SSTI Digest

The SSTI Weekly Digest and Funding Supplement will resume publicaton October 31 as the office will be closed to attend SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policies to Practice, on Oct. 20-22. For those readers fearing withdrawal symptoms, you can still get more than your weekly fix by perusing the Digest and Funding Supplement archives on the SSTI website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm

Yes, only 10 open seats remain for SSTI’s 7th Annual Conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice. With nearly three weeks remaining before the October 21-22 event in Seattle, SSTI anticipates it will have to close registration in the coming days based on the phenomenal response to this year’s great slate of 24 breakout sessions, great plenary sessions and wonderful location. If you are planning to attend, we encourage you to register as soon as possible. SSTI won’t take much of the credit for the rapid sell out, however. As returning SSTI conferees know, it’s the dynamic exchange SSTI’s conference enables among peers from across the country and several continents that makes each conference such a rewarding experience. This year promises to be no different as 300 leaders of state, local and university tech-based economic development registrants will be participating from at least 44 states. With several sessions dedicated to roundtable discussions, ample time for questions in nearly every session, long networking breaks, and a great hosted reception, conferees can’t help…

SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, to be held in Seattle on Oct. 21-22, is now less than one month away. If you are planning to join 300 of your colleagues from more than 40 states at Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, here are a few tips to save your organization a little money: Registration for the conference before the early discount period ends on Sept. 30. Book your flight early. Airline prices will begin to climb soon as your travel dates draw near. United is offering a discount for the conference. Details on our conference website: http://www.ssti.org/conference03.htm [expired] But we strongly encourage you to register for the conference first to make sure there is still room (we're on track to sell out). Since the room block at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront is full, try getting your hotel room at the Edgewater Hotel <http://www.edgewaterhotel.com/>. It's the closest accommodations to the conference site, it's very nice, and it's right on the water! If you book through Expedia.com, you'll save approximately $30/night. Register for the…

Seats Available for Developing Angel Organizations, Financing TBED Workshops Despite increasing the number of seats available by nearly 50 percent, SSTI is forced to close registration for the full-day preconference workshop, An Introduction to Tech-based Economic Development. Because of the workshop's interactive design, attendance is always capped for this perennial favorite. SSTI will maintain a short waiting list (via the online registration form) in the event of any cancellations. Only people registered for the full conference on October 21-22 will be accepted on the waiting list for the pre-conference session. The remaining two preconference offerings are designed to accommodate larger audiences so seats remain available in each. SSTI preconference workshops are developed to provide more intensive consideration of a particular topic or issue than can be afforded in the full conference. This year, SSTI examines two timely and critical issues of importance to the technology-based economic development (TBED) community — developing local angel networks and…

Tight budgets are causing many state and local tech-based economic development (TBED) programs to delay new initiatives, even forcing some to scale back on the services already provided. But mottos like "getting more bang for the buck" and "doing more with less" are fast becoming tired, transparent clichés. Given the economic restructuring underway (economists call it a jobless recovery), some states are beginning to rethink their whole economic development portfolio. During the past few weeks, alone, governors have created new commissions, committees or advisory councils to explore ways to foster better times. Everything is on the table. Elected stakeholders, policy makers, program practitioners and clients must feel the investments made toward building more prosperous economies are the right ones for their community — and that they are paying off. Given this fiscal and political climate, tremendous opportunity exists for tech-based economic development programs to shine. But to be fully engaged in future efforts to build more diverse state and local economies based on science and…

Manufacturers continue to shed thousands of American jobs — at a rate of 80,000 per month over the past three years, according to the New York Times. The realities of globalization are settling in as small and mid-sized manufacturers are hit hard with competition from around the world. Local communities in every state in every region across the country are feeling the impact of plant closures, mass layoffs and downsizing. The economic indicators point toward recovery while unemployment lines grow. Economists are now suggesting the U.S. is losing high-paying, skilled jobs that will never return. What is manufacturing's future in America, and how do states, regions and communities prepare for it? One of the breakout sessions at SSTI's annual conference will allow state and local tech-based economic developers to share and debate ideas on what policymakers and practitioners are, can and should be doing. The roundtable discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Ken Poole, CEO of Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and one of the nation's leading experts on federal, state and local…

