Included below are recent development plans and groundbreaking news for research parks announced by officials in Connecticut, Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

In support of Gov. Martin O'Malley's Bio 2020 Initiative, lawmakers increased funding for stem cell research and provided $8 million in tax credits for biotechnology investments in the FY12 budget approved last month. Lawmakers also passed a bill providing a two-year eligibility extension for companies using the biotech tax credit and allocated $2.4 million to fund nanobiotechnology projects.

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SSTI board members Rob Atkinson and Rebecca Bagley and SSTI member Stephen Tang were appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce Innovation Advisory Board. The 15-member board will guide a study of U.S. economic competitiveness and innovation to help inform national policies.

The Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking applications for the director, Technology Innovation Program. This position is perfect for you if you are ready for a challenge and are committed to making significant improvements in the operations of one of the world's premier research and science organizations. NIST is located in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, MD.

Pamela Goldberg has been appointed as the executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Currently, Goldberg serves as director of entrepreneurial leadership at Tufts University.

From undertaking a joint regional initiative to improve two cities' competitiveness in advanced manufacturing to launching an effort for engaging venture capital companies and bringing in top university students to showcase area opportunities, mayors in Lexington and Louisville, Boston and Chicago recognize the value in promoting their cities as top destinations for growing tech-based economies. While each of the three recent announcements detailed below target different sectors of the innovation economy, they share the same mission of making their region more desirable for startups.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a $27.5 million, five-year grant to the University of Maryland for a multi-disciplinary research center focused on the interplay of human activity and healthy ecosystems. The grant is the largest ever received by the university and will provide funds for research in environmental sciences, public policy, engineering, computer science and economics.

Recent legislative actions supporting technology-based economic development include level funding for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, funding to support programs of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority and the expansion of two state programs in support of technology and life sciences companies in New Jersey.

The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) in the National Institute of Standards and Technology is using its FY09 award competition to support high-risk, high-reward research in civil infrastructure and manufacturing. The program has $25 million available to support as many as 25 new awards. TIP is open to individual small-sized or medium-sized businesses or to joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations and national laboratories.

With a $25 million funding opportunity currently on the streets for manufacturing and infrastructure research projects, the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) has added three more locations and dates for proposers' conferences next week. The free public meetings will provide general information regarding TIP, guidance on preparing proposals, and the opportunity for questions and answers.

One of the biggest challenges for green technologies and products is breaking into the market. Achieving the critical mass that allows production volume to drive down prices is difficult, particularly when the commodity being sold is, at least initially, more expensive to make because more of the actual cost of production is captured in the green company's business model.

SSTI has an effective new learning tool for TBED policymakers and practitioners seeking guidance in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies.

The budget agreement passed by Maryland lawmakers earlier this month includes funding for several initiatives in support of Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to invest more than $1 billion over ten years in Maryland's biotechnology industry. Declining state revenues as a result of the recession were not without their impact, however.

Craig Dye was named director of the Mtech VentureAccelerator Program, a fast-track, early admission program tied to Mtech's Technology Advancement Program.

The Minnesota High Tech Association announced Margaret Anderson Kelliher, speaker of the Minnesota House, will assume the role of president of the Association beginning in January after she leaves public office.

The Tennessee Biotechnology Association has changed their name to Life Science Tennessee.

Ann Arbor SPARK recently added Bill Mayer as director of their business accelerator team.

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Anne Barth has been named the executive director of TechConnect West Virginia.

Joann Rockwell MacMaster has been appointed site director for the Arizona Center for Innovation at the UA Tech Park.

Catherine Renault resigned from her position as director of the Maine Office of Innovation effective December 3.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking input from the public and NIH staff on the proposed creation of a new center that would support translational science and consolidate several existing translational research programs. The National Center for Advancing Translations Sciences (NCATS) would support the development of therapeutics and clinical care from basic research discoveries.

SSTI Board member Phillip Singerman has been named as the Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He will assume this position on January 31.

Alabama Gov.-elect Robert Bentley named former house speaker Seth Hammett as the director of the Alabama Development Office.

Maine Governor Paul LePage named Phillip Congdon as the new commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Cogndon is a licensed professional engineer who spent more than 20 years with Texas Instruments in Dallas. He replaces Acting Commissioner Thaxter Trafton.