Most of the nation's governors use the winter months to publicly lay out their agendas, visions and budget requests for the coming year. The text of State of the State Addresses, Budget Messages and, to a lesser extent, Inaugural Addresses, often reveals each governor's legislative priorities and new initiatives to be pursued over the coming months.

Last Thursday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed bills to aid Michigan’s tool and die industry and to promote new venture capital investment in the state’s high-tech industries.

Jim Petell is the first director of technology transfer and commercialization for the University of North Dakota.

Michigan small businesses receiving state and federal grants for research and development will be able to put more of those funds into their work, with legislation unanimously passing the state Senate last week.

Sean O'Kane, a hotel manager from Manchester, N.H., has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

One of the hottest political topics this year is the outsourcing of U.S. jobs to other countries. A Google search on "outsourcing" returns about 4.8 million pages. Reports from Gartner, Forrester Research, McKinsey & Company, AeA, and the Institute for International Economics, among others, have looked at the topic and fed the interest.

George Bald, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, has announced his resignation to become executive director of the Pease Development Authority.

Prompted by confusion over the dual rulings in the University of Michigan affirmative action cases last year, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering have released a new report to clarify the legalities and offer options for implementing and sustaining diversity programs within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Fred Kocher has been elected president of the New Hampshire High Technology Council, which advocates technology-based businesses in New Hampshire.

During the recent past, heavy loss of manufacturing jobs has created considerable economic upheaval in several states, particularly the industrial heartland of the country where manufacturing represents more of a state's private payrolls than the national average. Michigan, alone, lost 18 percent of its manufacturing-related jobs from 2000 to 2003, a staggering 163,000 mostly high-wage jobs. Still, the manufacturing sector comprises 17 percent of the total jobs in the Great Lakes state.

Securing the multi-year funding needed to properly ramp up technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives can be difficult in states with annual budget cycles and tight revenue streams. Fortunately, there is one federal agency that provides financial assistance increasingly toward local and regional projects matching the interests of the nation's TBED community.

Marlo Jenkins will be the new managing director of TechTown, Wayne State University's research and technology park.

In an effort to increase the economic impact of the state's university-based research, Gov. John Hoeven has included $50 million in his 2005-07 budget request to create Centers of Excellence on each of the North Dakota 's college campuses.

The Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest has hired Arthur DeMonte as its first executive director. DeMonte was global director of the e-Business Technology Center at Dow Chemical.

Ten foundations have joined forces to create an eight-year $100 million New Economy Initiative for southeastern Michigan, with a goal of transitioning the region’s economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries. Three foundations, Ford, Kellogg and Kresge – each created from the personal fortunes made by some of the founders from the state’s historic economic bases – have contributed $25 million toward the effort. Additional support ranging from $1.5 million to $10 million is being provided by seven other community foundations.

Public universities in most states compete with other state priorities for appropriations each year or two-year budget cycle. With the state’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, no new budget passed by the legislature and a projected state revenue deficit of more than $1.5 billion for 2008, universities in Michigan may feel greater pressure to assert their importance to the state’s economy.

Concerned that it currently lacks the “critical mass” required to be a leader in biotechnology, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) has prepared the Michigan Life Sciences Strategy, which outlines a plan to develop its universities, industries, and infrastructure to nurture biotechnology entrepreneurship over the next decade. 

In an effort to provide quality, high-speed telecommunications services throughout the state, North Dakota has committed $3 million for the first phase of a broadband telecommunications network that is expected to cost the state $20 million when completed. When the first phase is finished later this year, 218 locations in 64 communities will be connected.

Last week, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced the findings of Michigan: The High-Technology Automotive State, a new study that demonstrates that the state’s high-tech workforce is dramatically larger than previously reported by national rankings. The MEDC study shows that the American Electronics Association (AEA) uses a narrow definition of high-tech in their annual ranking, Cyberstates 4.0, which was released the next day.

The Manufacturing Modernization Forum (ModForum), located near Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a trade association for groups who help smaller manufacturers improve their productivity and performance. The not-for-profit organization seeks applications from qualified candidates to fill the position of President/CEO. Resumes will be accepted until November 24.

Mike Wojcicki, chief operating officer and vice president of research at KTEC, has been named President of the Modernization Forum (ModForum) in Livonia, Michigan