SSTI Digest

A $1.46 million grant from the Economic Development Administration to the Sirti Foundation is making possible a $3 million loan fund to technology companies within a 10-county region of Eastern Washington. The program provides another example of the non-traditional use of EDA funds to support tech-based economic development strategies. In addition, the deal structure may serve as a model to help other public agencies encourage TBED activities typically outside the scope or possibility of many public entities. The Sirti Technology Growth Fund is designed to accelerate technology companies in a number of market sectors, including bio-products/health sciences, energy and the environment, value-added agriculture, and defense/homeland security that do not qualify for conventional bank financing. Sirti, an economic development agency of Washington State, identified a gap in funding sources for start-up, emerging and expanding technology-based companies in the Inland Northwest. Such companies typically have a marketable product but require financial and other resources to successfully "go the distance." Help with launching the company, products or services…

Although technology sector employment is down slightly from previous years, Washington firms received twice the aggregate amount of venture capital (VC) funding compared to last year, and the state remains above the national average in educational attainment, according to the sixth annual Washington State Index of Innovation and Technology. The index, produced by the Washington Technology Center (WTC), is divided into two parts - state measures and regional comparisons. State measures benchmark Washington against all 50 states, while regional comparisons look at how the technology economy is impacting 12 communities across the state. These sections are built around 40 indicators and organized into six key areas: innovation, competitiveness, growth, financial capacity, human potential and quality of life. The index is meant to be both informative and influential. The goal is to "produce a report that serves as both a historical account of our state's performance and a tool to guide our state's leaders in economic planning," according to WTC Executive Director Lee Cheatham. The slight decline in…

Former University of Washington President Lee Huntsman is the first director of Washington's Life Sciences Discovery Fund.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire last week signed a bill creating the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (see the Feb. 7 issue of the Digest). The fund will support life sciences research using $350 million in strategic "bonus" payments Washington will receive beginning in 2008 for its leadership role in the tobacco settlement. The state will receive the funds over a 10-year period. By leveraging funds from private and federal sources, the fund's total impact is expected to exceed $1 billion and is anticipated to drive important health care innovations, new company formation and job creation across the state. The newly created Life Sciences Discovery Fund Authority, consisting of seven members to be appointed by the Governor and four members of the state legislature, will manage the fund and oversee the grant-making process. Criteria to be used by the authority in evaluating applications include: the potential to positively impact health care outcomes; evidence of public and private collaboration; the…

Jack Faris is the new president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association.

Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the first stages of her economic development program last Wednesday, highlighted by a proposal to inject $35 million annually starting in 2008 for the next 10 years into life sciences research at the state's universities. Gov. Gregoire also requested legislation be introduced this week that would facilitate the transfer of technology from research institutions to the private sector. Gov. Gregoire said the payoff of the proposed Life Sciences Discovery Fund would be twofold, with a strengthening of the state's reputation as a bioscience center and the creation of as many as 20,000 new jobs in the next 10-15 years. The state legislature and the administration of former Gov. Gary Locke had grappled with increasing the state's biotech investment for the past two years, yet no final funding package ever emerged from the legislature. Gov. Gregoire and the state's private and academic life sciences research community is hopeful the new version of the proposal will be more palatable. Washington currently is one of the top five states in the nation in drawing…

Kim Zentz, CEO of the Spokane Transit Authority, announced she will take a one-year position as interim executive director of the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute.

Patrick Tam resigned last month as executive director of the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute.

A Visa analysis of innovation and creativity among the nation’s top 50 metro areas has Seattle ranked first in combined scoring, followed by Austin, Nashville, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. Visa’s Innovation Index measures entrepreneurialism, community support and creativity on a per capita basis throughout the major Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Each of the categories were scored individually. To measure entrepreneurship, Visa considered the average number of new businesses, expansions, new divisions and the number of patents issued by the U.S. Patent Office in 2003. Austin scored the highest in this measure, followed by San Diego, Palm Beach, Houston and Raleigh. U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics were used in determining community support, measured as the percentage of people employed by social organizations and the number of volunteers. In this category, Providence scored the highest, followed by Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Louisville and Nashville. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, New York and Seattle round out the top five in the index's self-expression…

Washington State remains poised to capture more benefits from its technology-driven economy, according to the Index of Innovation and Technology released last month by the Washington Technology Center (WTC). As the state's lead organization to support science and technology, WTC publishes the Index to provide the state's decision makers with annual benchmarks for setting policy and  public investments to promote technology-based economic development. The fourth annual provides analysis of more than 40 statewide measures and 12 regional indicators for evaluating the state’s economic growth with respect to technology industries. Innovation capacity, new company creation, company closings, patent generation, top technology patent areas, patents by industry, federal funds for research and development, and research and development (R&D) expenditures are all assessed. Young companies and emerging technologies continue to be primary drivers of Washington's potential, the report shows. The state ranks eighth nationally in innovation capacity. Patent generation also continues to be strong, up 10…

Washington Gov. Gary Locke appointed Juli Wilkerson to serve as director of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, replacing Martha Choe, who is now serving as state coordinator for the Boeing 7E7 project.

Ken Olsen will become the new executive director of the Palouse Economic Development Council in Washington State.