Blatant SSTI Conference Plug Wanting to keep up with the latest trends in tech-based economic development? Want to know the implications and costs of who's doing what where? SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, to be held in Seattle on October 21-22, offers 24 packed sessions exploring where the field is headed. What works, what doesn't and what's next. Between the speakers and other registrants, you're sure to learn more than a few tricks to improve your local, regional or state efforts toward building a tech-based economy. More information is available at: http://www.ssti.org/conference03.htm [expired]

Jeff Morris has been named Director of the Northwest Energy Technology Collaborative.

Balancing the role of universities and colleges in economic development can be tricky, as Dr. Bok points out in his new book (see article above), but its important role in building stronger tech-based economies cannot be overstated. SSTI’s 7th annual conference, to be held in Seattle on October 21-22, presents the best opportunity of the year for developing a great understanding of the most effective ways for local and state economies to benefit from the academic research enterprise. Five interactive sessions have been scheduled to help participants capitalize on this enterprise: Universities as Partners in Local TBED. Across the country in widely varying regions, universities of all kinds are playing an active role in building tech-based economies. In this session, we'll explore the results of new research that looks at factors for engaging a university as an active participant and making a difference for the local economy. We'll also consider in-depth one of the best known examples: San Diego and the University of California-San Diego's CONNECT program. Financing University…

Two of the most critical issues in today's tech-based economic development (TBED) involve money — funding for companies and funding for TBED programs. That's why preceding SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, two intensive workshops will be held on October 20, 2003, that focus on financing: developing angel organizations to help increase the amount of capital available for entrepreneurial companies and exploring new strategies in financing TBED programs. Developing Angel Organizations: A Practical Guide Angel investors, often receiving little press, have provided significant financing of entrepreneurial companies. Experts estimate that, on a cumulative basis, angel investments have been double that of venture capital over the last 30 years. Angels also are financing start-up and early-stage businesses, filling a void left by venture capitalists. In short, angels recognize opportunity exists even in a risk-averse market and are putting up their money as proof, but can they be found or nurtured just anywhere? Presented by the Ewing…

The City of Spokane and a group of local organizations have penned a strategic plan designed to help the city and the Inland Northwest achieve an Innovation Economy. Sponsored by the Spokane Economic Development Council, SIRTI and INTEC, Developing an Innovation Economy highlights numerous specific actions believed to have the greatest potential to deliver measurable results for the local economy. The strategic plan does not give a detailed benchmarking of the region's current economy or emerging clusters, but builds on its fundamental tenet — a "Triangle of Innovation" involving Spokane/Coeur d'Alene, the Tri-Cities and Pullman/Moscow. Within these three points, the plan states, the Inland Northwest has significant research capacity, including several universities (Washington State University, the University of Idaho, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University in Cheney and Spokane, WSU Spokane), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and several strong nonprofit research organizations and private firms. Various new ventures have resulted from the successful implementation…

Until now, the opportunities have been fairly limited for tech-based economic developers to learn from the lessons of fellow practitioners running successful entrepreneurship programs. Through a unique partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, SSTI is excited to offer at its annual conference this fall a track of six breakout sessions dedicated to sharing and documenting the specific policies, strategies and practices that foster technology entrepreneurship. The link between tech entrepreneurship and sustained growth is increasingly recognized by economic developers. As a result, myriad exciting approaches to encourage tech entrepreneurship have sprung up across the country. These same entrepreneurship programs face unparalleled challenges for the foreseeable future, however. State and local fiscal constraints limit the service delivery capabilities of many initiatives, while also demanding new approaches to creating opportunity for entrepreneurial success. The contraction of the venture capital market, with the disappearance of viable exit strategies, makes launching and…