The Ohio Department of Development, which works collaboratively with businesses, communities and the Ohio Legislature to develop financial and technical programs, seeks to fill the position, Grants Administration Manager. The position's duties include managing the outside Grant Administration Team, assessing project results and progress, and performing other duties assigned by the Deputy Director of the Technology Division.

At almost every turn, the important roles played by universities and colleges in a knowledge-based economy seem to be validated. Industry and political leaders across the country are talking of the need for strong institutions of higher education, particularly public research universities, to improve national, state, and local competitiveness. 

To give environmental technology entrepreneurs the chance to have their business plans analyzed by experts and win money for it, the National Environmental Technology (NET) Incubator in Wilberforce, Ohio, is hosting the first annual National Business Plan Competition.

With more than 110 great titles to aid the policy, practice and study of tech-based economic development, the SSTI Publication Catalog, Resources for Building Tech-based Economies officially is online.

Collaboration and partnership among public, private, and non-profit entities have taken on a renewed urgency as states and localities seek quick and cost effective methods to cultivate the necessary environment to foster and support technology-based economies.

We try hard to be objective in the SSTI Weekly Digest and to present information without editorializing. This is one of the rare instances that we will not even attempt to be objective. We have several items involving SSTI to report:

According to a new report by a public-private collaborative project called Ecom-Ohio, Ohio lags many others in the “Net” Economy. The group draws attention to the state’s digital divide among certain population groups and laments slow Internet adoption in small and medium-sized businesses and a lack of public incentives and investment to help correct the situation.

Anna Darin has been named the executive director of the Council of Development Finance Agencies (www.cdfa.org) 

Digest readers may have noticed in our headlines over the past few months that state efforts to improve their economic standing through science and technology are undergoing a tremendous period of growth and expansion. While state S&T programs have been in existence since the 1950s, most activity occurred in the early 1980s and early 1990s during severe economic downturns. The activity of the last 15 months rivals that of the early 1980s and will in all likelihood ultimately surpass it.

SSTI has added two new features to our web site to make your visits easier. Both are free services from Mind-It.com. First, a site search engine has been added to our home page http://www.ssti.org allowing quicker browsing and researching.

Two of the state-wide issues Oklahomans will decide on November 3 would allow major changes in the way the state conducts technology transfer activities. The purpose of the initiatives is to promote the commercialization of university research and support university innovation.

The State Science and Technology Institute 1998 Annual Conference, "Science & Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth," was a success with over 100 S&T professionals from 30 states and the District of Columbia attending. The conference, which was held in

Just a reminder that early registration for SSTI's Second Annual Conference, Science and Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth, are due August 31. The conference will be held September 24 & 25 in Columbus, Ohio. Full details can be found on SSTI's home page at www.ssti.org or by calling SSTI at 614/421-SSTI (7784).

During the month of August, the SSTI Weekly Digest will be published every other week. The Digest will be published August 14 and August 28. It will resume weekly publication September 4.

The State Science and Technology Institute is sponsoring its second annual conference "Science and Technology Programs: Catalysts for Economic Growth" on September 23 and 24.

The conference will explore best practices, trends, and new developments in technology-based economic development programs.

The conference program includes the following sessions:

Ross Youngs, president of Univenture, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, has been named the National Small Business Person of the Year. Youngs was selected from a field of 53 Small Business Administration (SBA) small business winners representing the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has announced the launch of the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center (Tech Center).

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) is sponsoring a workshop entitled "Building University Engines for Academic Excellence, Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship." The workshop will he held on May 30, 1998 in Philadelphia, PA.