Two new Governors, Bob Wise of West Virginia and Wisconsin's Scott McCallum, have put tech-based economic development in the forefront of their respective economic agendas.



West Virginia

With as much emphasis on accessing and applying technology as on creating it, the final report of the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (APNE) outlines several recommendations to improve Arizona’s position and performance in a tech-based economy.

Editor's Note: We continue our look at the priority Governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education with highlights from recent speeches and budget proposals. Based on this week's announcements, it appears 2001 appears will be a third strong growth year for state and local tech-based economic development activities.

What can policymakers and practitioners do if the statistics and other metrics indicate a state, region or locality is not well positioned for the technology-based economy, but the elected leaders and economic development professionals are plodding along with traditional approaches to job creation and development?

Oklahomans need “to make fundamental changes in the way we see ourselves and the way we do things...to prevent us from slipping farther and farther behind, languishing on the sidelines of the New Economy,” according to a 14-member committee of public and private sector leaders. 

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is seeking a chief executive officer. OCAST's statutory mandate is to contribute to the public policy goals of expanding and diversifying Oklahoma=s economy, providing new and higher quality jobs to improve Oklahoma's per capita income and encouraging the development of new products, new processes, and whole new industries in Oklahoma. The full description can be found on the SSTI homepage at http://www.ssti.org

Three separate public initiatives are underway in Wisconsin which could result in the availability of more than $100 million for new venture capital financing. The efforts are designed to spur venture capital investment in the state (ranked 45th in the 1998 Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey) and to increase entrepreneurial activity in the Wisconsin biotechnology community.

Two of the state-wide issues Oklahomans will decide on November 3 would allow major changes in the way the state conducts technology transfer activities. The purpose of the initiatives is to promote the commercialization of university research and support university innovation.

With the establishment of a $1 million trust fund to serve as seed money, the new Oklahoma Institute of Technology intends to position the state as a national leader in information technology, engineering, and biotechnology. Governor Frank Keating signed Senate Bill 694 into law June 8, creating the public-private collaboration. Tulsa World news reports indicate supporters of the institute anticipate raising a $100 million endowment for the project and securing additional state support.

Arizona

It only seems natural that SSTI celebrate a decade of convening the premiere professional development event for the nation's tech-based economic development community in a state that, for nearly 20 years, has been a pioneer for innovative approaches to transform regional economies — Oklahoma. SSTI's 10th annual conference and pre-conference intensive workshops will be held at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

Jackie Norton, director of the Arizona Department of Commerce for the past five years, has announced she will be leaving the position this summer.