SSTI Digest

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5. More detailed information on the measures is provided in last week's issue of the Digest, which is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2008/102908.htm#election. Arkansas Voters approved 63 percent to 37 percent a constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to establish, operate and regulate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for residents enrolled in two- and four-year colleges and universities in the state. Voters also approved a measure to shift the state's budgeting from a two-year cycle to an annual cycle. California Two measures supporting renewable energy were defeated by California voters. Proposition 7, requiring public and private utilities to generate a percentage of their power from renewable energy, was defeated 65 percent to 35 percent. Proposition 10, authorizing the state to…

While the Presidential election takes center stage on November 4, voters in several states also will cast their votes on statewide ballot issues affecting the TBED community. In addition to the 11 gubernatorial races and more than 5,800 state legislative seats up for grabs, voters across the nation will consider measures to provide funding for public education, expand investment in alternative and renewable energy, lift restrictions on stem-cell research, and eliminate income tax and state spending caps. Following is a summary of selected ballot issues from across the nation. Funding Public Education Florida Florida voters will be asked to amend the state constitution to require that the legislature authorize counties to levy a local option sales tax to supplement funding for public community colleges. Ballot question 8 requires voter approval to levy the tax. Maryland A proposal in Maryland asks voters to approve an amendment to the state constitution authorizing video lottery terminal gaming to provide funds for public education. Question 2 legalizes up to 15,000 machines at sites in four counties and the city of Baltimore. HB 4 requires…

Technology-focused incubators are an important component to fostering entrepreneurial development in a region by nurturing businesses in the earliest stages of development and helping them grow into larger companies that employ high-wage workers and bring new technologies to the market. The following select announcements provide an overview of new incubators from across the nation, illustrating the vital role of entrepreneurial development in growing high-tech regional economies. Ann Arbor Spark announced last month a new location for its proposed business incubator in downtown Ypsilanti, reports the Ann Arbor News. The 8,500-square-foot incubator, which is expected to open in December, will provide space for 10 start-up technology companies for two years, the article states. Battle Creek Unlimited announced in August they are developing a virtual incubator as a Web 2.0 network to match high-tech start-up companies with universities and public entities. With partial funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the virtual incubator will offer services including quick access to resources, business progress monitoring, and the ability…

The demand for highly qualified talent in Massachusetts' bioscience industry will add more than 10,000 life sciences workers to the state's workforce by 2014, according to a recent report prepared by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. As described in Growing Talent: Meeting the Evolving Needs of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Industry, 81 percent of these new life sciences jobs are expected to require at least a four-year degree. In preparation for this need, the report identifies the key challenges for increasing the quality and number of potential employees in the state, as well as policy recommendations for future growth. Outlined are the expected top ten occupations for growth in the life science field, which illustrates just how varied the needs are within the industry. Medical scientists are projected to increase in number the most, with over 900 new hires, followed by systems software engineers, lawyers, computer systems analysts, and application-based software engineers. Not included in these projections are downstream jobs estimated by multiplier effects, nor are jobs associated with the state's $1 billion Life Science Initiative (see…

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently signed two bills to improve the commonwealth's standing as a leader in environmental protection and to support the growth of the clean technology industry.  Supporters of the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Green Jobs Act believe that the legislation will position Massachusetts as a recognized center for cleantech policy and business. Massachusetts will invest $68 million over the next five years to promote the clean energy industry through the Green Jobs Act. The bill establishes a new clean energy technology center as the lead agency, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, in the promotion and development of new jobs in the clean energy sector. Its mission will include funding research and workforce training, supporting new and existing clean energy businesses, attracting capital and fostering collaboration between the state's public and private research institutions. The new center will offer up to $1 million in seed grants to clean energy companies, institutions or non-profits in 2009. An additional $1 million will be available for workforce development grants, and $100,000 may…

According to National Science Foundation (NSF) data released two weeks ago, companies spent in aggregate $247.7 billion on R&D expenditures performed in the U.S. in 2006. Leading the nation was California, with $58.4 billion in industrial R&D, followed by Michigan ($16.5 billion), Massachusetts ($15.6 billion), New Jersey ($14.6 billion), and Texas ($13.3 billion).   SSTI has prepared a table presenting the state rankings for industrial R&D performed in 2006, the per-state gross state product in 2006, and each state's industrial R&D intensity. The industrial R&D intensity is the ratio of industry-based R&D to the gross state product.   Using these calculations, Massachusetts experienced the largest industrial R&D intensity in 2006, at 4.64 percent. This was followed by Michigan (4.38 percent), Connecticut (4.04 percent), Washington (3.89 percent), and California (3.35 percent). The industrial R&D intensity for the U.S. as a whole was calculated to be 1.89 percent.   The table may be accessed by visiting: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/082708t.htm   The NSF has released an…

