SSTI Digest

Sometimes a little money is all that may be required to discover that an innovation in the lab is worth millions in the marketplace. At least that's the goal of a small grant program launched this afternoon by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC). The MTTC Tech Commercialization Awards will provide $5,000 mini-grants for technology assessments and investigations by academic and industrial researchers within the Commonwealth.

As trends in federal funding priorities shift from domestic R&D to defense-related R&D, universities are scrambling to get their piece of the pie. The president's fiscal year 2006 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes increased funding of 6.6 percent over the fiscal year 2005 appropriation (see the Feb. 14 issue of the Digest). In comparison, increased funding requested for research-related activities within the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health are not proposed even to keep pace with inflation.

The rapid increase in federal spending for defense and homeland security has led a number of states to establish initiatives targeting potential economic development from these activities. North Carolina becomes the latest of those states, with its proposed Defense Technology Innovation Center.

The North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA), in collaboration with MCNC, has presented a formal plan to develop the incubator/accelerator in Cumberland County. The plan aims to convert North Carolina's technology and R&D assets into products and companies, emphasizing the state's military presence to enhance economic development in the region, said NCTA.

Broadband access is considered by most to be a key ingredient for encouraging innovation and building a local tech-based economy. Access for many rural areas, however, remains geographically or financially out of reach. Earlier this month, the New Hampshire Rural Development Council (NHRDC) unveiled a plan to change that for the businesses, government and individuals in the northern portion of the Granite State.

Produced by a group of more than 20 regional economic and community development practitioners, the Technology and Telecommunications Master Plan serves as a broad framework that is expected to provide direction to the region. The document is not intended as an implementation plan, but a tool to provide guidance as funding opportunities and projects become available, according to NHRDC.

The National Science Foundation has released its report on Federal Science and Engineering (S&E) Support to Universities, Colleges and Nonprofit Institutions for Fiscal Year 2002, revealing the government distributed nearly $24.4 billion to the nation's research institutions during the year. The figure is 8.5 percent higher higher than the FY 2001 total of $22.5 billion.

Federal S&E obligations include six categories of spending: research and development; R&D plant; facilities for instruction in S&E; fellowships, traineeships and training grants; general support for S&E; and, other S&E activities. The distribution of spending for each category varies greatly by state.

The scenario: You are a state legislator and have learned high oil and gas prices will provide the state coffers with at least enough surplus revenue over the next five years to have approximately $1,000 per resident. What do you do with the money?

Elected officials in Wyoming have chosen to invest $500 million into the state's future through academic scholarships and endowed chairs at the state's universities and community colleges.

Once the new endowment fund is fully capitalized, Wyoming high school graduates will receive a scholarship equal to tuition and fees at the University of Wyoming (UW) or any state community college. Signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal on March 3, the bill also authorizes $105 million to be used for endowed chairs and faculty positions.

With a state legislature that only meets for 90 days every two years, opportunity for positive change in Montana's public-supported efforts to build a tech-based economy is limited. For the proposed $20 million Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund - one of new Gov. Brian Schweitzer's largest economic development initiatives - the 90th day, April 26, is fast approaching.

The perennial or biennial efforts to secure funding from state legislatures to support tech-based economic development (TBED) programs can create significant limitations on the design and execution of programs targeting research or early-stage, seed capital investments. Fixed endowments such as the one created by Wyoming and the Permanent Big Sky Economic Development Fund proposed in Montana (see both stories above) are ideal, but getting the initial payment approved by a legislature can be difficult.

For 20 years, small tech firms and researchers in Minnesota called on Minnesota Project Innovation (MPI) for assistance in developing competitive proposals for the federal Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. On Feb. 28, the MPI Board of Directors voted to officially transfer program operations to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Betsy Lulfs, who joined DEED in early February, will coordinate and expand the SBIR/STTR programs, according to DEED. The program will tap into DEED’s statewide network of Small Business Development Centers, regional business development representatives and business service specialists – as well as through partnerships with organizations such as Medical Alley/MNBIO, the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Lulfs formerly worked with a similar program in Ohio.

Many communities around the country have established authorities to oversee the real estate, infrastructure and management issues of their technology parks. Few of those authorities, however, provide direct grants to support industry-university R&D or commercialization projects. This more proactive approach to growing future tenants is the thinking behind a pilot program created last year for the Leon County Research and Development Authority (LCRDA) in Tallahassee.

Last month, the Innovation Park Technology Commercialization Grant Program awarded its first two $15,000 grants to be used for product development, business and commercialization services, or to secure matching funds. Grant recipients also will receive marketing support and strategic planning assistance.

If the U.S. is to sustain its international competitiveness, national security and the quality of life for its citizens, then it must make significant improvements in the participation of all students in mathematics and science, says a new report from the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF).

The report, A Commitment to America's Future: Responding to the Crisis in Mathematics and Science Education, points to the lack of holistic, system-wide solutions in the U.S. as one source of inefficiency in math and science education and recommends cohesive, long-term strategies to alleviate pressing systematic problems. It also challenges business, education and policy leaders to commit to new collaborative roles to advance the development of state education systems extending from pre-kindergarten to higher education and into the workforce.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released a report detailing a full range of statistics yielded by its 2001 Survey of Industrial Research and Development. Data show 31 states experienced a 10 percent or greater increase in their industrial R&D performance over a four-year period, 1998 to 2001. Twelve states experienced declines during the same period.