A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would allow immigrant entrepreneurs to obtain a two-year visa if they have secured the support of a qualified U.S. investor. Supporters, including bill sponsors Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, argue that the measure would help ensure American competitiveness by drawing on global entrepreneurial talent. The bill would also help create new investment opportunities for U.S. venture capitalists.

Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty last week presented a budget plan for the upcoming year that includes $19 billion in new federal stimulus funds as part of Canada's two-year, $62 billion Economic Action Plan.

In a meeting of the Government Commission on High Technology and Innovation last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin made several announcements in support of new technology and innovation investments. Putin said $37.3 billion, or more than 10 percent of the federal budget, is appropriated for fundamental and applied science, higher education, high-tech medicine, space exploration, aviation, and the nuclear industry in 2010.

Lawmakers approved last week the 2010-11 biennial budget, dedicating more than $76 million for energy research projects funded by the state's share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources will receive $45 million for development of a subcommerical scale CO2 sequestration research demonstration project, $14 million for clean coal technology research, and $17.4 million for operation of the school. Three bills regulating the wind energy industry also were signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal last week.

The Obama administration recently released a national plan to secure public and private sector networks. The Comprehensive National Cybersecuirty Initiative consists of 12 priority areas, including improved coordination of cybersecurity research, commercialization assistance for strategic technologies and expanded cyber education. Read the complete strategic plan at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/cybersecurity/comprehensive-national-cybersecurity-initiative

MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning is researching how economic development organizations are working with small businesses to address market opportunities or needs related to global climate change and the "green economy." The department currently is looking for economic development organizations to complete a brief, voluntary survey (10 minutes) relating to "green" programs and activities. Results will be shared with the economic development community and be made publicly available.

Last year, U.S. venture capital investment dropped to its lowest level in over a decade, according to data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Moneytree Survey and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). This drop was fueled by the national economic crisis, which created a number of issues within the industry.

Silicon Valley, a region often looked to for trends in the technology field, is expected to see a rise in the number of new high-tech incubators and the expansion of existing incubators in the coming months. A recent Wall Street Journal article points to these openings as a sign of revival for technology startup companies amid a relatively slow period last year as startup investment plunged during the recession.

Chris Atkinson is the new director of West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions (CAFEE).

On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a national plan to expand broadband access and competition over the next decade. The plan calls for the establishment of new competition policies, ensuring the efficient allocation of spectrum and physical infrastructure, incentives and subsidies to expand access, and support for state and local initiatives. It also sets the ambitious goal of providing 100 million U.S. homes with affordable access to download speeds of 100 megabits per second (mbps), up from the current average of 2-3 mbps.

At the close of the Utah legislative session on March 11, lawmakers followed Gov. Gary Herbert's recommendation to reduce the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) FY10 budget by $5.1 million, from $31.9 million to $26.8 million. For FY11, USTAR is budgeted to spend $34.3 million. This represents a combination of state and ARRA funding. USTAR invests in world-class innovation teams and research facilities at the University of Utah and Utah State University with a long-term goal of strengthening the state's knowledge economy.

Gov. Pat Quinn unveiled last week the FY11 capital budget outlining the state's progress on the $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now plan enacted last year by the legislature (see the July 29, 2009 Digest). The governor is seeking an expansion of the program, which includes new appropriations for green economy initiatives within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

In an effort to improve the percentage of city residents with college degrees, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced his administration will be opening an office within City Hall to help potential students considering higher education. The “PhillyGoes2College” office will direct residents to assistance with filling out financial aid forms and applications, preparing for standardized admission tests, and writing college essays.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) has released the second and final component of its strategy advocating the need to advance a tech-based economy throughout Louisiana. The white paper focuses on the topics of entrepreneurship, workforce development, risk capital, and coordinating TBED efforts at the state level. For example, BRAC calls for all returns from state funds invested in venture capital firms to be reinvested, for regional angel networks to be supported, and for the state’s angel investor tax credit to be reinstated.

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation has approved what is being called the region's first consensus strategic plan for economic development. The plan includes support for local research and commercialization activities, sector-based worker training and placement programs and provides assistance to entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.lacountystrategicplan.com.

President Obama announced five new public-private partnerships to train more than 10,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade. The partnerships, part of the White House's "Educate to Innovate", represent a $250 million investment in STEM education.

Providing strong evidence for how public investments in research and TBED pay off even on a short time horizon, a recent impact analysis calculated the total impact from the first $19.9 million North Dakota spent over the past four years for the establishment of 20 Centers of Excellence across the state. The analysts from North Dakota State University reported a combined cumulative impact of $329.5 million for the 30 months ending June 2009. The total includes both direct reported results and estimates for indirect impacts.

Since the start of the recession, the strongest performing metropolitan areas are located in the southern midsection of the U.S., especially in Texas, and around upstate New York and the Missouri River Valley, according to the most recent edition of the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor series. The brief examines each of the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. using 3Q 2009 data gauging changes in employment levels, unemployment rates, gross metro products, and housing prices.

U.S. venture capital fundraising and venture-backed exits improved marginally in the fourth quarter of 2009, despite having a very slow year overall, according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Venture fundraising increased to $3.8 billion in the last quarter, an 82.6 percent increase over the previous quarter but still far short of fundraising levels in recent years. While investors expect activity to grow in 2010, most predict that the industry will remain smaller than its scale in the 1990s and 2000s, with fewer firms and increasing focus on late-stage deals.

Give a star academic researcher a full year to reflect on what the world understands so far about regional innovation and city-region dynamics and to offer suggestions to guide future economic development initiatives to encourage growth and the results are valuable for both his homeland of Canada and its southern neighbor, the U.S. The Conference Board of Canada named University of Toronto professor David A. Wolfe its 2009 CIBC Scholar in Residence in May of 2008.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The first three installments are available in the Jan 13, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 Digests.

The fourth installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Illinois, Massachusetts and Utah.

In his fifth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama touted the administration’s Institutes of Manufacturing Innovation program as central to its plan to reinvigorate the American economy. The president called on Congress to expand the manufacturing network beyond the two existing institutes in Ohio and North Carolina and the six additional institutes to be rolled out in 2014. He also requested legislative action to undo last year’s sequester-related cuts to basic research, to pass patent reform and to improve U.S. STEM education.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell outlined a FY15 budget proposal with further detail and funding levels for TBED priorities announced in his recent State of the State address. The budget would provide $1 million to create a faster path to degree or certificate completion in advanced manufacturing and establishes a $3 million cyber workforce initiative. Higher education institutions would be tapped as partners for the new initiatives, and also would receive an additional $2 million for federal R&D matching grants as part of the budget recommendations

The fifth installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Maine, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.