Northeast-Midwest Institute Reports on Federal Spending by State
Despite small improvements, Northeast and Midwest regions lag behind the South and West in terms of dollars returned to states from taxes sent to Washington, according to a report issued by the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
People
Marty Grueber has left the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) to join Battelle Memorial Institute and the Environmental Technology Commercialization Center. Beth Ashman Collins has been named director of research at RIEPC.
FEDERAL LABS SUPPORT AUTO INITIATIVE
Seven federal labs from the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Midwest Region - representing the Air Force, Army, Navy, Department of Energy, NASA, Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - are cooperating in an initiative to help automotive manufacturers and suppliers access the resources of the federal laboratory system.
TORNATZKY GOING WEST; STC SEEKS NEW DIRECTOR
Lou Tornatzky has announced that he will be stepping down from his position as Director of the Southern Technology Council (STC), a position he has held since 1993. Tornatzky will be relocating with his family to the West Coast, but will continue to serve as an STC Research Fellow.
People
Joseph Hammang, currently vice president for science, technology and business development at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp., has accepted a position with the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council to run the Samuel Slater Technology Fund and six Slater Centers. Mr. Hammang will remain the Governor's Advisor for Science and Technology.
Rhode Island Explores Tax Changes for High Tech
Eliminating all state taxes on long-term capital gains and providing incentives to encourage biotech start-ups and investment are among the recommendations advanced in The Competitive Edge: Rethinking Rhode Island Tax Policy for Success in the New Economy, the first report from the Tax Competitiveness Committee of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC).
Atkinson to Leave R.I.; Position Available
Rob Atkinson, the executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, has announced his resignation. He has accepted a position with the Progressive Policy Institute, leading a new initiative on science and technology. As a result of his departure, the Council is seeking an executive director.
Rhode Island Plan Calls for Action
The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has concluded a year-long examination of the state's economy with a call for nine recommendations to be implemented.
VC Conference Correction
In the June 11, 1999 SSTI Weekly Digest, a mistake was made. The Great Midwest Venture Capital Conference has not yet selected any of the 30 presenting companies for the 1999 conference. The deadline for applications is August 27. More information on the registration process can be found at the conference website: www.greatmidwestvcc.com
Midwest VC Conference Seeks Presenters
The Ninth Annual Great Midwest Venture Capital Conference will be held November 8-9, 1999 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indiana Business Modernization & Technology Corp. (BMT) is seeking applications from emerging technology businesses to present their business profiles and capital needs to a variety of potential investors at the event.
$5 Million in Community Technology Projects Announced
On Tuesday, WorldCom and Brown University announced grants for 20 programs in 19 states to link public schools or community organizations with local colleges or universities to develop educational technology projects for youth in underserved areas. The grants were awarded through Making a Civic Investment, a $5-million, five-year program funded by WorldCom and administered by Campus Compact, a national coalition of nearly 700 college and university presidents based at Brown.
STC Launches S&T Planning Initiative for South
The Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science is providing the Southern Technology Council (STC) $150,000 in matching funds over three years to help Southern states increase innovation-driven economic development. A major element of the initiative is annual benchmarking of each state's progress in agreed-upon categories, including: industrial composition, entrepreneurial development, globalization, and human resources.
Rhode Island Tech Council Assessing IT Industry Needs
The Rhode Island Technology Council (RITEC) is launching a benchmarking survey this week of the state’s information technology (IT) industry to determine how the council and state economic development organizations can be most effective at addressing the sector’s needs in light of the continued restructuring of the national IT industry.
Council Outlines Strategy to Strengthen Rhode Island Economy
A Rhode Island Economic Strategy: 10 Ways to Succeed Without Losing Our Soul recently was released by the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. The report outlines 10 economic development initiatives through four themes centered on places, people, clusters and connections.
Plan to Transform Southern Economy Released
In a bid to make the South a knowledge economy leader, the Southern Growth Policies Board has released Invented Here: Transforming the Southern Economy, a 10-year strategic plan to create an innovation-driven economy in the South.
Rhode Island Boosts TBED Efforts
Before ending its 2003 session, the Rhode Island legislature signed off on nearly all of the technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives at the core of Gov. Donald Carcieri's strategy to help the state rebound from the down economy. First outlined in his Feb. 4 State of the State Address (see the Feb.
Providence, R.I., Undertakes Initiative to Jumpstart Economy
Providence was listed among the top 50 cities in the U.S. in which to do business in a June issue of Forbes Magazine. Now, a new initiative to jumpstart economic development in the Rhode Island capital is aimed at solidifying the ranking.
People
The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has named Jerry Schaufeld as director of the Samuel Slater Technology Fund.
People
Envirogen, Inc. cofounder Ronald Unterman will be the executive director of the newly created Slater Center for Marine & Environmental Technologies. The center was created through the merger of two existing Slater centers.
Southern Innovation Index Tracks Innovation, Entrepreneurship in South
The Southern Innovation Index, a strategic plan created with the governments of 13 Southern states and Puerto Rico to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth in the South, has been released by the Southern Growth Policies Board, a bipartisan public policy group based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
People
Joseph Hammang is leaving his position as director of science and technology at the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council to join the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc.
Landmark ARC Reauthorization Bill Sent to President for Approval
An historic, five-year reauthorization bill for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awaits only the President's signature after being approved Tuesday by Congress.
President Bush is expected to sign the legislation into law, making the reauthorization of ARC the longest in its history and only the second congressional reauthorization of the agency since the Carter Administration.
The reauthorization bill contains several key provisions:
People
Jack Sommer is the new executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council. Sommer previously worked with Student Advantage in Boston.
People
William Parsons is serving as acting executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. Parsons is the vice president of operations.
TBED People News
The Rhode Island Technology Council has appointed Katherine O'Dea as director of workforce development and JoAnn Johnson as manager of education partnerships.