Now is the time to highlight your organization's impact and gain high-profile exposure as a recipient of SSTI's national award for excellence in technology-based economic development (TBED).

Recipients of this coveted award are showcased as best practices throughout the TBED community and promoted for their exceptional achievements in approaches to building tech-based economies and demonstration of outstanding results.

SSTI invites applications for the 2010 Excellence in TBED Awards in the following categories:

Gov. Chet Culver last week signed legislation creating the Iowa Innovation Council to advise the state's Department of Economic Development on policies that enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in high-growth industries such as advanced manufacturing, bioscience, and information technology. The council will be led by a group of volunteer private business leaders with expertise in the targeted industry sectors and charged with creating a strategic plan for implementing specific policies and coordinating state government applications for federal funds related to R&D.

SSTI, a growing nonprofit organization serving the nation's tech-based economic development (TBED) community, seeks an entry-level policy analyst to research and prepare reports, articles and papers on TBED and assist with SSTI events. Excellent research abilities, strong writing and verbal skills and solid understanding of government are required. Candidates must have the ability to work independently or as part of a committed team and be dedicated to creating a quality product.

Bryan Allinson has joined Ohio University as director of technology transfer.

Lawmakers in Idaho, Iowa and South Dakota recently passed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year providing funds to help stabilize higher education funding, support research projects related to renewable energy R&D, and provide temporary operational support for an underground deep science laboratory.

Idaho

Chris Atkinson is the new director of West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions (CAFEE).

Last year, U.S. venture capitalists invested about $10.7 billion in seed and early stage companies, 17.1 percent higher than 2012, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Moneytree survey.  Though the overall venture capital (VC) market has returned to about the same level of activity as before the economic crisis, investment in seed and early stage companies has grown by more than a third.

In the U.S. there is strong bi-partisan consensus that immigration is a key driver for entrepreneurship and regional competitiveness.  With federal immigration reform essentially shelved for 2014, cities and states are searching for their own solutions to attract and retain high-skilled immigrants. Proposals by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other policymakers represent new approaches to immigration reform that can support local entrepreneurship and regional economic development.

Recent court decisions regarding high-speed Internet competition and net neutrality have put U.S. broadband competitiveness on uncertain terrain. Despite two decades of publically supported high-speed data infrastructure efforts, many rural areas still lack access and even densely populated areas remain underserved.  New statewide efforts in Kentucky, Minnesota and Iowa have been announced to improve broadband services and boost economic competitiveness. In addition, Google has announced that it will expand its ultra-fast fiber services to nine more cities across the country.

University-focused initiatives that help bring new technologies and products to market help drive regional economic development and encourage an entrepreneurial culture on campuses. SSTI’s latest Trends in TBED report featured a number of commercialization efforts launched in 2013, including university-based funds to support ideas from faculty, staff and alumni. So far, 2014 also has proven active in this area with the announcement of several new initiatives to support university technology startups.

Following a national economic development trend toward regionalism, governors in Iowa and Nebraska announced a partnership to provide more investment and talent opportunities for area businesses, and increased exposure for the region. Under the multi-county collaboration, Advance Southwest Iowa will join the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership. The group plans to implement a five-year regional economic development program focused on establishing a recognized brand and image for the region, growing and recruiting businesses, and retaining a trained workforce.

Ted McAleer has resigned as executive director of USTAR. Also Gary Herbert has announced the appointment of former Lt. Gov. Greg Bell as chair of the USTAR Governing Authority. Bell, now president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association, takes the place of outgoing chair Dinesh Patel.

The second installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.

Several common themes surrounding higher education have emerged as governors across the country unveil investment priorities for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium. In many states, governors have proposed more funding to increase affordability by freezing tuition or creating new scholarship funds. Support for expanding research capacity, technology-related infrastructure and job training in high-demand industries are some of the proposed measures aimed at competitiveness.

Karen Mills, head of the Small Business Administration since 2009, has announced her departure. She will stay on until her successor is confirmed.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan has nominated Jeffrey Rose to be the state's commissioner of Resources and Economic Development.

In the January 2011 edition of the Harvard Business Review, Michael Porter and Mark Kramer called for a redesign of the existing business model and their role within society. Instead of simply embracing corporate responsibility and corporate giving, businesses should work to create shared value within their community by helping to support local clusters and institutions to address societal needs and issues.

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.

Rebecca Blank, the acting U.S. secretary of Commerce, is expected to be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the recommendation April 5.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin announced that Jonna Kirschner, executive director of the Oklahoma Commerce Department, will serve on a transition team to establish a new workers’ compensation system. Vaughn Clark , the Commerce Department’s director of community development, was named as interim executive director.

President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee “2.0.” Former SSTI board member Luis Proenza, president of The University of Akron is part of the steering committee chaired by Andrew Liveris, president, chairman, and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, and Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chris Coburn, the founding executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, is leaving at the end of May to join Boston-based Partners Healthcare, the largest healthcare system in Massachusetts.

Mary Jo White has been confirmed by the Senate as the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.