In his inaugural address last week, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas announced a four-part plan to bolster research and high-tech economic development. The governor’s Vermont Way Forward strategy would promote high-tech business, particularly in the state’s emerging environmental engineering industry. In addition, the strategy includes a plan to make Vermont what the governor says would be the country’s first “e-state,” one in which universal access to broadband and wireless technology are available anywhere within the state’s borders.

Just what makes firms productive? Economists continue to refine their thinking on the interactions that enhance productivity. Knowledge capital and knowledge relatedness play an active role in increasing firm competitiveness, especially in large, high-tech manufacturing sectors, according to a study presented at a recent conference of the Groupe de Recherche en Economie.

Money is following the jobs and excitement that represents China's economy these days according to an annual survey of equity investments in China mainland businesses. Compiled by Chinese venture capital (VC) research and consulting firm Zero2IPO, the fourth annual survey found 60 firms made 253 investments totalling $1.269 billion (US) in China mainland or mainland-related enterprises in 2004.

This past fall, Vermont released what may be the nation's first statewide effort to lay out an economic development strategy based on the creative economy theories advanced most prominently by George Mason professor Richard Florida.

It may not be getting much attention from the White House or Congress, but encouraging innovation and technology-based economic development through coordinated national strategies and initiatives is very much on the legislative agenda of many other countries around the world. Recent highlights from the past few weeks include (all dollar figures are for U.S. equivalencies):

To increase the commercial value and economic benefits of federal investments in scientific research, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is launching six new research and innovation facilities valued at over $125 million.

If you consider North America's public investment to encourage economic growth through science and technology at the state or provincial government level, Ontario should be in your top 10. And the recent injection of $63 million for technology commercialization might have bumped the province of 12 million residents up a place or two.

Science Spending to Rise £1B Over Next 3 Years Alone

"..because we want Britain to be the most attractive location in the world for science and innovation, we are setting a new and ambitious target of increasing UK R&D investment as a proportion of national income from its current level of 1.9 percent to 2.5 percent by 2014 over the next decade."

One Goal would see Science Share of GDP Surpassing US before 2010.

Innovation policy approaches need to address specific challenges, problems and opportunities found in different types of regions, according to a new research paper from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. The paper, One Size Fits All? Towards a Differentiated Policy Approach With Respect to Regional Innovation Systems, was presented at the recent German Institute of Economic Research conference.

The city of Montpelier, Vt., will soon join the ranks of other high-tech cities as it prepares to implement its first Wi-Fi “hotzone” in the central downtown area. With support from Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), city officials and local businesses, the Vermont Broadband Council recently launched MontpelierNet, a high-speed Internet network that will bring wireless broadband Internet access to the city.

Scientific research, technological development and innovation are the heart of a knowledge-based economy, and in order to strengthen this sector in Europe, the European Union’s (EU) research budget needs to be doubled, according to a new plan released by the Commission of The European Communities.

Competition for state, federal and industrial funding to support university research is increasingly fierce in the U.S. Growing interest in developing academic research capacity, eroding state support for higher education and federal R&D budgets barely keeping pace with inflation, let alone absorbing the growing percentage dedicated to Congressional earmarks, are some of the reasons.

Robin Siss, Vermont's first commissioner for the Department of Information and Innovation, has announced her resignation. Siss began the position in August. Denise Fehr will serve as acting commissioner.

With its economy already outpacing the average growth for the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the past five years, the Czech Republic is injecting 348 million euros ($417.6 million US) into several tech-based economic development (TBED) initiatives.

The launch of a targeted small business development program designed to foster the success of new high growth, high-tech firms in Vermont was announced last month at a press conference by Sen. Patrick Leahy, Gov. James Douglas and University of Vermont (UVM) President Daniel Fogel.

Increased financial support for start-up companies and the research sector has the attention of Canadian Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale. In the Minister's 2004 budget report, released last month, venture capital (VC) initiatives totaling $270 million (CAN) are targeted for investment. Combined with private sector investments, total VC funding is expected to amount to $1 billion.

Although much collaborative work is underway in the United Kingdom, there is more to be done on the parts of universities, government and businesses, according to the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration. The conclusions and recommendations of the report span the Atlantic, offering advice of potential value for American university-industry relations.

The University of Vermont announced that Janice St. Onge has joined the Vermont Business Center as the director of business education.

The Canadian Government this week released its budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which includes several new TBED-related initiatives and increases in funding for a few existing programs. The government plans to leverage its relatively strong fiscal position by providing tax relief and paying down the national debt, while providing $606 million for workforce development and $440 for research over the next two years. Major science and technology (S&T) initiatives in the 2008 budget include:

Earlier this month, three universities - Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Berkeley - announced partnerships with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a graduate-level research university set to open in Saudi Arabia by September 2009. Each of the U.S.-based universities will assist with the development of the following initiatives within specific academic fields of study at KAUST:

State universities and research programs depend on public support to develop and commercialize new technologies, but the actual science involved in these discoveries can seem intimidating and arcane to the layman. How then should a state go about engaging the public in scientific research?

 

Last year, China replaced the U.S. as the most popular destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). The creation of an IBM Research Innovation Center as an extension of its China Research Lab near Beijing University provides a recent example of U.S. interest in capitalizing on China's emergence as the planet's hottest economy.

Finland remains the most competitive economy in the world and tops the rankings for the second consecutive year in The Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005, released earlier this month by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The U.S. is in second position, followed by Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark and Norway, respectively.

In order to provide further incentives for crucial research and development (R&D) and to encourage more industries to carry out R&D in Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, the economic development agency for Scotland has launched a new funding scheme.