Established in 1978 and entirely self-supported beginning in 1988, the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) has one of the longest records of success for state-sponsored venture capital corporations. SSTI has completed an eight-page profile of MTDC as the fourth in an occasional series examining the diversity of approaches to technology-based economic development.

Albany, New York 

The 2001 Farm Bill 

With the emphasis many state and local tech-based economic development organizations have placed on biotechnology over the past 12-18 months, few are far enough along in implementing their strategies to point to more than a handful of successes or new construction projects. The recent explosion in public investment of resources and policies toward developing local biotech capacity is largely based on the promise of anticipated economic gains in the near or not-so-near future. 

C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Blair Carnahan will be the first director of the new Columbus Regional Technology Center in Columbus, Ga. The new facility will house an incubator, the Columbus Georgia Tech regional office and the Columbus office of the Small Business Development Center.

Details on a $110 million initiative to create more jobs and stimulate the Massachusetts economy were released yesterday by Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran and other state leaders. The initiative, Mass Jobs: Investment and Opportunity, is an innovation-friendly plan to streamline government functions and encourage growth in emerging technology through capital formation, regional development, and stability in regulation and taxation.

In an era of tight public budgets, sources of seed funding for early stage and developmental research projects with potential for commercialization is getting harder to come by. Many state initiatives to support these endeavors are subject to the same budget cuts as other areas, and small firms' interests in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program are increasing pressure for these already competitive grants.

With more than 1,000 links to socio-economic data sources, EconData.Net provides a convenient and valuable starting point for gathering information to understand regional economies. Funded by the Economic Development Administration, EconData.Net is a 100 percent free website offering easy access to state and sub-state socio-economic data for practitioners, researchers, students and data users in general.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty committee has suggested that the university provide off-campus facilities to help faculty perform classified public service or research involving the nation’s security. In the Public Interest, a report of the Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Access To and Disclosure of Scientific Information of MIT, presents recommendations for the university in handling classified work in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Dr. R. Kelly Dawe was named the inaugural Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Distinguished Investigator, a new level of investment made by GRA.

Douglas Foy, Secretary for Commonwealth Development for Massachusetts, announced his resignation effective in March.

The Institute for Government Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government recently announced open competition for its 2002 annual awards program.

As a means of highlighting the performance and composition of state economies, Harvard's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, led by Dr. Michael Porter, has published profiles on all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney recently announced a plan to spur job growth in the state by tapping the expertise of area business, community and education leaders through Regional Competitiveness Councils. Six such councils will represent the Berkshires, Cape and Islands, Central, Northeast, Pioneer Valley and the Southeast regions of the state.

As more states settle into their 2003 legislative sessions, fewer Governors are giving Inaugural or State-of-the-State addresses. During the past 10 days, the Governors of Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont and Wisconsin offered outlines of their priorities for the coming year(s). The following excerpts are directly relevant to building a technology-based economy.

Georgia

W. Glenn Cornell has been named commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism.

Many states and communities are focusing their limited technology-based economic development funds toward cluster development, concentrating on those sectors in which some assemblage already exists within the jurisdiction. Proponents of the approach suggest the public sector is able to maximize its investments in those areas already showing some strength.

Nearly $1.5 million in grants from the OneGeorgia Authority will go toward specific initiatives promoting technology-based economic development in Georgia. The awards are part of almost $7.5 million in grants and loans being awarded to 16 of the state's most economically distressed communities.

Massachusetts' high tech economy was hammered by the economic equivalent of a nor’easter throughout much of 2002, according to a report released by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). The Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy tracks nine industry clusters and 30 economic indicators and documents the declines experienced in the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, which is responsible for one quarter of all jobs in the state.

Jack Spencer is the new president of the Georgia Biomedical Partnership.

Harvard University President Lawrence Summers announced his resignation this afternoon. Former Harvard president Derek Bok is to serve as interim president for the university.

The Massachusetts Technology Council named Carol Meier as its new Executive Director, succeeding Katherine Raphaelson who is relocating to Washington D.C.

Columbus Tech Councils Merge