As budgets for economic development tighten across all sectors, measuring and reporting impact becomes even more crucial for sustaining support. The Association of University Research Parks points to three impressive impact reports released this year from Indiana's Purdue Research Park, Nebraska Technology Park and North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park.

Building on several of the new programs enacted during the regular legislative session (see the June 15, 2011 issue of the Digest), Gov. Dan Malloy last week signed into law HB 6801, a comprehensive legislative package that authorizes $626 million in bonds to support efforts aimed at job creation. The bill has several components to support high-tech entrepreneurship, workforce development, and incentivize manufacturers and small businesses.

This year as states were wrestling with significant deficits, several proposals to consolidate TBED initiatives with other units of government emerged. The most recently decided was in Connecticut, where the General Assembly did not move forward with a plan to merge the state's two primary financing agencies, Connecticut Innovations and the Connecticut Development Authority to form a new Connecticut Economic Innovations Authority. Gov. Jodi Rell had proposed the consolidation.

The national recession that began at the end of 2007 is "very likely over," according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Recovery, however, may be a long way off. Because states were affected differently by the economic downturn in both timing and impact, recovery for state and local economies is likely to occur at different times. Moody's Economy.com predicts, according to an MSNBC article, that job growth will return first in five states: Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Shortly after President Obama announced that the federal government would seek out new partnerships with private companies to improve science and technology education in the U.S., the Arizona Technology Council unveiled three new offerings for Arizona students. The group will collaborate with tech companies and nonprofits to hold a statewide science fair, to develop a four-year engineering curriculum for high school students and to create an online directory of STEM opportunities.

Robert Fritzinger has been named the director of the new SUNY Fredonia Business Technology Incubator.

Ioanna Morfessis, a consultant from Phoenix, was unanimously appointed as the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation by the board of directors. Morfessis is expected to start work in January, and will serve as acting director until the Senate confirms her appointment.

Governors across the nation are trying to find ways to prevent their state finances from falling further in the red as revenues continue to fall while costs for Medicare and unemployment remain high. Deficit-reduction plans announced in two states seek to delay payments and cut funding to biomedical research initiatives that were established to expand the states’ research capacity and generate wealth.

Connecticut

Lawmakers passed two major jobs bills during the 2011 legislative session; one modifying several economic development programs and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, and the other providing incentives to attract large companies to the state. A proposal dubbed Bioscience Connecticut, centered on renovating and expanding the University of Connecticut Health Center, also won legislative approval.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will award $74 million total for the creation of four interdisciplinary research and education centers as part of the third generation of NSF Engineering Research Centers. In addition to their primary focus on commercialization and education, these centers will emphasize innovation, entrepreneurship, small business collaboration, and international partnerships. For the first time, two of the ERCs will be co-funded by the Department of Energy.

The University of Connecticut seeks a vice president for economic development to provide strategic leadership and direction in building and capitalizing on facilities, expertise and technology available at UConn and in improving state economic prospects in high-value industries. This is a new position reporting directly to the president.

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Our first installment was in the Jan. 5 Digest.

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.

The sixth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey and North Carolina. The first five installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan.

TBED People
Walter Bumphus has been named the next president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges. Bumphus currently serves as a professor in the Community College Leadership Program and chair of the Educational Administration Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Bumphus will begin his tenure with AACC in January.

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.

Connecticut has certified its first fund manager under the state's revised Insurance Reinvestment Tax Credit program, which has now expanded beyond its focus on insurance-related companies to support early stage and high-tech firms. Advantage Capital Partners has raised $72 million to invest under the revamped program. Fund managers may invest in any Connecticut-based business. One quarter of the investments must support green technology firms, and three percent must go toward pre-seed stage projects.

Via Executive Order, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer established the Arizona Commerce Authority, a quasi-public authority, that eventually will replace the Arizona Department of Commerce. A 34-member board comprised mostly of C-level executives, chaired by the governor, will lead the transition from the old department to the new authority. Gov. Brewer earmarked $10 million in federal stimulus dollars to establish the authority.

Over the past few months, several states have announced efforts aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on oil. While the importance and urgency of such efforts is perhaps magnified in the wake of one of the worst U.S. environmental disasters, the shift to a renewable energy-focused economy also brings with it the expectation of job creation, new product development, and increased revenue for states struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

Citing a lack of coordination among the state's economic development agencies as an obstacle for small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to set up shop, Gov. Dan Malloy unveiled a plan to consolidate job training and grant programs as part of the 2012-13 biennial budget. The governor's budget also would incentivize large employers through a competitive program rewarding the first five companies that create at least 200 new jobs within two years.

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.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich named James Leftwich as the director of the Ohio Department of Development, effective March 25. Leftwich has worked at the Dayton Development Coalition for six years, including three years as president and CEO. Leftwich will take the post previously held by Mark Kvamme, a California venture capitalist named the state's development director in January. Kvamme was appointed director of Job Creation within the governor's office, effective immediately.

Recent announcements of new and emerging technology incubators range from Google's selection of Cape Town, South Africa to launch a pilot incubator supporting technology entrepreneurs that it hopes to replicate globally to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's plan to create a statewide business incubator focusing on workforce training. Select announcements from across the globe are highlighted below.

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