SSTI Digest

Studies have shown a strong correlation between high-wage economic growth and university research activity. Examination of nearly every strong regional technology center across the country will reveal at least one research university within its boundaries. As a result, many state and local technology-based economic development (TBED) efforts strive to increase the quantity and quality of university R&D undertaken within their boundaries.

One need look no further than the local cineplex to see an analogy for the rationale of one particular TBED strategy. Hollywood knows adding a well known actor to a movie's lineup guarantees some level of ticket sales at the box office. Similarly, many state and local TBED programs are financially supporting the recruitment and retention of exceptional academic researchers through endowed chairs, faculty positions or eminent scholars.

A study released last week by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development finds that, within a region, universities are best able to affect the growth of young, emerging clusters. The study, Universities and the Development of Industry Clusters, concludes a "university must have a large base of research and development in order to significantly impact a cluster..."

For a university to have the maximum benefit for local cluster development, the institution must align services and community involvement with regional interests and industry clusters across a broad spectrum, not just in terms of technical knowledge and R&D. In other words, the university needs to actively address business, workforce and community issues in addition to developing an exceptional research capacity.

One of the differences between technology-based economic development (TBED) and more traditional approaches to promoting economic growth is TBED's orientation that while all jobs may be important, they are not created equal. Traditional economic development may provide millions of dollars for financial incentives and infrastructure construction assistance for a shopping mall or "big box" retailer that provides many poverty-level wage positions or part-time jobs.

Investment in TBED, however, may direct the public's limited resources toward creating and sustaining companies requiring higher skilled employees, paying higher wages, and increasing the standard of living for its residents. But what constitutes a high wage job?

The National Science Board recently named Mary Good to be the recipient of the 2004 Vannevar Bush Award for "her life-long contributions to science, engineering and technology, and for leadership throughout her multi-faceted career."

Sean O'Kane, a hotel manager from Manchester, N.H., has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

Robin Siss, Vermont's first commissioner for the Department of Information and Innovation, has announced her resignation. Siss began the position in August. Denise Fehr will serve as acting commissioner.

The National Science Board recently named Mary Good to be the recipient of the 2004 Vannevar Bush Award for "her life-long contributions to science, engineering and technology, and for leadership throughout her multi-faceted career."

Sean O'Kane, a hotel manager from Manchester, N.H., has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

Robin Siss, Vermont's first commissioner for the Department of Information and Innovation, has announced her resignation. Siss began the position in August. Denise Fehr will serve as acting commissioner.

Katherine Willis, the founding president of Cyber-state.org, has announced her retirement. Jeff Moore will serve as interim president.

In an attempt to attract more bioscience firms, Florida will invest up to $1 billion of its $102 billion employee pension fund into venture capital, the State Board of Administration recently announced. A forum was held last week by Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency, to outline the investment plan to more than 80 venture capitalists in attendance.

Leading the forum was Coleman Stipanovich, director of the State Board of Administration, Richard Lerner, president of the Scripps Research Institute and Gov. Jeb Bush. The pension fund is part of $5 billion the state puts into alternative funds to be used for higher risk investments, Stipanovich said. The first installment will be $350 million during the next 12 months.

Two legislative bills encompassing economic development priorities of Gov. Jim Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin initiative recently were signed to provide assistance for both entrepreneurs and manufacturers.

Senate Bill 261 creates two tax credit programs to spur investment in start-up companies and fosters a new measure to provide funding and technical assistance to entrepreneurs. To encourage investors to take a chance on new Wisconsin companies, SB 261 offers $65 million in tax credits over the next 10 years. When fully deployed, the credits will leverage more than $260 million of investments from the private sector, Gov. Doyle said. The second part of the act provides $2.6 million for technology commercialization grant and loan programs in order to create a network of assistance centers to support entrepreneurs.

The U.S. cannot take its position as a world leader of innovation and research for granted, suggest new initiatives sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation. A report released on April 21 by NSF states the U.S. must take action, pointing out that invention requires both ingenuity and a skilled workforce. The task force - a group of 14 organizations associated with business and academia - unveiled its own advocacy campaign a day earlier, calling upon the federal government to grow the budgets of several key research agencies.

Targeted for policymakers and the public, the task force's initiative is aimed at reversing a decline in federal investment in basic research in the physical sciences and engineering. The decline, the task force says, puts at risk the development of new technologies, new industries and high-value jobs.

Small firms, as much as large ones, may be key to the nation's ability to innovate, particularly in emerging fields, according to data published by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A report released earlier this year by SBA's Office of Advocacy shows that large firms in the biotechnology, medical electronics, semiconductor, and telecommunications industries are citing patents by small firms in higher-than-expected numbers.

The report, Small Firms and Technology: Acquisitions, Inventor Movement, and Technology Transfer, examines small firms' contribution to the innovation process through acquisition by larger firms and the hiring of elite inventors. Also considered is large firms' dependence on small firm technology through patent citations. The report's conclusions are drawn from two 1,000-plus databases of company patent activity from 1996 to 2000 and from 1998 to 2002.