Arizona Partnership for New Economy Releases Strategic Plan
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.
Tech-Talkin’ Governors II: The State of the State and Budget Addresses
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.
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Marty Grueber has left the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) to join Battelle Memorial Institute and the Environmental Technology Commercialization Center. Beth Ashman Collins has been named director of research at RIEPC.
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Jackie Norton, director of the Arizona Department of Commerce for the past five years, has announced she will be leaving the position this summer.
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Joseph Hammang, currently vice president for science, technology and business development at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp., has accepted a position with the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council to run the Samuel Slater Technology Fund and six Slater Centers. Mr. Hammang will remain the Governor's Advisor for Science and Technology.
Rhode Island Explores Tax Changes for High Tech
Eliminating all state taxes on long-term capital gains and providing incentives to encourage biotech start-ups and investment are among the recommendations advanced in The Competitive Edge: Rethinking Rhode Island Tax Policy for Success in the New Economy, the first report from the Tax Competitiveness Committee of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC).
Atkinson to Leave R.I.; Position Available
Rob Atkinson, the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, has announced his resignation. He has accepted a position with the Progressive Policy Institute, leading a new initiative on science and technology. As a result of his departure, the Council is seeking an executive director.
South Carolina Establishes Technology Advisory Council
South Carolina Governor David Beasley has appointed a 17-member Technology Advisory Council. The Council is to examine how South Carolina can attract technology-intensive companies, find strategies to promote high technology jobs and identify specific technologies that are important for other industries.
Rhode Island Plan Calls for Action
The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has concluded a year-long examination of the state's economy with a call for nine recommendations to be implemented.
South Carolina S&T Plan Unveiled
The South Carolina Technology Alliance has released South Carolina Technology Initiative 2000, a science and technology strategic plan outlining six specific recommendations for strengthening the state’s position in a knowledge-based economy.
Arizona New Economy Partnership Formed
Arizona Governor Jane Dee Hull has announced the formation of the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy, a 35-member steering committee appointed to purse the following goals:
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Jack Haenichen has been promoted to Deputy Director for the Arizona Department of Commerce.
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William Harris is the new president and CEO of Science Foundation Arizona, a recently formed nonprofit organization.
$5 Million in Community Technology Projects Announced
On Tuesday, WorldCom and Brown University announced grants for 20 programs in 19 states to link public schools or community organizations with local colleges or universities to develop educational technology projects for youth in underserved areas. The grants were awarded through Making a Civic Investment, a $5-million, five-year program funded by WorldCom and administered by Campus Compact, a national coalition of nearly 700 college and university presidents based at Brown.
Rhode Island Tech Council Assessing IT Industry Needs
The Rhode Island Technology Council (RITEC) is launching a benchmarking survey this week of the state’s information technology (IT) industry to determine how the council and state economic development organizations can be most effective at addressing the sector’s needs in light of the continued restructuring of the national IT industry.
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George Atkinson is taking a year-long leave of absence from his position as a professor in chemistry and optical sciences at the University of Arizona to serve as the first American Institute of Physics science fellow at the U.S. State Department. 
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Margie Emmermann has been named Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce. For the past seven years, Ms. Emmermann has been the state's policy adviser to Mexico and liaison to the Hispanic Community. 
Council Outlines Strategy to Strengthen Rhode Island Economy
A Rhode Island Economic Strategy: 10 Ways to Succeed Without Losing Our Soul recently was released by the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. The report outlines 10 economic development initiatives through four themes centered on places, people, clusters and connections.
South Carolina Releases S&T Strategic Plan
The South Carolina Technology Advisory Council (SCTAC) has released a technology strategy for the state. Creating South Carolina's Future Through Technology: Strategies for Developing a Knowledge-Based Economy grew from a 1995 strategic plan for economic development, Approaching 2000: An Economic Development Vision for South Carolina.
Rhode Island Boosts TBED Efforts
Before ending its 2003 session, the Rhode Island legislature signed off on nearly all of the technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives at the core of Gov. Donald Carcieri's strategy to help the state rebound from the down economy. First outlined in his Feb. 4 State of the State Address (see the Feb.
Providence, R.I., Undertakes Initiative to Jumpstart Economy
Providence was listed among the top 50 cities in the U.S. in which to do business in a June issue of Forbes Magazine. Now, a new initiative to jumpstart economic development in the Rhode Island capital is aimed at solidifying the ranking.
SC Commits $30M To University R&D...
South Carolina's three major research universities were awarded a total of $30 million this week to establish the state's first six centers of excellence, according to The State, a Columbia, S.C.-based newspaper.
Spurring University Tech Commercialization through Incentives
Since her inauguration in January, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has pushed legislation intended to increase university tech transfer and commercialization (see related item in this issue). But will it work? Do economic incentives really encourage university researchers to pursue commercialization goals? Or are academics "pure" scientists, truly beyond monetary motives as many would argue?