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SSTI Digest
Geography: Georgia
Research Initiatives Slated for Funding in Approved State Budgets
Lawmakers in Georgia and Maryland approved action earlier this month on several TBED-related measures for the upcoming fiscal year. Highlights of the approved budgets are outlined below.
Georgia
Lawmakers committed $2.5 million, half of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s recommendation, to create the Georgia Research Alliance venture capital initiative to speed commercialization of university derived technologies to the marketplace. Earlier this year, Gov. Perdue asked legislators to provide $5 million to the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) in FY09 that would be matched with $5 million in existing funds and pooled with $30 million in private funds (see the Jan. 30, 2008 issue of the Digest).
Lawmakers reduced by half funding for the Georgia Youth Science and Technology program, which aims to increase interest and enthusiasm in science and technology among elementary and middle school teachers and students. The program is slated to receive $250,000 in FY09.
Dual Reports Show Perceptions, Benefits to Higher Education in Georgia
An overwhelming majority of residents in Georgia see higher education as vital to the state’s economic growth and quality of life, as more educational attainment is aligned with higher incomes, higher levels of entrepreneurship and less government spending. These conclusions are proclaimed in two reports – one poll-based and the other created from econometric data – by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) titled Georgians’ Perceptions of Higher Education and What Does Georgia Gain by Investing in Its Colleges and Universities? For example, 75 percent of Georgians believe higher education is “very important” for the state’s economic growth, compared to 21 percent stating it is “somewhat important” and 3 percent deeming it “not important”.
Georgia Research Alliance Seeks $40M Dedicated VC Fund
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue this month proposed a new $40 million Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Venture Capital Fund to be fueled by $10 million from the state legislature and subsequently matched with $30 million from the private sector. Of the entire suite of GRA initiatives, this will be the first program not funded entirely by the state of Georgia.
The Venture Capital Fund will invest only in early-stage companies associated with GRA’s VentureLab program. The VentureLab program provides technology assessment, commercialization instruction and seed grants to marketable research developed at GRA’s partner universities. These partner universities are the University of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia, Emory University, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia State University.
Tech Talkin’ Govs, Part IV
The fourth installment of the Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from governors’ speeches delivered in Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Georgia – see article in this issue of the Digest.
Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, State Budget Address, Jan. 29, 2008
“I recommend a $60 million bond authorization for a new round of ‘Bucks for Brains.’ … This program has attracted and retained some of the brightest faculty and research teams in the nation. In times like these, we simply must invest in the future. …
“… It is time to revitalize our economic development efforts, and as chair of the Economic Development Partnership Board, I will work with the Secretary of that cabinet to review and revise our strategy, giving it a new focus on the entire state and on twenty-first century jobs.”
Clusters Garner More Attention from NGA, Researchers
The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices has selected seven states to participate in a year-long policy academy named State Strategies for Promoting Innovative Clusters and Regional Economies. Teams from the seven states – Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon and West Virginia – will collaborate with staff from the NGA to create action plans for improving each state’s competitiveness and economy through cluster development. Additionally, during the next year, the selected states will learn about research on clusters and best practices for cluster improvement, perform an analysis to gain insight on their existing state clusters, and plan strategies to orient state investments, workforce development, and education initiatives around potential clusters.
People & TBED Organizations
Mark Allen was named the new senior vice provost for research and innovation at Georgia Tech. Allen replaces Charlie Liotta, who has returned to the school's faculty.
People & TBED Organizations
Dr. Donald Colbert is the new executive director of the Augusta BioBusiness Center and Georgia Medical Authority. Colbert replaces Lenie Roos-Gabridge, who retired in July.
People & TBED Organizations
The Georgia Biomedical Partnership has become Georgia Bio, The Life Sciences Partnership.
People & TBED Organizations
The Georgia Department of Economic Development has promoted Carol Henderson to director of its Innovation and Technology Office.
Georgia Tech’s ATDC Incubator Reaches $1B in Venture Funding
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) within the Georgia Institute of Technology announced its affiliated companies have received more than $1 billion in venture capital funding since 1999. Amassed from 160 separate deals, the amount represents 15 percent of the total venture capital in Georgia, about one out of its every five deals in the state.
Taking a closer look at the numbers over the past eight years, 75 companies at the ATDC received funding from 139 separate venture capital investors. Ten of these companies raised more than $25 million, and 56 percent of the deals came from outside of Georgia.
Considered one of the nation’s most successful technology incubators, the ATDC is a component of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, which is the school’s primary organization for economic development and technology commercialization. Since its creation in 1980, the incubator has developed 112 companies, with locations in the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, and Warner Robins.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute is seeking someone for the position of SBIR Development Manager. For the SBIR Assistance Program, which provides development guidance for Georgia small businesses/companies, the SBIR Development Manager will aid small Georgia technology-based companies in developing commercialization plans and helping with understanding the commercial market for their product. Four to six years of job-related experience in accounting/business, engineering, supervisory/management is preferred. A master's degree also is desired.
TBED People
Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center has named Jason Burr director of its Savannah office.