The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in partnership with the Richard Florida Creativity Group (RFCG), recently announced the formation of the Knight Creative Communities Initiative in three metropolitan areas of the country: Charlotte; Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wisc.; and, Tallahassee. The goal of the initiative, utilizing Dr. Florida’s theories on the importance of creativity and innovation for economic growth, is to produce through community dialogue a vision to enhance each region’s environment for ingenuity.

Many communities around the country have established authorities to oversee the real estate, infrastructure and management issues of their technology parks. Few of those authorities, however, provide direct grants to support industry-university R&D or commercialization projects. This more proactive approach to growing future tenants is the thinking behind a pilot program created last year for the Leon County Research and Development Authority (LCRDA) in Tallahassee.

Statewide efforts addressing all of higher education's public purposes are needed to combat the increasing competition and privatization sweeping the nation's public colleges and universities, says a new report from the Futures Project, Correcting Course: How We Can Restore the Ideals of Public Higher Education in a Market-Driven Era.

Darrell Kelley, CEO of Enterprise Florida for the past three years, will retire on Aug. 1.

On Wednesday, South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges announced the appointment of a 38-member Steering Committee of the Technology Transition Team. The group, chaired by the president of the South Carolina operations of BellSouth, consists of business leaders, technology entrepreneurs, financial executives, research university leaders, and government representatives. Technology Transition Team responsibilities include:

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Texas. Our first three installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 issues of the Digest.

Upbeat revenue forecasts and shared economic principles have Republican governors in four states requesting more funds for higher education tied to performance metrics or workforce outcomes. Recent budget proposals introduced in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas focus on competing for talent and jobs through efforts to encourage STEM learning and teaching and incentivizing outcomes such as graduating more students in high-demand fields, conducting research and more. College affordability is addressed through measures that would freeze tuition or cap increases.

President Obama nominated Ernest Moniz as the next secretary of Energy, Gina McCarthy as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Sylvia Mathews Burwell as director of the Office of Management and Budget. The nominations require confirmation by the Senate.

Draper Triangle Ventures is opening a Columbus, OH, office. Will Indest, formerly of TechColumbus, has been named managing director.

Bill Kirkland will head the new Office of Economic Engagement that will begin operations July 1 at the University of South Carolina. The new entity will facilitate business development statewide, and work through USC&'s seven regional campuses.

John Carey, a former state representative, was appointed by Gov. John Kasich as the chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

Lawmakers last week passed a $74.5 billion FY14 budget that expands efforts to commercialize research and boosts funds for life sciences and space-related investments. Under a sweeping new education bill, universities can qualify and receive additional resources as preeminent research universities. The measure also designates some higher education funding based on performance, and allows colleges to create low-cost degree programs.

Sean Greene has joined the Case Foundation as entrepreneur in residence. Greene most recently served as associate administrator for Investment and special advisor for Innovation at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

New efforts to step up technology transfer at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the University of Tennessee (UT) have resulted in a record number of invention disclosures over the last year. In both cases, much of the achievement is attributed to faulty involvement, including new outreach efforts by the universities and more aggressive and ambitious goals set for the institutions.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

As evidenced in the recent presidential debates and on the campaign trails, STEM teaching and learning is a national priority for maintaining global competiveness. Several universities and foundations have taken the lead, working with partners to design innovative learning tools and create research-based, professional development support for new math and science teachers.

Ahead of the 2013 legislative sessions, groups in Florida and Wisconsin unveiled reports on revamping higher education to better fulfill workforce needs and strengthening sectors most likely to produce jobs. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Higher Education urged differentiated tuition making it more affordable for students to pursue in-demand careers.

While Washington remains in political gridlock and the national economy continues sluggish growth, one key trend for political and economic success is apparent: U.S. metro regions experiencing high economic growth have invested federal, state, and private funds in high-speed broadband access.

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.