Canada’s Treasury Board recently announced the creation of an independent panel of experts to provide advice on transferring management of federal non-regulatory laboratories into private or other non-government hands. The four individuals comprising the panel, each with extensive experience and leadership in Canada's science and technology community, will consider different management options for the Canadian systems of federal research labs.

Over the past few months, several new research park announcements have been made, including a $2.5 billion public-private investment in Kentucky. Gov. Ernie Fletcher last month announced plans for the expansion of the Louisville Health Sciences Campus. The project will encompass the 30-block radius that houses the Louisville health sciences campus.

Scott Davis will be the new director for the University of Arizona Office of Economic Development.

Increased financial support for start-up companies and the research sector has the attention of Canadian Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale. In the Minister's 2004 budget report, released last month, venture capital (VC) initiatives totaling $270 million (CAN) are targeted for investment. Combined with private sector investments, total VC funding is expected to amount to $1 billion.

Although much collaborative work is underway in the United Kingdom, there is more to be done on the parts of universities, government and businesses, according to the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration. The conclusions and recommendations of the report span the Atlantic, offering advice of potential value for American university-industry relations.

Arizona

Gov. Janet Napolitano, State of the State Address, Jan. 12, 2004

In 2003, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano charged the Governor's Council on Innovation and Technology with developing specific recommendations to help diversify the state's economy. With recommendations including new and expanded tax credits, public-private venture capital, angel capital funds, workforce development and internship programs, and lobbying Washington for more funding, the governor now must find a way to finance the plan in a tight fiscal environment.

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.

The United Nation’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva recently announced an expansion of its online free searchable patent application database. In addition to containing an existing 1.65 million international patents filed for protection under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) from 30 countries, the database now includes digital information for 1.49 million additional records from the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Israel, South Africa, Singapore, Vietnam, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), and Cuba.

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

A recent Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) report ranks the U.S. last among 40 countries in progress toward creating an innovation-based economy over the past decade. The findings contradict several other studies that continue to depict the U.S. as the global leader in economic competitiveness. E-government, broadband, trade balance and corporate R&D were particularly weak areas for U.S. progress relative to other countries. ITIF warns that the U.S.

W. Steven Burke is the new president of Biofuels Center of North Carolina.

J. Mike Books is leaving his post with the Indiana Health Industry Forum to become the first economic development director for the city of Columbia, Missouri. He also will serve as president of the Regional Economic Development Inc. Brooks will assume his new responsibilities on July 15.

New evidence suggests that venture capitalists increasingly view international investment as the future of the industry. The 2009 Global Venture Capital Survey, conducted by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Deloitte, finds that 52 percent of venture capitalists around the world are currently investing outside their home country. Most investors also believe that their involvement with international partners will increase in the near future.

President Obama nominated Francis Collins, a physician and scientist who helped guide the Human Genome Project to completion, as the next director of the National Institutes of Health.