SSTI Digest

Bills have been passed and budgets approved with the close of several 2007 legislative sessions in the western states. The below article is part of the Digest's continuing coverage of the legislative outcomes of some of what governors proposed in their State of the State and budget addresses (see SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs Series in the Jan. 8, Jan. 15, Jan. 29 and Feb. 19, 2007 issues of the Digest).   Washington The 2007 legislative session ended last month with the approval of the first installment of $70 million over the 2007-09 biennium for the Life Sciences Discovery Fund. Created in 2005, the fund provides grants for promising life science university research within the state. The bill allocates $35 million per year from strategic tobacco settlements for 10 years beginning in 2008 (see the May 16, 2005 issue of the Digest).   Legislation was passed to fund Innovation Partnership Zones (HB 1091) at the request of Gov. Christine Gregoire and the Global Competitiveness Council. The fiscal year 2007-09 capital budget includes $5 million for the zones — designated areas of Washington where globally…

Whether you call it an incubator, accelerator, technology center or innovation zone, most communities actively engaged in promoting tech entrepreneurship can point to a building or group of buildings that houses some of those efforts. These facilities increase the success of budding tech firms by providing some combination of low-cost space, shared resources, business assistance, intellectual property assistance, and access to capital.    For incubators alone, the National Business Incubation Association tallied more than 1,400 public and private facilities as of October, 2006.   And each month there are more announcements of construction of a new center or expansion of an existing effort. Here are just four recent examples of the cornerstone of many TBED strategies: The Colorado Springs Technology Incubator will be moving into its new 23,000 sq. ft. facility, thanks in large part to a $450,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration. The center formerly had only 4,000 sq. ft. available for tech firm tenants. Louisiana Tech University is using $250,000 from the University of Louisiana…

The Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. has named Larry Penley, president of Colorado State University, the recipient of its first Regional Economic Development Excellence Award.

Colorado State University and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. together have hired Martin Shields as a new regional economist.

Mark Wdowik was named vice president of technology transfer for the Colorado State University Research Foundation.

The fourth installment to Walkin' the Tech Talkin' Gov Walk (see the April 17 , May 8 and June 5 issues of the Digest) covers the outcomes of the 2006 legislative sessions within Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota and Vermont. Following is a synopsis of bills passed and budget appropriations relevant to tech-based economic development and the priorities outlined in respective gubernatorial addresses at the beginning of 2006. Colorado Gov. Bill Owens signed into law a $26.5 million economic development package, which includes investments in bioscience and job creation. While the bulk of the funds are slated for increasing tourism ($19 million), two of the bills include funds aimed at increasing science and technology research and creating better jobs in the state. HB 06-1360 provides $2 million in one-time funding for the advancement of new bioscience discoveries at Colorado research institutions. The legislation creates the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program within the Colorado Office of Economic Development to improve and expand the evaluation of new bioscience discoveries with the intent to…

$10M Donation Funds Johns Hopkins Biomed Facility, Research Park The Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University received a commitment of $10 million from the John G. Rangos Sr. Family Charitable Foundation. The institute - intended to provide space for interdisciplinary biological and medical research - will be housed in the first building constructed in the new life sciences park in East Baltimore, an $800 million urban redevelopment project. Groundbreaking for the building was held April 17 in the 80-acre park managed by East Baltimore Development Inc. Kauffman Extends Entrepreneurship Support Across the Pond The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is joining forces with the United Kingdom's National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) to create a scholarship program for 15-20 of Britain's most promising young entrepreneurs in a move backed by the UK's Department for Education and Skills and its Small Business Service. Beginning in September, the NCGE-Kauffman Entrepreneurship Fellows…

At the same time civic and corporate leaders around the country are calling for more high school students to pursue a college education, and specifically science, technology and math degrees, the student's share of the cost for higher education is climbing to record highs. Despite an appropriations increase of 3.5 percent in fiscal year 2005, constant dollar per student state and local funding for public colleges and universities was at the lowest point in 25 years, according to State Higher Education Finance FY 2005, the annual study conducted by the association of State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). State and local support per full-time-equivalent student in public institutions was $5,833 in FY 05; the high point since 1980 was in fiscal 2001, when per student support was $7,121 in constant 2005 dollars. Support per student decreased dramatically from 2001 to 2005 because enrollment grew by 14.3 percent and inflation grew by 14.2 percent, without corresponding increases in public funding. State and local support, essentially flat from 2001 to 2004, grew by 3.5 percent in 2005, but this increase was…

An increasing number of states are realizing the potential role renewable energy can play in their tech-based economic development strategies (TBED) and future growth. While nearly all provide some financial support to encourage the use of renewable sources of energy (see, for example, the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy), several are looking at the R&D side of the equation for future technological breakthroughs. Funding and attention for the next wave is often driven toward universities, utility companies and large players in the energy market. A less exploited element of renewable energy is the role currently available technologies from several energy streams can play for businesses in rural locations -- reducing costs, identifying alternate profit streams and giving them a competitive edge over their urban counterparts. Two new publications from Colorado's Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC) and the Governor's Office of Economic Development & International Trade provide examples of how renewable energy can be integrated into the rural development…

Hunt Lambert was selected as the new associate vice president for economic development in the Colorado State University system.

Colorado The Rocky Mountain Technology Alliance (RMTA) is a recently formed regional development organization for applied research and technology development whose membership includes universities, government organizations and private businesses. The goal of RMTA is to assist its member organizations by pursuing collaborative programs that will produce intellectual property for new products and businesses. Its mission also includes creating manufacturing solutions to support successful commercial growth and national security. The alliance will cater to a cluster of high tech companies, educational institutions, and government facilities located in the Rocky Mountain Technology Corridor, which stretches from Northern Colorado to Southern New Mexico. Indiana To boost community and economic development successes and achieve greater efficiency in use of resources and volunteers, several local Indiana groups should combine operations, according to the 19-member Lafayette-West Lafayette Economic & Community Development Working Group. The group spent the last…

Mike Kazmierski is the new president of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp.