Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions.

Governor Jay Nixon has released the final report from a year-long effort to design a five-year economic strategy for Missouri. The report identifies seven target clusters for development, including advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, biosciences, health sciences and services, information technology, financial and professional services, and transportation and logistics. Recommendations include a new science and technology/innovation fund, an R&D tax credit, an angel investment tax credit and cluster-based career training.

Only six states have statewide measures on the ballot in 2013, which is 28 percent fewer than the average number of measures on the ballot in an odd-numbered year, as noted by Ballotpedia's executive editor. Tech-based economic development measures will be decided in at least two states — Missouri and Maine. Although not a statewide measure, Jackson County, MO, voters will be asked to approve a sales tax of one-half of 1 percent for 20 years to fund medical research and discovery across Kansas City.

A measure to increase the sales tax in Jackson County, MO, to fund medical research across Kansas City and St. Louis was rejected by greater than a 5-to-1 ratio, reports the Kansas City Star.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has made a series of announcements over the past few weeks aimed at improving the high-tech skill set of the state's workers and students. A new STEM strategic plan released yesterday would refine Massachusetts' efforts to expand the pipeline of young, skilled science and technology workers and improve the quality of STEM education.

Eager to attract investment and spur startup activity, city and state officials launched entrepreneurship programs, high-tech R&D centers, and sector-specific facilities as part of the innovation hub trend in 2013.

In the latest of a series of announcements outlining MA Gov. Deval Patrick's spending strategy for the coming year, the governor has released his administration's FY14 Capital Investment plan, including details on economic development and education funding. As released, the plan would fund the Governor's Life Sciences capital program at $62.6 million, $13.4 million for the MA Broadband Institute program, $10 million to expand high-speed broadband in unserved areas, and $56.2 million for the state's public infrastructure funding program.

Recognizing startup businesses as a powerful force in building stronger local economies, a number of universities across the country have announced significant expansions in their entrepreneurship offerings over the last few weeks. Universities in Missouri and Virginia have announced new and expanded entrepreneurship programs for students, while a nationwide network of top business schools, including Babson College, Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, plans to launch an online entrepreneurship program that can be licensed to other schools. The U.S.

The field of technology-based economic development strives to provide opportunities and support for budding entrepreneurs and technology-based startups in hopes of strengthening our economies. But, policymakers and governments have much to gain directly from the pool of talented tech entrepreneurs. Technology startups are tapping into the $142 billion public sector market and are helping governments reduce costs and improve their services through innovative web applications and, in some cases, total system overhauls.

On the heels of their big win last week in Portland, OR, SSTI’s 2013 Excellence in TBED award winners have announced more exciting news surrounding their programs’ impact and new initiatives to support regional growth strategies. This year’s winner for Most Promising TBED Initiative, ASU Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group (EIG), has attracted a new partner to expand on their model for entrepreneurial support by repurposing existing library space.

MassVentures, Massachusetts's pioneering quasi-public capital fund for early-stage technology companies, has announced that its portfolio companies have now attracted more than $1 billion from outside sources over the lifetime of the organization. MassVentures was one of the first state efforts in the U.S. to address the lack of investment capital for early-stage firms. Since its launch in 1978, the organization has leveraged $14 million in state funding to make $91 million in investments.

Los Angeles County (CA), New York County (NY) and Cook County (IL) topped the list of places where people older than 25 with graduate or professional degrees moved to between 2007 and 2011, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s County-to-County Migration Flows Tables. Middlesex County (MA) and Fairfax County (VA) also ranked among the top destinations for highly educated transplants. The Census report provides data on domestic migration at the county level, including data on income and educational attainment.

Massachusetts House leaders introduced a bill earlier this week calling for funding to support R&D at universities and research centers, manufacturing grants and workforce training, and a venture capital mentoring program for startups. The measure is touted as a jobs bill to stimulate the state's sluggish recovery by focusing on high-growth sectors of the economy.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the creation of the Massachusetts Big Data Initiative, a number of steps and initiatives that will help turn the state into a world leader in big data — the collection and analysis of data that is too big, growing too fast or is too complex for existing information technology systems to handle. To achieve this goal, the state will partner with several private partners and research institutions to establish several new initiatives including:

The Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) has launched a collaborative partnership of more than 90 contract research organizations (CROs) to help the region compete in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. BioResearch Central will help promote the Greater Kansas City region as a destination for pharmaceutical R&D at a time when drug companies are increasingly looking overseas for their contract research needs.

Betsy Biemann, who has served as president of the Maine Technology Institute since 2005 has resigned. Joe Migliaccio, manager of MTI's Business Innovation Program, is serving as interim president.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been named the next president of Purdue University. Daniels will become the 12th president in Purdue's 143-year history in January at the end of his second term as governor.

Two bold proposals seeking to make big changes to community colleges in Massachusetts and New Jersey research universities recently were approved by lawmakers. In Massachusetts, more funding for the state's 15 community colleges is tied to increased oversight, performance measures and integration of workforce development initiatives. Meanwhile, New Jersey lawmakers passed a bill merging a medical and dentistry school with Rutgers University in hopes of strengthening partnerships for research projects and drawing more federal funding.

Building on a decade of work by the Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences, BioSTL launched last month to provide funding and support for emerging bioscience companies. The group also will dedicate resources such as training and recruiting entrepreneurs and increasing venture capital investment to collectively benefit partner organizations working to increase bioscience activity in the region. Washington University in St. Louis, BJC HealthCare, and the St. Louis Life Sciences Project each committed $2 million per year for five years, totaling $30 million to launch the effort.

Gov. Jay Nixon last week signed into law the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) nearly two years after first proposing the initiative (see the Jan. 6, 2010 issue of the Digest). MOSIRA creates a funding source to grow research and technology companies by capturing a percentage of the growth in state revenue over a base year (fiscal year 2010) from a designated group of science and innovation companies.

TBED organizations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island recently published comprehensive reviews of their respective state innovation economies. Both studies employ metrics of the general economy, as well as indicators of STEM education, research, venture investment and technology industry activity. They also use data from other state economies to track their progress in creating a vibrant and sustainable innovation ecosystem. The reports provide a useful set of innovation metrics that can be applied in other regions.

Massachusetts

With increasing pressures from state and local policymakers to show a return on investment, universities and colleges across the country are stepping up their efforts to transform innovative ideas into ready-for-market products and develop a new generation of entrepreneurs that will spur regional and state economic growth.

The Idaho Department of Commerce has named Gynii Gilliam as its new chief economic development officer. Gilliam brings more than 20 years of experience to the position. Most recently, she served as executive director of Bannock Development Corporation.

David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, will step down from the position Dec. 31.

An economic development policy and strategic plan presented to lawmakers last month identifies several steps for investing in the innovation community to improve the state's competitiveness. To create a robust and supportive environment for new company formation and tech commercialization, the report recommends increasing by 20 percent annually over the next five years state funding for capital and incubator and accelerator programs. The plan, put forth by Economic Development Planning Council under Gov.

Between FY2007-12, research and development (R&D) spending at U.S. universities grew 27.5 percent, from about $51.6 billion to $65.8 billion, according to the latest edition of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey. The survey provides a look at R&D spending at U.S. universities, with data broken down by state, institution, research area and funding sources.