As the most comprehensive resource available for those involved in technology-based economic development, SSTI offers the services that are needed to help build tech-based economies. Learn more about membership...
SSTI Digest
NBIA Honors Excellence in Business Incubation
The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) honored six top incubation programs, graduates and clients at its 17th International Conference on Incubation, held May 18-21 in Richmond, Va. Award winners are highlighted below:
Greater Philadelphia Acquires Road Map to Build Innovation Economy
Innovation Philadelphia, a public-private partnership, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the city of Philadelphia have developed a road map that identifies the future drivers of the Greater Philadelphia economy and provides a framework for developing these drivers.
A Road Map for Regional Growth: Connecting the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Economy represents the broader interests and perspectives of the 11-county regional business community, nonprofit community, higher education, and local agencies and governments. It articulates regional competitive advantages and identifies target opportunities that, if developed in a focused and determined manner, will allow Greater Philadelphia to reclaim a role as a leading global innovator.
State and Local Tech-based ED RoundUp
San Pablo, CA, College to Use $2.1M EDA Grant to Build Biotech Incubator
Contra Costa College has secured a $2.1 million federal grant for a biotech startup center, the Contra Costa Times reported earlier this month. A matching requirement set up by the federal Economic Development Administration, the source of the $2.1 million, means the project will receive additional funding from nearby cities. San Pablo gave all of the amount asked of it, and Richmond contributed about half the match money, the Times states. Other cities putting up brief commitments will evaluate their support on a continuing basis. The 14,000-square-foot biotech incubator will allow space for eight tenants, once construction – expected to be done by next summer – is completed.
People
Stephen Jeffery has been appointed the new president/executive director of the Technology Association of Georgia.
Sandy Layman was named commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Agency (IRRRA) earlier this month. IRRRA promotes economic development in Northeastern Minnesota.
Tim Witsman recently resigned as president of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce to pursue other opportunities in the community. Witsman headed the area's lead economic development agency for 15 years.
People
Stephen Jeffery has been appointed the new president/executive director of the Technology Association of Georgia.
People
Sandy Layman was named commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Agency (IRRRA) earlier this month. IRRRA promotes economic development in Northeastern Minnesota.
People
Tim Witsman recently resigned as president of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce to pursue other opportunities in the community. Witsman headed the area's lead economic development agency for 15 years.
EDA Reauthorization Would Support Tech-based ED Initiatives
Congress begins consideration of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) reauthorization legislation, which continues to include several initiatives to promote tech-based economic development. With the current authorization due to expire on September 30, 2003, the new legislation would authorize EDA's operations for five more years, beginning in FY 2004 and extending to FY 2008. The Administration's proposal includes $331.03 million for assistance programs and planning grants.
Generally, EDA stresses coordination, flexibility and performance as three areas of reform in its reauthorization bill. In terms of flexibility, the bill contains mechanisms to help EDA administer the 38-year-old program and to reward performance by emphasizing job growth. The bill also seeks to ensure that federal agencies are working together on common areas. For example, EDA would be made aware of the Department of Labor's workforce development efforts in an area.
Privatization Moves Underway in Indiana, Minnesota
Within two years, Indiana's agency for promoting economic development will become a quasi public-private partnership similar in concept to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
While in Minnesota, an agreement that resolved the budget impasse gives the state's lead science and tech organization a 12-month timeline to fully privatize from the state's support.
Indiana's and Minnesota's are the latest moves to test the largely uncharted waters of privatized public technology-based economic development, moves that stem, in part, from governors and state legislatures trying to maintain momentum in the knowledge economy without identifying alternate revenue sources within state government.
The Army Launches Energy VC Fund
The Army last week announced the creation of a $25 million Venture Capital Initiative (VCI) to satisfy a critical Army technology requirement — obtaining lighter, more efficient power sources for individual soldier systems.
"Power and energy technologies are an opportune area for Army investment, particularly because the Army's interests parallel those fueling the commercial market," emphasized Dr. A. Michael Andrews, Army Chief Scientist.
The goal of the VCI is to jump-start promising technologies in the area of portable power and energy to lighten soldiers' loads as they operate worldwide, often in extreme environments and under austere conditions. It will focus its investment activities on innovative technology companies, including those that may not normally do business with the Army.
Keys to Growth Involve Discovery, Engineering and Entrepreneurship, Report Says
A 19-year veteran of the technology-based economic development field has co-authored a guide that outlines strategies for growth in the knowledge-based economy. The Keys to Growth in the New Economy:Investing in Discovery, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship draws on the experiences of John Ahlen, who has led the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA) since 1984. The report is co-authored by Mark Diggs, Chairman and CEO of Maryland-based Ontology Works, Inc.
Drawing on Arkansas' experience, Keys to Growth serves as a technology-based economic development handbook for policy makers and community developers who are looking for an approach to economic growth that does not rely on industrial recruitment.
Technology-based economic development offers a model for growth, Ahlen and Diggs argue. They outline five specific results that emerged from ASTA's experience:
University Royalties Up 12% in 2001, AUTM Reports
Royalties on product sales from technology developed by Canadian and U.S. academic research institutions jumped to $845 million in 2001, up 12 percent from the previous year, according to the AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 2001. Gross licensing income received from licenses and options, however, declined from $1.26 billion in FY 2000 to only $1.071 billion in FY 2001 as 7 percent fewer new licenses and options were executed.
Prepared annually by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the survey is a comprehensive report featuring data about technology licensing activities collected from a record-high 198 U.S. and Canadian universities, teaching hospitals and research institutions.