SSTI Digest

Whether to attract federal grants, keep up with demand to graduate more highly skilled students, or advance the capabilities for research and exploration, universities are pushing for state funding to invest in science buildings and other infrastructure needed to expand research capacity and improve competitiveness. In New Jersey, a measure to approve $750 million in higher education borrowing to build and renovate campus facilities will go to the voters in November. Meanwhile, university leaders in New York and Utah recently pitched proposals to state leaders for new science and technology buildings they say will educate more students and create high-wage jobs.

New Jersey
Backed by Gov. Chris Christie, the New Jersey measure is the first higher education bond issue to appear on the ballot in 24 years. While borrowing for capital improvement would be divided among the state's public and private colleges, a provision was added to the law excluding private colleges with endowments of more than $1 billion from receiving any of the funds.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state has started accepting applications for the $25 million "Connect NY" program to promote and expand broadband Internet access. The grants will be awarded to public-private partnerships comprised of internet service providers, local governments and economic-development organizations. Grants are made available through the Regional Economic Development Councils and Empire State Development with the dual intent to spur investment by service providers in communities and help boost economic development in underserved rural upstate and urban areas of the state by stimulating local business growth. Read the press release...

Two common themes emerged in a trio of reports aimed at growing the bioscience sectors in Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania: the need for a sustained financial commitment from the states and the importance of a shared vision and better communication between policymakers and industry leaders. In all three reports, the authors say the payoff is big for the states. The bioscience and life science industries support high-wage jobs and attract significant federal funds.

Indiana

The Indiana Health Industry Forum unveiled a five-year strategic plan designed to create a renewed interest in growing Indiana's health sciences sector. Developing an early stage funding mechanism focused exclusively on health sciences and complementing the funding with a statewide support infrastructure geared towards health sciences-specific entrepreneurial support are listed as the top two recommendations.

Funding is inlcuded for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's regional economic development initiatives under a FY13 budget agreement between the governor and legislative leaders announced earlier this week. This includes a new round of funding for the state's 10 regional councils and university challenge program initiated last year. The agreement also provides a down payment on the Buffalo Regional Innovation Cluster and funding to create a statewide energy initiative. The budget agreement authorizes $220 million in a second round of funding for the regional councils to implement strategic plans identified last year (see the Dec. 7, 2011 issue of the Digest). Of this amount, $150 million is new capital funding and $70 million is tax credits from the Excelsior Jobs program, according to the governor's office. Lawmakers also agreed to provide funding for the Buffalo Regional Innovation Council, announced by the governor in his State of the State address. The budget includes $100 million for the first year, with $75 million in capital funding and $25 million from the Excelsior Tax Credit program.

A new report from TechNet finds that on the two-year anniversary of the National Broadband Plan aimed at getting more Americans to use broadband at home, the adoption rate remains about the same. The study identifies several reasons behind the plateau and calls for better coordination among policymakers and private stakeholders to improve adoption rates. Meanwhile, some states have big plans in the works to improve their broadband networks, including governors in Hawaii and New York pushing for funding to expand Internet access to underserved areas. Ohio's governor is taking a different approach in hopes of attracting new employers and cutting-edge researchers with a $10 million state-led initiative boasting broadband speeds that officials say would far exceed the rest of the nation. The TechNet report finds the number of Americans with broadband at home has remained around 65 percent since 2009 when the National Broadband Plan was implemented under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). At the same time, smartphone adoption and apps usage has grown significantly.

Governors in Kansas and New York unveiled budget proposals for FY13 that would maintain funding for economic development proposals initiated last session. In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback proposed funding for a new Creative Industries Commission, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a new round of $200 million in competitive grant funding for the state's regional economic development councils.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned for its 12th annual edition. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses across the nation. The first installment includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Georgia, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, State of the State Address, Jan. 10, 2012 "... I want to announce two ambitious goals. Georgians deserve a world-class, public medical university, and it will be a priority of this administration to have a medical college among the top 50 nationally. ... "... Also within this push, the Georgia Health Sciences University will seek to become the state's second National Cancer Institute designated Cancer Center ... This designation would mean greater access to research dollars and enhance our ability to recruit top cancer specialists. "... To support this goal of a second Georgia-based Cancer Center, my budget proposal includes an investment of $5 million. ... "...

Finding new and creative ways for high-tech companies to succeed is an important component in business incubation. A recent study examining best practices for supporting new company formation finds it is the synergy among multiple practices, policies and services that produces optimal outcomes. At the same time, collecting standardized measures, reporting on progress annually, conducting external independent evaluations, tracking programs, and continuing to enhance practices are singled out as important policy implications. Over the past few months, several new incubator models have emerged — including a concept for a hybrid-accelerator and a startup incubator that floats. Select announcements are included below. 

On Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration announced the winners of a six-month competition to secure funding for regional job creation projects. Over the summer, ten regional economic councils were created by executive order to develop plans that would improve local economies using grants, tax breaks and other state resources. The councils then pitched their plan to state government leaders (presentations and applications are available online). The four winning councils will receive $40 million each to support their plans, with the other six councils splitting the remaining $40 million. An additional $800 million in tax incentives and existing grants will also be available to support strategies in all ten regions. Best plan awardees include:

A newly established policy academy providing guidance and technical assistance will help seven states improve their environment for innovation and align state R&D investments, workforce development and education systems with current and future needs of advanced manufacturing industries. The policy academy will help each state develop a plan or overcome barriers for putting a plan into action through a highly interactive team-based process that includes input from NGA, MEP, EDA, SSTI, private sector consultants, and research organizations. Participating states include Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Ideas and strategies resulting from the academy's work will serve as models for all states. NIST, MEP and EDA are providing funding, leadership and technical assistance to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Learn more...

As state and federal funding for higher education dwindles and the workforce needs of the new economy continue to shift, state and university officials are reevaluating how higher education is funded, its return on investment for the state, and how universities can better drive economic growth. Recent examples in New York, Ohio and Texas demonstrate how states are implementing new policies to adapt to the changing times.

New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed into law the NYSUNY 2020 legislation, an initiative the governor says will both help New York's public universities become a leading catalyst for regionally-focused economic development and stabilize tuition. The new law allows the four university centers located in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook to apply for challenge grants of $35 million each to expand facilities and enhance research-focused programs. A total $140 million is available through the program, including $80 million in capital funding authorized under the new law and $60 million in existing SUNY funds.

The 10 regional councils established earlier this year to stimulate economic development and improve the business climate statewide are tasked with five primary responsibilities, and can compete for funding from a pool of $1 billion to support projects they determine to be a part of their regional strategy. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently unveiled a blueprint for how the councils will operate with information regarding resource allocation, structure and leadership, and performance measurement.