Maine Voters Pass $5M R&D Bond
Voters in Maine passed a bond issue authorizing the state to borrow $5 million for biomedical and marine research and development by Maine-based nonprofit and state research institutions.
Maine Studying Impact of Public R&D Investment
Nearly every state legislature annually appropriates some level of funding to support research and development activities in the state's nonprofit, university, and industrial research communities. Few, though, have developed long-term, systematic attempts to measure the impact of those investments.
Maine Environmental, Energy Groups Merge
Around the country, the current funding climate is forcing some technology groups to explore new relationships with each other, including consolidation. In other cases, it just makes good sense. For example, two of Maine's environmental and energy technology organizations are joining forces with the goal of advancing job growth, R&D and new product commercialization within their overlapping industries.
TBED Organizations & People Update
The Georgia Department of Economic Development announced William Boone is the first director for the new Agricultural Center of Innovation.
Georgia's Fourth Innovation Center Focuses on Life Sciences
Gov. Sonny Perdue recently announced the creation of the state's fourth Center of Innovation. Located in Augusta, the Life Sciences Innovation Center (LSIC) will assist with business incubation and securing matching grants for applied R&D with industry partners through the Georgia Research Alliance.
Independent MTI Assessment Reveals Economic Impact
If the success of its funded companies is revealing, the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) has done well to spur innovative activity in Maine, suggests an independent analysis recently released in the state.
Lawmakers Approve Funding for TBED Initiatives in Tennessee, Maine
As July 1 approaches, the beginning of the 2008 fiscal year for most states, several state legislatures are still working to wrap up their appropriation bills. Maine and Tennessee are two of the most recent to close their books on next year’s budgets, and each has included increased funds to support TBED initiatives. Highlights for both states are provided below.
Maine
Opportunity Maine Uses Cash to Stem Brain Drain
A bill designed to keep new Maine graduates living and working in the state after college became law last week with Gov. John Baldacci’s signature. The Opportunity Maine bill, LD 1856, creates a tax credit to assist graduates with their student loan payments and enables employers of graduates to pay off the student loans.
Georgia Tech’s ATDC Incubator Reaches $1B in Venture Funding
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) within the Georgia Institute of Technology announced its affiliated companies have received more than $1 billion in venture capital funding since 1999. Amassed from 160 separate deals, the amount represents 15 percent of the total venture capital in Georgia, about one out of its every five deals in the state.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
People & TBED Organizations
The Georgia Department of Economic Development has promoted Carol Henderson to director of its Innovation and Technology Office.
Clusters Garner More Attention from NGA, Researchers
The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices has selected seven states to participate in a year-long policy academy named State Strategies for Promoting Innovative Clusters and Regional Economies. Teams from the seven states – Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon and West Virginia – will collaborate with staff from the NGA to create action plans for improving each state’s competitiveness and economy through cluster development.
People & TBED Organizations
Mark Allen was named the new senior vice provost for research and innovation at Georgia Tech. Allen replaces Charlie Liotta, who has returned to the school's faculty.
Election Preview: States Consider TBED-Related Ballot Measures
Voters in four states will consider several TBED-related measures at the polls next week, including a $3 billion cancer research proposal, state funding for stem cell research, and an R&D bond proposal to spark job creation in emerging technology sectors.
Texas
Georgia and Iowa Gauge Impact of Their Universities
Describing the impact of universities can be a vexing issue for both the higher education and TBED communities. Two recent reports, one by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) and the other by the Iowa Board of Regents, utilize different approaches to help communicate the importance of higher education institutions to a local economy.
Maine Ponders Mega Investments for R&D, Tech
$190 million? $200 million? $250 million? Each of these figures has been advanced in Maine to support three different approaches toward tech-based economic development. The bottom line for the 2007 legislative session is Maine’s elected leaders - from the governor and the state assembly - believe a sizable injection of public funding is required to accelerate research and technology commercialization in the Pine Tree State.
People
Peggy Schaffer left Maine's Office of Innovation to become chief of staff of the Maine Senate Majority Office.
Higher Ed as the Basis for Economic Growth: The Georgia Story
Over the last 15 years, few states have been as focused on investing in higher education to encourage sustainable economic prosperity as Georgia. At SSTI's 9th Annual Conference on Oct. 19-21, 2005, presenters made the case that the southern state is a national leader in American higher education.
Looking Back at SSTI's 9th Annual Conference Encouraging Women Entrepreneurship
While women are making strides in entrepreneurship, they still have a ways to go, particularly in science and technology (S&T) fields. This was the theme during the session, Encouraging Women Entrepreneurship, conducted during SSTI's 9th Annual Conference on Oct. 19-21, 2005.
Looking Back at SSTI's 9th Annual Conference Sound Strategies for Encouraging Regional Entrepreneurship
Note: This is the first in a series of articles SSTI will be running over the next several weeks to provide synopses of selected breakout sessions from SSTI's 9th Annual Conference, held Oct. 19-21, 2005, in Atlanta. Ideas for 2006 conference sessions can be forwarded to skinner@ssti.org.
Looking Back at SSTI's 9th Annual Conference Alternative Energy and TBED: A Powerful Opportunity
In another wing of the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, site of SSTI's 2005 conference, participants shared what their states and regions are doing in the area of encouraging the development and deployment of alternative energy.
$50M Tech Fund Makes Cut for Maine Bond Package
A $295 million three-part bond referendum package passed by the Maine State Legislature last week includes a number of components central to the state’s TBED strategy, including funds to support continued development of the state’s research enterprise, expanded broadband access and increased rural/economic development financing.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
TBED People
Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center has named Jason Burr director of its Savannah office.
TBED People
George Dycio was hired as an economic development specialist for the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.