NJCST Out, Cancer Research In

Governor John Baldacci used his February 5 budget address to outline a proposal to float a $70 million economic development bond, the majority of which would be dedicated to research and development projects. Citing the successful results of several R&D bond packages approved by voters over the past five years – with last summer's $35 million bond being the most recent – Gov.

The State of Maine's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Committee is seeking a Statewide EPSCoR Director to provide leadership and vision for the State's EPSCoR Committee, called the Research Capacity Committee (RCC), and the state's research enterprise. Working directly with the RCC, the Director participates in the development and implementation of the state's EPSCoR strategy. The Director also reports to the Chair of the RCC.

State and local governments are starting to develop entrepreneurship programs, but the past decade's progress could be threatened by the looming fiscal crisis facing the states, according to a new study released by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC).

Two separate news stories covering different New Jersey's technology-based economic development initiatives may give one of the first peeks at Governor James McGreevey's plans for science & technology in the Garden State.

Meriby Sweet has been appointed technology business counselor by the Maine Technology Institute and the Maine Small Business Development Centers.

A new report assessing Maine's seven targeted technology sectors represents the first systematic attempt to analyze the growth of the state's industry clusters. The report, Assessing Maine's Technology Clusters, was prepared for the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF) by the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School.

The results of Tuesday's primary election in Maine reveal the state's voters continue to be committed to improving their economy through technology-based economic development. Winning approval at the ballot was Question 2, allocating $35 million in bond revenues for 11 specific projects - a majority of which were tied directly to research and technology-based economic development.

Maine Governor John Baldacci got nearly everything he wanted in a bond proposal to encourage technology-based economic development (TBED). The Maine legislature shaved $10 million from the Governor's original request before passing the bond on to Maine voters for consideration at a special referendum June 10. The bond proposal includes:

Gov. James McGreevey recently appointed Alfred Koeppe as the new Chairman of the Economic Development Authority of New Jersey.

To help make his state a leader in research, development and innovation, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey recently signed an executive order establishing the Commission on Jobs, Growth and Economic Development. Highlighting the state's strengths but calling for it to move forward, even with a $5 billion budget shortfall looming, the governor said the commission is needed to put New Jersey in position to be more competitive.

Describing Maine as making "modest progress" in strengthening its capacity for innovation-driven economic growth, the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF) released on Tuesday The Maine Innovation Index 2002, a report on Maine's performance in the new economy.

Democrats took the year’s only two races for governor, electing Jim McGreevey in New Jersey and Mark Warner in Virginia. 

Voters in Maine passed a bond issue authorizing the state to borrow $5 million for biomedical and marine research and development by Maine-based nonprofit and state research institutions. 

Nearly every state legislature annually appropriates some level of funding to support research and development activities in the state's nonprofit, university, and industrial research communities. Few, though, have developed long-term, systematic attempts to measure the impact of those investments.

Around the country, the current funding climate is forcing some technology groups to explore new relationships with each other, including consolidation. In other cases, it just makes good sense. For example, two of Maine's environmental and energy technology organizations are joining forces with the goal of advancing job growth, R&D and new product commercialization within their overlapping industries.

If the success of its funded companies is revealing, the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) has done well to spur innovative activity in Maine, suggests an independent analysis recently released in the state.

As July 1 approaches, the beginning of the 2008 fiscal year for most states, several state legislatures are still working to wrap up their appropriation bills. Maine and Tennessee are two of the most recent to close their books on next year’s budgets, and each has included increased funds to support TBED initiatives. Highlights for both states are provided below.
 
Maine

State Also Begins Work on $150M Stem Cell Research Center An agreement between Gov. Jon Corzine and state legislative leaders will result in a $450 million bond referendum being put before New Jersey voters this fall. If approved, the money will be used to augment support for the state’s stem cell research initiative over the next 10 years.

A bill designed to keep new Maine graduates living and working in the state after college became law last week with Gov. John Baldacci’s signature. The Opportunity Maine bill, LD 1856, creates a tax credit to assist graduates with their student loan payments and enables employers of graduates to pay off the student loans.

 

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Voters in four states will consider several TBED-related measures at the polls next week, including a $3 billion cancer research proposal, state funding for stem cell research, and an R&D bond proposal to spark job creation in emerging technology sectors.

 

Texas