Looking to jumpstart the federal policy process regarding broadband Internet access, the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) has released A Nation of Laboratories, Broadband Experiments in The States, a report examining various broadband policies and programs nationwide.

With contributions of nearly $64 billion annually to the gross state product, manufacturing remains the largest of all industry sectors in Pennsylvania, according to a new report sponsored by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation. Data released by the nonprofit public-private partnership documents the role of manufacturing in Pennsylvania and analyzes the forces shaping the future of the industry.

Doros Platika is the new chief executive officer for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.

Fans of sound public policy may have celebrated last year’s complete elimination of congressional earmarks on the FY 2007 budget. With the rapid growth over the past decade in the percent of discretionary federal spending arriving with strings attached, the idea there would be no more multi-million-dollar bridges to nowhere, indoor rainforests on the great plains and other gems seemed too good to be true. And it was, apparently, as draft FY08 budget bills surfacing in both chambers reveal.

 

Dean Lewis was named interim president and CEO of the Science Center. Lewis replaces Pradip Banerjee, who left in January.

Aris Melissaratos is the new special adviser to the president for enterprise development at the Johns Hopkins University. The position was created for Melissaratos following his departure as secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced $14.4 million in Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) grants to 27 organizations in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Historically, TOP has been one of the most competitive tech-based economic development grant programs offered by the federal government, and 2004 was no exception – 494 applications were received, requesting $277.1 million.

During the states' fiscal crisis, a number of TBED programs were eliminated, while others survived. SSTI staff spent a fair amount of time analyzing what the survivors had in common, and we boiled the results down to three items that successful TBED programs have in common. While it may seem simplistic, the three commonalities are:

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP), a nonprofit economic development organization based in Philadelphia, seeks someone to serve as director of its investment and entrepreneurial services. Established in 1982, BFTP exists to stimulate economic growth through innovation, entrepreneurship and the development and adoption of new technologies.

The discounts ending this week on registration and accommodations for SSTI's annual conference will pay for much, if not all, of your round trip airfare to Philadelphia, so we encourage you to act soon on both. Or you can use the savings toward having one of your colleagues attend as well!

A two-year grant from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Community and Economic Development enabled Lehigh University to announce last week the appointments of Glenn Doell and Graham Mitchell to serve respectively as director of the office of technology transfer and director of the entrepreneurship program.

Travel and training dollars are limited for most tech-based economic development programs. For many states, these are the first budget items frozen in a cutback. As a result, you need to get the most bang for each dollar spent on professional development for each staff member.

Few of us would consider one piece of a jigsaw puzzle to be sufficient for comprehending the whole picture. Similarly, a state or regional strategy to develop a knowledge-based economy is not complete with just one element of a complete portfolio to nurture science, technology and entrepreneurship.

Florence Mendelson has resigned as president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Innovation Works. She will remain in her position through the end of the year, helping to identify her successor and implement plans for fiscal year 2005.

One word sums up today's efforts to build tech-based economies: challenging. A restructuring manufacturing base, revolutionary scientific breakthroughs, China and Inda heralding a truly global economy, and tight budgets have left many states and communities simply reacting to change or waiting for better times.

In the coming weeks, many Digest readers will receive the 24-page full color brochure in the mail. If you can't wait until then or want to make sure you get a copy, a PDF version is available for download on our conference website: http://www.ssti.org/conference04.htm [expired]

Slate of 30 breakout sessions SSTI's largest offering yet

The agenda is packed. Packed with great breakout session topics and engaging presenters. With as many as 30 breakout sessions, this year's conference offers something for everyone. The session titles are provided below. Brief descriptions of each topic are presented in the brochure and will be available our conference website:

Teri Ooms is the first director of the new Joint Urban Studies Center in Wilkes Barre, Penn.

In SSTI's final look at the 2004 State of the State and Budget addresses, the importance of building tech-based economies continues to be emphasized by governors across the country. Below are excerpts from speeches given in Alabama, Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Pennsylvania's Tobacco Settlement Investment Board (TSIB) recently approved a commitment of up to $20 million to Birchmere Ventures III LP to invest in life sciences companies based in Pennsylvania. Birchmere Ventures III, a new fund jointly formed by Pittsburgh-based Birchmere Ventures and San Francisco-based Bay City Capital, will raise up to $150 million.

Several months of debate leading into a special legislative session late last year was not enough to convince lawmakers to approve funding for two of the governor’s major TBED priorities. With the release of the fiscal year 2008-09 budget recommendation, Gov. Ed Rendell is again asserting the importance of the alternative energy legislation and the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund, urging lawmakers to quickly enact the initiatives.

 

The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin’ Gov’s series includes highlights from State of the State Addresses delivered in Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota and Wyoming.

 

Alabama

Gov. Bob Riley, State of the State Address, Feb. 6, 2008

Dr. Daryush Ila, head of the Alabama A&M University Research Institute, was elected to serve as the executive director of the Alabama EPSCoR Steering Committee.