Georgia Tech topped the nation in its efforts to help state and local agencies with economic development, according to a study released by the Southern Growth Policies Board's Southern Technology Council (STC).

Conducted by Louis Tornatzky and Paul Waugaman, senior fellows at STC, Innovation U.: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy offers comprehensive case descriptions of how national research universities operate in the following areas:

On April 1, Jerry McGuire becomes the first director of technology transfer for the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. McGuire currently is the director of technology transfer and licensing for the University of Buffalo.

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.

A new strategic plan focusing on the North Carolina Department of Commerce's four cornerstones of economic development success – a globally competitive workforce, investment in science and technology, a competitive business climate, and attractive communities prepared for economic development – has been released by the state's Economic Development Board.

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.

A new report, Just Clusters: Economic Development Strategies that Reach More People and Places, from Regional Technology Strategies, Inc. (RTS) finds that while cluster-based economic development strategies have the potential to expand opportunities for disadvantaged populations and rural regions, most current cluster strategies do not pay attention to equity issues. The project was made possible through a grant from the Ford Foundation.

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

The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, invites applications for the position of Associate Director for Research.

The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) is facilitating the expansion of VentureLab at the state’s research universities. Piloted at the Georgia Institute of Technology, VentureLab is a strategy for enhancing and accelerating the process of spinning new technology-based enterprises out of university research.

Two of North Carolina's state-created non-profit science and technology centers announced new leaders last week. David Rizzo is the new president and chief executive officer of MCNC. and Leslie Alexandre will serve in the same position for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

Stephen Jeffery has been appointed the new president/executive director of the Technology Association of Georgia.

Larry Moolenaar is the new Executive Director of the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.

Bill Todd, former CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, has joined the staff of Gov. Sonny Perdue to work on special projects.

The FY 2004 budget passed by the Georgia Senate last week eliminates all $32 million the House approved for the OneGeorgia Authority, the state's loan and grant program targeting rural tech-based and traditional economic development. Created in 2000, the OneGeorgia Authority was anticipated to spend $1.6 billion over 25 years (one-third of the state's tobacco settlement funds) to assist the state's most economically challenged areas based on unemployment and poverty rates.

Two of SSTI's sister organizations for promoting technology-based economic development (TBED) had items of potential interest to the readers of the SSTI Weekly Digest in their e-newsletters this week. The highlights below include links for more information.

Regional Technology Strategies, Inc. (RTS), a national nonprofit workforce and economic development group based in Carrboro, N.C., has published Cultivating Successful Rural Economies: Benchmark Practices at Community Colleges.

Baton Rouge 

The Army Research Office (ARO) recently created an initiative – a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) to be known as the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies – to develop nanometer-scale science and technology solutions for soldiers. 

The Southern Growth Policies Board has released a toolkit to help communities understand the knowledge economy and how new economic forces affect quality of life and economic development. Seeing the Future: The Knowledge Economy seeks to inform people about the knowledge, skills and resources needed to compete in today’s economy.

Western Carolina University (WCU) Chancellor John Bardo recently unveiled plans for a comprehensive regional economic development strategy that would more than double the size of the campus and promote university-industry partnerships.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development announced William Boone is the first director for the new Agricultural Center of Innovation.

The rapid increase in federal spending for defense and homeland security has led a number of states to establish initiatives targeting potential economic development from these activities. North Carolina becomes the latest of those states, with its proposed Defense Technology Innovation Center.

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.

North Carolina does not, at first glance, seem to be a venture capital underperformer. In 2006, venture capitalists invested close to $510 million in North Carolina, almost $60 million of which was invested in seed and early-stage businesses, according to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Moneytree Survey of VC investment. However, while the state ranks 12th in seed/early-stage investment, many in the state perceive the lack of seed funding to be a major obstacle to economic growth.