Cleveland Fed: "Innovation, Growth, and Economic Policy in an Environment of Change,"

At a time when manufacturing jobs are relenting to the pressures of an expanded service sector, foreign competition and productivity growth, the idea of economic prosperity has a renewed urgency with innovation as the greatest strength and flexibility the greatest asset, argues a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently selected Texas A&M University and the University of Minnesota to lead the second and third Homeland Security Centers of Excellence (HS-Centers). The department anticipates providing Texas A&M University, the University of Minnesota and their partners with a total of $33 million over the course of the next three years to address security in two key agricultural sectors -- foreign animal diseases and food security.

Dave Eater has announced his departure from the New Jersey Science and Technology Commission.

Innovations in public and private institutions could be the key to aligning governance with opportunity, according to the Center for the Study of Rural America's latest annual report.

Sherrie Priesche, the science and technology advisor to New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, has been appointed as the new executive director for the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology.

The need for tax cuts, reduced and simplified regulations, a well-trained workforce, lower employee health care costs, and a state-sponsored industry advocate are among the top concerns shared by a core group of Minnesota manufacturers.

Peter Bianco has been named executive director of University Enterprise Laboratories, a nonprofit entity created by the University of Minnesota that provides incubator laboratory space for bioscience start-up companies.

The presentations from last week's conference, Knowledge Clusters and Entrepreneurship in Regional Economic Development, now available online, provide a good introduction to many of the topics and issues to be discussed at SSTI's annual conference, Building Tech-based Economies: Preparing for Tomorrow's Challenges, in Philadelphia, Oct. 13-15.

Location-based tax incentives to encourage the clustering of technology companies in distressed areas or around research universities has grown in popularity since Michigan's smart zones were created several years ago.

Reports suggest New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, resigning his office in mid-November, will be named the first director of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. Securing funding for the center has been a legislative priority for the Governor this year.

Virginia Bauer, former New Jersey commerce secretary, was sworn in as CEO and secretary of the New Jersey Commerce & Economic Growth Commission.

Study Suggests Cultural Changes in Universities Could Be Key to Promoting Greater Tech Transfer

As the angel investment community continues to evolve from individual investors to sophisticated angel investment groups, the Kauffman Foundation and the Angel Capital Association (ACA) have jointly published a new guide designed to help angels form the most effective angel organizations for their communities.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently unveiled four energy initiatives to promote clean energy R&D and the use of renewable energy technologies in the state. Through a combination of executive orders and legislative proposals, the programs are intended to push Minnesota towards its goals of having 25 percent of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2025 and reducing the state’s greenhouse emissions 80 percent by 2050. These new initiatives are:

Two bills passed by the Missouri General Assembly last week include more than $32 million to support new initiatives to promote TBED activities in the state. Programs to support bio-agricultural research, technology commercialization and business growth won the lion's share of the new appropriations.