California California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill authorizing community service districts to provide high-speed Internet services in areas in which no private company has done so. The districts, which provide basic infrastructure such as water, sewer and police services, will help extend broadband access into rural areas of the state that remain underserved. The bill reflects the recommendations of the California Broadband Task Force, which was created in 2006 by Gov. Schwarzenegger and presented its findings in January (see the Dec. 4, 2006 issue of the Digest). This action comes on the heels of a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California and the California Emerging Technology Fund, which finds that the digital divide in the state is growing between key demographics. Rural residents are marginally less likely to have access to a high-speed connection than urban dwellers, but some groups in both urban and rural areas are less likely to have access. Less than half of Hispanics in the state have home computers and only about a third have access to a broadband connection. About two-thirds of white, black and Asian residents have at-…

National Governors Association Twelve states recently received grants of $50,000 from the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices to support clean energy initiatives and to overcome obstacles preventing the adoption of clean energy technologies in their region. The awards were made through NGA’s Clean Energy State Grant Program, a part of the association’s Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative. Several companies and foundations, including American Electric Power, Dominion Resources, The Ford Motor Company and The Rockefeller Fund, have provided financial support for the grants, which are intended to fund state projects that support research, analysis, training or outreach to advance clean energy implementation. Highlights from the list of awardees include: Colorado - for the Colorado Carbon Fund to provide carbon offsets for consumers and to fund community-based clean energy projects; Maryland - to fund EmPOWER Maryland, which offers energy efficiency programs to low-income consumers; Hawaii - for the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and efforts to evaluate the costs and benefits of electric vehicles and their supporting…

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. CTC Tampa Bay is seeking a venture lab manager to establish and build its Venture Lab program. This postion involves bridging relationships with government, private sector, and university entities in order to support the growth of selected early-stage technology-based companies. The selected companies must offer innovative products and services that can potentially generate significant revenues from the defense/homeland security market and other dual-use markets. A BA/BS degree in science, engineering or business, plus at least 10 years of directly related experience (or an MA/MS degree, plus at least eight years of directly related experience), are required. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's John Adams Innovation Institute is seeking a director of innovation policy. This position will participate in and support the conceptualization, development and implementation of a rationale and intellectual framework for the Innovation Institute's project and investment activities. The position will oversee the division's research and analysis activities…

A little more than a year after unveiling a comprehensive proposal to provide crucial funding for R&D, commercialization and infrastructure to position Massachusetts as a global leader in life sciences, Gov. Deval Patrick signed an historic 10-year, $1 billion life sciences investment package, transforming the ambitious idea into reality.   The signing of the bill coincides with BIO’s annual meeting, currently underway in San Diego – the same event during which the governor unveiled the proposal last year. With a typical draw of more than 20,000, the event provides an opportune backdrop for the governor, legislative and industry leaders to promote the state to biotech companies and investors. Details of the legislation were debated incessantly among lawmakers and industry leaders over the past year. The final version of the bill directs half of the money in capital funding for infrastructure, divided between targeted projects ($299.5 million) and unrestricted funds ($200 million) for investment in public infrastructure projects to be decided on by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC).   MLSC also will receive…

As Massachusetts legislators are in the process of crafting a compromise bill for the statewide Life Sciences Initiative, one new issue to emerge would have the state taking an equity position in the life sciences companies in which the state provides financial support. Insuring the state receives the economic development impacts promised by a company when the state provides financial support is not particularly new. Clawbacks for deals that leave state or fail to live up to employment promises are being demanded by states and communities with increasing frequency on conventional recruitment economic development projects.   The House version of the bill – H. 4554 – includes an “Equity investment” clause in which the state receives no less than 3 percent of the equity in a company that received state grants. The equity clause calls for a future quasi-public agency to become an equity partner in a biotech firm if state funds are used, and it only applies to firms that fail to secure venture or angel investor capital, according to a Boston Herald article. However, S. 2566, the Senate version of the bill that passed last month, does…

David Rooney will replace Tyler Fairbank as president of the Berkshire Economic Development Corp., effective next month. Rooney leaves the Empire State Development Corp. as its regional director.