students learn and teachers teach in the areas of science and mathematics, Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri's Blue Ribbon Panel on Mathematics and Science Education recommends 12 specific strategies in four key areas including governance and culture; teacher recruitment; teacher quality; and learning opportunities for students. Gov. Carcieri launched the "Making the Grade" initiative in January with a panel composed of education and business leaders from around the state. The panel heard suggestions from students, teachers, parents, administrators, and business and community leaders. The report indicates that while Rhode Island students have made some progress in mathematics, the state continues to trail the region and the country in mathematics and science test scores. An international comparison also reveals that the U.S. lags in these areas. Daniel Smith, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems and co-chair of the panel, said the report is a response to a "national crisis" in education. Key recommendations include: Improving coordination among…

While many states are striving to increase broadband availability (see the Kentucky story above, for example), a Providence-based nonprofit released a study this month promoting the feasibility of making Rhode Island the first entirely networked state for broadband wireless. The Business Innovation Factory initiated the Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) to assess the demand for a statewide broadband wireless network and to determine the technological and economic feasibility of the network. The study also proposed an operating model for RI-WINs drawing on a broad public-private partnership. The study's conclusions were all positive. Rhode Island's concentrated geographic area proves to be a substantial plus for initial network installation, a substantial hurdle for most other states. The report suggests an initial capital outlay of $20.2 million and an annual operating cost of $5.012 million would allow…

Gov. Donald Carcieri last month announced two new initiatives targeting Rhode Island's science and technology (S&T) and manufacturing industries. On April 12, Gov. Carcieri signed an Executive Order creating the Science & Technology Advisory Council. The council, staffed by a team of tech leaders from local academia, private business and government communities, will advise the governor and General Assembly on the state's S&T priorities, as well as address issues that impact the support and growth of an innovation economy. The council's first task will be to assess the state's current capacity for innovation in S&T and suggest recommendations to strengthen its capabilities. In addition, the council will support the state's pursuit of federal research funding such as the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Additionally, Gov. Carcieri announced a new public-private partnership of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and the Rhode Island Manufacturing Summit. The purpose of the partnership is…

To reduce administrative costs by up to $500,000 and to improve operational efficiencies, the Slater Fund Board of Directors has approved plans to consolidate Rhode Island's four Slater Centers into a single entity, the Slater Technology Fund, Inc. The fund will retain its four technology thrusts of biomedical technology, interactive technologies, design and manufacturing, and marine and environmental technologies.