SSTI Digest

Democrats took the year’s only two races for governor, electing Jim McGreevey in New Jersey and Mark Warner in Virginia. 



Democrats also took control of the New Jersey Assembly for the first time in 10 years. Republicans, meanwhile, strengthened their control of Virginia's Assembly by 12 seats. The GOP now holds 64 of the 100 seats in the chamber. In Washington, Democrats claimed a narrow majority of the seats in the house, giving the party control of both legislative chambers and the governor's office. 



With Tuesday’s election results, Republicans hold 27 governorships, Democrats control 21 seats, and Independents hold Maine and Minnesota. Each party controls 17 state legislatures while 16 are split between the two. Thirty-six states will hold elections for governors next fall. Incumbents in 19 of these states either are not running or are barred by term limits from serving another term. 



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Voters in Maine passed a bond issue authorizing the state to borrow $5 million for biomedical and marine research and development by Maine-based nonprofit and state research institutions. 



The bond issue, one of six approved in the state on Tuesday, passed with 52.6 percent of the votes cast. Biomedical R&D will receive $4 million of the bond monies for projects, including an 80,000-square-foot expansion of Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. The lab expects to add 200 new jobs in connection with the facility's expansion. Marine research activities would receive the remaining $1 million. 



According to the Bangor Daily News, a $20 million R&D bond issue passed by Maine voters in 1998 (see the Oct. 9, 1998 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest) has already generated more than $100 million in spinoff benefits, including new jobs, federal research grants and additional industrial R&D contracts. 

States that support a vibrant technology sector are attentive to the quality of their economic development efforts and continue toattract venture capital will outperform those that do not, according to the 2001 Development Report Card for the States. The 15th annual report, released yesterday by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED), uses 70 measures to provide a state-by-state assessment of economic development policy in three main areas — Performance, Business Vitality and Development Capacity. 



Top performers in this year's report, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington and Minnesota, all earned straight A's. They were joined by Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia on an "honor roll" of A’s or B’s. Eleven states received an F in at least one of the three categories. 

A group of community leaders bent on revitalizing the Duluth, Minn., economy and ensuring economic opportunities for the city recently moved one step closer toward accomplishing its goals. 



The Bridge Syndicate, a non-profit with more than 300 members, recently made public its plan for economic growth, issuing A Positive Vision for Duluth's Economy. 



In the plan, the group's economic development task force of 20 young business owners and professionals focus on three main principles:

The Wisconsin Legislature presently faces two bills which could greatly boost venture capital funds in the state. 



Clearing the Senate October 26, Senate Bill (SB) 296 requires the state investment board to invest up to $50 million in venture capital investment firms and to provide a high-technology business development corporation a grant of up to $2.5 million in FY 2001-02. Intended to help place Wisconsin at the fore of biotechnology, the bill supports the creation, development and retention of science- and technology-based businesses. 



Receiving passage by House representatives on October 17, Assembly Bill (AB) 579 would provide capital investments totaling $100 million to companies with a 100 employees or less and a net worth of $5 million or less. The bill would require that the companies also be located in and have their headquarters in Wisconsin. 

The National Science Foundation Division of Science Resource Statistics has e-published early release tables for the Science & Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2000 report. The data show trends in science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients. 



Among the 10 tables included in the report is an 18-page table presenting institutions conferring S&E doctorates by state, institution, and major field in 2000. SSTI has prepared a table summarizing the 2000 data, standardizing S&E doctorates per 100,000 residents in each state, and ranking the results by state. 



The District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and Iowa awarded the highest number of S&E doctorates in 2000 per 100,000 residents. 

larta has issued its 2002 Federal Technology Funding Guide, a survey of federal funding sources for technology firms. The sixth edition of the guide provides information on more than 90 regularly scheduled programs, hundreds of links to resources on the Web, and a special section funding for technologies to fight terrorism. An index identifies program by technology area or funding emphasis. 



larta is one of three regional technology alliances established and funded by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation in the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency. The full guide is available for $39 from larta; an abbreviated, downloaded version is available at http://www.larta.org 

Two reports released during this past week examine state fiscal conditions for FY 2002 and a slowing national economy following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.



State Fiscal Outlook for FY 2002: October Update

State Fiscal Outlook for FY 2002 offers a look at the fiscal condition of all 50 states, based on information collected from legislative fiscal directors in mid to late October. A comprehensive survey conducted by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the report covers the revenue and expenditure situation through the beginning of FY 2002, state plans to address budget shortfalls and the budget forecast for the remaining fiscal year.



Some highlights included in the report:

Philanthropic individuals and foundations are increasingly vital contributors for tech-based economic development, particularly for "big-ticket" initiatives. Most gifts, such as that covered in the second item below, are tied to a specific relationship with a university or field of research, working independently of the strategies or programs developed by state or local tech-based economic development organizations. The continuing work of the Heinz Endowments in Pittsburgh and single large donations, such as the $1 billion Stowers gift announced last Spring (see the May 18, 2001 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest), are noticeable exceptions.



The series of sizable gifts made by the Lilly Endowment, including the latest donation described below, also are an exception in that they collectively could influence the state's S&T strategy where single gifts would have less of an impact.

Nearly every state legislature annually appropriates some level of funding to support research and development activities in the state's nonprofit, university, and industrial research communities. Few, though, have developed long-term, systematic attempts to measure the impact of those investments. Following a nearly ten-fold increase in the state's investment in research and development over the past six years, Maine legislators requested that the Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) conduct such an impact assessment.



MSTF has until July 2006 to answer three questions posed by the state legislature: