SSTI Digest

Early registration for SSTI's 5th Annual Conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies ends on Wednesday, September 5. To lock in the discounted rate, submit your registration by the end of September 5 by fax to 614.901.1696 or online at https://www.ssti.org/registration01.htm Those paying by check are encouraged to submit their registration form by fax or online as well and post the check by regular mail. 



Participation in the conference grows each year; for the 2001 event, we already have registrations for people from more than 40 states, 5 countries and 4 continents. Join us!  



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With the emphasis many state and local tech-based economic development organizations have placed on biotechnology over the past 12-18 months, few are far enough along in implementing their strategies to point to more than a handful of successes or new construction projects. The recent explosion in public investment of resources and policies toward developing local biotech capacity is largely based on the promise of anticipated economic gains in the near or not-so-near future. 



Independent analysis of the long-term impact of specific state and local tech-based economic development policies are rare. Some programs launched in the 1980s that have commissioned outside impact studies, such as the Edison Technology Centers, the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership and Utah’s Centers of Excellence, have discovered strong returns for the public’s investment. (See the 12/20/96, 10/22/99, and 1/28/00 issues of SSTI’s Weekly Digest in our web archives for these stories.) 

While technological advancements occur every day, truly revolutionary technologies over the past three hundred years — those that promise so many diverse applications that they result in disruption and restructuring of several different industries — can be counted on one hand. The field of nanotechnology, with major implications for nearly every industrial sector, appears to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime breakthroughs. 



At this point, only a few states are preparing on a large scale to capitalize on the research and resulting economic growth of this exciting field. A $350 million research institute taking shape in southern California at the universities of California at Los Angeles and Santa Barbara is one of the most aggressive investments to date. 

The President has nominated Arden Bement, Jr. to be Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce. Bement has been at Purdue University since 1993, where he is the head of the School of Nuclear Engineering. Bement is Chairman of the Advanced Technology Program's Advisory Committee, has served on the National Science Board, and was active with the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program (CAMP), an Edison Technology Center. 



From 1980 to 1993, he was with TRW, Inc., where he was Vice President for Technical Resources from 1980 to 1988 and then Vice President for Science and Technology from 1988 to 1993. A graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, Bement has received a Master's degree from the University of Idaho and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. 



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With the completion of the 2001 edition of the Maryland Innovation and Technology Index, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) is able to show state policymakers and tech community leaders graphically and statistically the state’s progress since the first Index was prepared two years ago. 

The Air Force Dual Use Science & Technology (AF DUS&T) Program is part of a congressionally mandated, tri-service program to cost-share research projects with industry for the development of a technology that has both military utility and sufficient commercial potential to support a viable industrial base. A main objective of the AF DUS&T Program is to obtain for defense procurements the economies of scale, accelerated product improvements, and increased sustainability inherent in the commercial marketplace. 

What impact do state taxes have on entrepreneurship? 

The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) has released its sixth annual rankings of the states according to their respective policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship. In the Small Business Survival Index 2001, the D.C.-based organization combines the following 17 factors to develop the overall rankings: personal income taxes, capital gains taxes, corporate income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, estate taxes, unemployment taxes, health insurance taxes, electricity costs, workers' compensation costs, crime rates, right-to-work status, number of government employees, tax limitation status, Internet taxes, gas taxes, and state minimum wages. The rankings received a fair amount of attention in the media. 

As a national security laboratory operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, Sandia’s science and technology competencies are leveraged to support several missions that are synergistic to its primary mission — to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of underground testing, indefinitely. Indeed, Sandia designs all non-nuclear components for the nation’s nuclear weapons and works on assignments that respond to national security threats of both military and economic nature. Sandia's strengths are demonstrated in the following disciplines: 

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the National Business Incubation Association are sponsoring a conference Oct. 21–23 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to focus on the importance of business incubation to rural economic development and to share best practices by successful incubators across the nation. 



More than 75 business incubators in Appalachia are helping rural communities create new companies, find innovative ways to take products to new markets, and increase the odds for new business success. The conference will seek to encourage the creation of more business incubators in the Appalachian Region. 

As with last year's conference, registration has been brisk for SSTI's 5th annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies. To make sure the event is the quality and caliber expected of an SSTI event, we anticipate once again the event will sell out — possibly before the September 5 deadline for early registration. SSTI encourages interested parties to complete the registration form on their brochure or on the website at their earliest convenience. Please note, registrations are confirmed only after payment is received. 



Registration for the annual pre-conference session, Growing Your Economy: An Intro to Tech-based Economic Development, is now closed to all but SSTI sponsors. Parties interested in a hands-on intro to tech-based economic development in practice are encouraged to sign up for the pre-conference Tech City tour. 

Economic development in Oregon recently has been given new life, thanks to the approval of $222 million in bills by Governor John Kitzhaber. The legislation, including $72 million for high-tech infrastructure and research over the next two years, is expected to increase public investment in biotechnology, engineering and other research.

The Greater Cincinnati Regional Technology Initiative has released revving up the tech engine, a strategic plan with more than 30 recommendations to improve Cincinnati's position in a tech-based economy. Giving themselves just 100 days to complete the plan when they started in Spring, the project was developed through six "Accelerator Teams" involving more than 200 volunteers from the three-state metro area. The teams looked at: start-up capital and resources; research and commercialization; workforce development; e-commerce readiness; Greater Cincinnati’s image as a high-tech player; and public policy.



The Accelerator Teams also drew on a regional "Angel Board" made up of seasoned community business leaders for resources and guidance.



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