In the midst of a national economic recession contributing to a record number of job losses in traditional industries, forward thinking states are exploring ideas and committing funds to help grow and diversify their economies and strengthen their renewable energy portfolios.

One of the biggest challenges for green technologies and products is breaking into the market. Achieving the critical mass that allows production volume to drive down prices is difficult, particularly when the commodity being sold is, at least initially, more expensive to make because more of the actual cost of production is captured in the green company's business model.

The role of a technology incubator or accelerator for supporting nascent firms generally is regarded with the utmost importance by the tech-based economic development community. Tech incubators provide essential resources for startup companies to develop and commercialize new technologies, leading to the creation of high-quality jobs.

California's green economy remains strong through the Great Recession, according to a new report — the 2010 California Green Innovation Index. The yearly report published by Next 10 provides dashboard of indicators that track changes over time. This year's report indicates that California's clean tech companies continue to attract venture capital (VC) investments, the state leads the nation in clean tech patents and green manufacturing has grown.

Gov. Jan Brewer is directing $10 million in federal stimulus funds to Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) to support research and education initiatives. The bulk of the money ($6.5 million) will go toward research initiatives and the remaining $3.5 million will be directed toward education programs. SFAz was created in 2006 as a public-private organization to strengthen the state's economy through investments in science and technology. Arizona's neighbor to the north, Utah, also directed a portion of federal stimulus funds to enhance its technology-based economy.

Sacramento's Green Capital Alliance reports that the six-county region is now home to 13,000 clean technology jobs and 98 clean energy companies. In a five-year progress report on Sacramento's clean energy cluster roadmap, the group document's Sacramento's rise as one of the country's key hubs for clean energy technology development. The report provides a detailed look at the alliance's efforts to leverage regional partners over the past few years and its immediate plans to expand the region's data gathering and smart grid infrastructure.

TBED People
Anne Barth has been named the executive director of TechConnect West Virginia.

Joann Rockwell MacMaster has been appointed site director for the Arizona Center for Innovation at the UA Tech Park.

Catherine Renault resigned from her position as director of the Maine Office of Innovation effective December 3.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will convene a special session to focus on job creation proposals centered on her effort to replace the state's Department of Commerce with the public-private partnership she established through executive order last year (see the July 14, 2010 issue of the Digest). Along with legislative approval of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the governor is calling for $25 million to launch the Arizona Competes Fund, providing tax incentives for businesses locating in the state.

Facing massive government deficits and stagnant regional economies, many states are exploring new options for their economic development activities. Three states recently have taken steps towards eliminating their primary economic development agencies, and replacing them with public-private partnerships, intended to reduce state spending and improve the responsiveness of state efforts.

Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) has stimulated the state's job creation and increased the amount of additional funds leveraged, according to a report by Battelle. In 2010, SFAz-funded programs led to over 1,150 new jobs, 84 patents and 16 new companies. For every $1.00 awarded by SFAz, an additional $3.06 was matched by an outside source (e.g., federal grants, industry, and venture capital). SFAz's leveraging has increased progressively over the last three years.

Arizona's state, regional and university leaders already have made efforts to stimulate elements of a high-tech economy; however, missing are key fundamentals necessary for the state to compete on a national level, finds a report on Arizona's tech economy.

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states:

Arizona
Gov. Janice Brewer, State of the State Address, Jan. 11, 2010

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation has approved what is being called the region's first consensus strategic plan for economic development. The plan includes support for local research and commercialization activities, sector-based worker training and placement programs and provides assistance to entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.lacountystrategicplan.com.

Arizona State University invites applications for the position of director, High Performance Computing Initiative (HPCI). Some of the responsibilities include leadership and management of the HPCI, developing the HPCI mission and strategy, growth of the HPCI computing systems and infrastructure, building a strong technical staff to support researchers, and training in HPC for graduate and undergraduate students.

Karina Edmonds will join the Department of Energy as its new technology transfer coordinator starting in April. This is the first time that the Department has appointed a full-time person to fill this role.

Cathy McGonigle has been named executive vice president of the Flinn Foundation. Previously, she held management positions for the city of Chandler, Arizona Department of Revenue and Arizona Department of Administration.

Specialized and high-tech incubators provide crucial services and resources to promote and enhance Commercialization & Entrepreneurship, one of the six thematic tracks of this year's annual conference. Three sessions tied to this theme will be explored during SSTI's annual conference, focusing on direct lessons from successful and proven TBED programs, regional innovation clustering, and more. They include:

• Distributed, Non-University Models for Commercializing New Technologies

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the selection of 10 regional economic development and job creation efforts through a new pilot program, Innovative Economies, that supports small business participation in regional economic clusters. SBA's funding is designed to expand the opportunities and the role small businesses play in these regional collaborations. The awardees were selected from among 173 applicants. Awards went to organizations in: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.

California's next governor will inherit a dire budget situation and an unemployment rate that is above the national average. While the two main candidates vying for the job offer different visions for enhancing California's economy, both plans set forth policies and incentives to encourage renewable energy development and deployment and provide resources to support entrepreneurs. Jerry Brown (D) has a clean energy jobs plan that he says will produce half a million jobs in research, development, manufacturing, construction, installation, and maintenance over the next decade.

Arizona legislators approved the fiscal year 2009 budget last week, providing funds for proposals aimed at stimulating the state’s economy through investments in higher education infrastructure and increasing R&D activity.
 
Proceeds from an expansion of the state’s lottery will finance $1 billion in bonding for construction projects across the state’s three universities, including $470 million for completion of the Phoenix biomedical campus and upgrades to several buildings.

California

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.

Oregon