Lawmakers across several western states have reached budget agreements for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium allocating decreased or level funding for tech-based economic development efforts. Lawmakers also passed new legislation supporting job-creation efforts and investments in alternative energy. While funding for many of these programs appear secure in FY10, additional spending cuts are anticipated in the coming months if state revenues continue to decline.

Can you afford to miss out on valuable publicity for your organization's outstanding accomplishments, particularly as legislators look for places to cut spending?

SSTI's Excellence in TBED Award can help you build recognition for your organization and gain support to continue your critical tech-based economic development efforts.

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

The lazy days of summer may be the most challenging time to keep students and teachers motivated and engaged in academics. Fortunately, several programs across the country have risen to the challenge. And, with the Obama Administration's pledge to make math and science education a national priority, now may be an opportune time for collaboration among federal and state agencies, private foundations, and industry to reverse the U.S. decline in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Funding for higher education initiatives fell victim to Ohio's budget woes as legislators worked to fill a projected $3.2 billion deficit. The enacted budget signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Ted Strickland cuts spending by $2.5 billion and leverages $5 billion in federal stimulus funds, according to the governor's office.

Rebecca Bagley, who left her position as deputy secretary for the Technology Investment Office within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, was appointed president-elect of NorTech. Bagley will succeed Dorothy Baunach, the founding staff director of NorTech, as president and chief executive officer. Baunach will become president emeritus, serving as an adviser until December 2010.

Make 2009 your organization's year to be recognized as a national leader in the TBED community!

In honor of Earth Day, SSTI has prepared a special edition of the SSTI Weekly Digest focused almost exclusively on green issues, ranging from a round-up of recent developments to encourage the creation and growth of alternative energy companies to a profile of Toledo's solar success story. Enjoy the news, and pass this issue along to others you think would be interested-but do it electronically, please.

Last week, the Board of Trustees at the University of Toledo approved the creation of a School of Solar and Advanced Renewable Energy. The School will integrate faculty from multiple science, engineering, and business disciplines to offer its own degrees and perform collaborative research, often with industrial partners associated with the region's established solar energy and photovoltaics cluster.

The Ohio Department of Development invites bids for two Requests for Proposals (RFP) to provide evaluation services and other forms of technical assistance for the state's fiscal years 2010 and 2011.  Proposals for either opportunity are due by May 29. Specifically, Development is seeking contractors for the following:

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The most recent annual report of Ohio's Third Frontier initiative announced $3.52 billion in non-state resources has been provided for affiliated projects and companies - a nine to one ratio of state dollars leveraged. Since the Third Frontier's creation in 2002, $893 million in state funds have been awarded, with $403 million of that amount expended to date.

SSTI is hosting an informal phone call on Wednesday, May 13 at 2:00 PM EDT to answer your questions about the 2009 Excellence in TBED Awards.

Who should join the call? 

Anyone considering submitting an application for the 2009 awards cycle or anyone who wants to learn more about the program will find the call useful.

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.

Not all of the news coming out of governors' offices is bad for TBED strategies. For example, just in the past week, governors in Missouri, Ohio and Texas proposed increases in state investments for job creation in emerging fields, higher education scholarships, and technology commercialization and research programs. The following overview provides highlights of their recommendations for TBED proposals in the upcoming fiscal year or biennium.

The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses from governors in Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah.

The complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.