The five-campus University of Massachusetts System is seeking a dynamic and entrepreneurial professional to become the associate vice president for economic development to help develop the university's role in generating innovation and talent to support the Innovation Economy of Massachusetts. The position will report to the vice president for economic development and be housed at the president's office in Boston, MA.

While many state programs provide periodic reports on their activities and impacts, a few states provide regular data on their innovation economy as a whole. These reports can be useful in assessing a state's overall approach to TBED and in finding new areas for strategic intervention. Recently, groups in Massachusetts, Maine and Illinois separately released innovation indices that provide quantitative guides to their state's progress in fostering innovation.

A new program launched in Massachusetts will help companies commercialize technologies developed under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by picking up where Phase II of the program leaves off, providing financial support, coaching and introductions to potential investors. The Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation will initiate the program with $6 million over the next three years.

Proposals introduced in Florida and Ohio would have changed the funding model for universities that meet certain benchmarks to elevate their standing for research and innovation. Both proposals ultimately were rejected, however. In Ohio, the state's plan for enterprise universities is on hold, and in Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently vetoed a bill to establish preeminent universities.

Massachusetts House leaders introduced a bill earlier this week calling for funding to support R&D at universities and research centers, manufacturing grants and workforce training, and a venture capital mentoring program for startups. The measure is touted as a jobs bill to stimulate the state's sluggish recovery by focusing on high-growth sectors of the economy.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the creation of the Massachusetts Big Data Initiative, a number of steps and initiatives that will help turn the state into a world leader in big data — the collection and analysis of data that is too big, growing too fast or is too complex for existing information technology systems to handle. To achieve this goal, the state will partner with several private partners and research institutions to establish several new initiatives including:

A newly established policy academy providing guidance and technical assistance will help seven states improve their environment for innovation and align state R&D investments, workforce development and education systems with current and future needs of advanced manufacturing industries. The policy academy will help each state develop a plan or overcome barriers for putting a plan into action through a highly interactive team-based process that includes input from NGA, MEP, EDA, SSTI, private sector consultants, and research organizations.

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.

With less than three months until the start of the 2012 legislative session for many states, governors and state economic development groups are working to define areas of investment seen as key to their state's competitiveness. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a job creation and growth agenda that prioritizes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to produce more graduates for a competitive workforce. Meanwhile, leaders in Mississippi and Virginia issued reports that identify industry sectors most likely to grow their states' economies.

Florida's Institute for Commercialization of Public Research has launched a new loan program for early stage and life science companies developing technologies out of the state's universities and research institutions. The Seed Capital Accelerator Program will match private investment in university spinouts through loans of $50,000 to $300,000. The program is intended to help attract the attention of angel and venture firms to promising university research.

TBED organizations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island recently published comprehensive reviews of their respective state innovation economies. Both studies employ metrics of the general economy, as well as indicators of STEM education, research, venture investment and technology industry activity. They also use data from other state economies to track their progress in creating a vibrant and sustainable innovation ecosystem. The reports provide a useful set of innovation metrics that can be applied in other regions.

Massachusetts

With increasing pressures from state and local policymakers to show a return on investment, universities and colleges across the country are stepping up their efforts to transform innovative ideas into ready-for-market products and develop a new generation of entrepreneurs that will spur regional and state economic growth.

As economists and policymakers debate the details of how and when the nation will recover from the recession, the topic of entrepreneurship and the role it will play in shaping the new economy continually arises. In the coming years, some analysts predict a rise in entrepreneurship both as a result of massive layoffs and an aging workforce not yet ready or able to retire.

A bill being debated in Congress would provide federal support for the development of research parks, a major contributor to scientific discovery, technology commercialization and new company formation. S. 583, entitled the Building A Stronger America Act and introduced earlier this year, would make available grants and loan guarantees for the development and construction of science parks to promote the clustering of innovation through high technology activities.

TBED People
SSTI board members Rob Atkinson and Rebecca Bagley and SSTI member Stephen Tang were appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce Innovation Advisory Board. The 15-member board will guide a study of U.S. economic competitiveness and innovation to help inform national policies.

Pamela Goldberg has been appointed as the executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Currently, Goldberg serves as director of entrepreneurial leadership at Tufts University.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has released details on its latest funding approvals from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Eleven states, and Washington, D.C., are slated to receive a portion of the $360 million that will be used to expand state small business lending and capital programs. In order to qualify, states must demonstrate that their relevant programs will generate at least $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding.

E. William (Bill) Colglazier, recently retired executive officer of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council, has been selected the Science and Technology Advisor to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

From undertaking a joint regional initiative to improve two cities' competitiveness in advanced manufacturing to launching an effort for engaging venture capital companies and bringing in top university students to showcase area opportunities, mayors in Lexington and Louisville, Boston and Chicago recognize the value in promoting their cities as top destinations for growing tech-based economies. While each of the three recent announcements detailed below target different sectors of the innovation economy, they share the same mission of making their region more desirable for startups.

Recent legislative actions supporting technology-based economic development include level funding for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, funding to support programs of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority and the expansion of two state programs in support of technology and life sciences companies in New Jersey.

Deep cuts to higher education and reorganizing economic development efforts are common themes in executive budget proposals across most of the country as governors seek to both reduce spending and create jobs. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad recently introduced legislation to replace the state's existing economic development agency with a public-private partnership. Meanwhile, his budget eliminates the Iowa Power Fund, established by the legislature in 2007 to invest in private sector renewable and alternative energy industries. In Massachusetts, Gov.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to award $20 million in grants to support the construction of new or expanded scientific research facilities. The NIST Construction Grant Program (NCGP) provides competitively awarded, cost-shared grants (non-federal cost sharing of at least 20%) to support construction and expansion projects including laboratories, test facilities, measurement facilities, research computing facilities and observatories.

The Technology Innovation Program (TIP), a program within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), released its Three-Year Plan covering proposed grant competition topics through FY 2014. Future TIP grant competitions may target specific research topics within eight areas of critical national need: civil infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, health care, water resources, complex networks and sustainability.

Alabama then-Governor-elect Robert Bentley on January 3 named former House Speaker Seth Hammett as director of the Alabama Development Office, replacing Interim Director Linda Swann. He also appointed the president of the Birmingham-based Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Bill Taylor, to lead efforts to grow and retain existing Alabama industries, while at the same time recruiting new businesses to the state.