The U.S. will need to shift from a national S&T strategy predicated on the 1950s paradigm of "control and isolation" to a global innovation environment focused on "engagement and partnerships," according to a new National Academies report. S&T Strategies of Six Countries: Implications for the United States provides an overview of national science and technology strategies in Japan, Singapore, Brazil, China, India and Russia, and concludes that the U.S. should focus on improving its balance of "top-down" and "bottom-up" innovation.

U.S. patent activity increased in 2009, after two years of reduced activity, according to statistics from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). U.S. applicants were awarded 95,037 patents in 2009, up from 92,001 in 2008. Last year marked a return to the patenting levels of the early part of the decade, though in 2006 the country had hit an anomalous all-time high with 102,267 patents.

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is seeking an enterprising, energetic and experienced executive director for Innovation and Commercialization. The executive director will be charged to accelerate and strengthen the university's "Innovation Eco-system" that will be recognized and emulated globally by industry, academia and governments. In its vision to become the "Innovation University" RIT is investing heavily in a unique set of academic, research and technological initiatives, programs, and resources.

This week 37 states held gubernatorial elections. In many states, technology-based economic development took on a central role in the campaign as candidates put forth their ideas on how to create jobs in a difficult economy. SSTI has collected some highlights from proposals put forth by new governors-elect that address topics related to TBED.California

Voters disapproved of several tax-cutting measures appearing on statewide ballots across the nation — a good sign for states facing huge budget deficits. A proposal to roll back the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent failed to garner support in Massachusetts, saving the state's projected deficit from doubling in the next year, according to Stateline.org. Colorado voters also rejected tax-cutting measures, including an amendment to prohibit the state from borrowing.

Often credited with contributing significant revenue to states' economies, research parks also house facilities for workforce training and provide resources for tech-based industries, which is especially important as the nation's employment begins to pick up steam. In West Virginia, officials are building a $15 million advanced technology-training center at the state-owned research and technology park, and in Utah, officials recently broke ground on a building that will house engineers and analysts working on the nation's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program.

The Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance is seeking a new president who will play a leading role in developing strategy for modernizing Oklahoma's industrial base. The successful candidate will possess strong leadership skills, demonstrated administrative ability, entrepreneurial management skills, organizational awareness, political sensitivity, and the ability to establish rapport with numerous constituencies.

Legislative control will shift from Democratic to Republican majority in eleven states and Republicans now control the legislature and governor's office of 20 states, up from nine, after adding more than 675 seats in last week's midterm elections, reports the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The GOP gained control in one or both chambers in the following states: Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

With the end of federal stimulus funding for higher education on the horizon, states are considering proposals to retool current funding formulas for colleges and universities and looking to alternative funding sources to sustain their programs and services in the coming years. Ahead of the 2011 legislative session, groups commissioned by governors in Colorado and Virginia recommended a voter-approved tax and more stable funding streams from the state, respectively.

Southerners voiced that focusing on innovation and technology-based business operations, supporting entrepreneurship, identifying community asset, developing skilled workforce and increasing community involvement in economic development strategies are vital for the South to recover from the current economic downtown according to a recent report — The Road to Recovery is Named Main Street — from the Southern Growth Policies Board. The report was assembled using comments of over 2,300 citizens from communities across the south.

Angel investors continue to move their focus from seed stage startups to later stage deals, according to recent analysis by the University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research. During the first half of 2010, 26 percent of angel capital was invested in seed and startup stage companies, down from 35 percent in 2009 and 45 percent in 2008. Meanwhile, overall angel funding fell to $8.5 billion, a 6.5 percent decrease from the first half of 2009.

U.S. jobs in solar energy could increase by 26 percent by this time next year, according to the first nationwide solar census from The Solar Foundation. The census estimates that there are currently 93, 000 solar workers in the U.S., and 50 percent of solar firms plan to add jobs in the next 12 months. Solar workers are defined as employees who spend more than 50 percent of their time supporting solar activities. Read the census at: http://www.thesolarfoundation.org.

Academics and policymakers should "be more careful with the assumption that technological knowledge spillovers and networks occur automatically in innovative clusters," according to a recent article on the Cambridge IT cluster. The report, Do Clusters Really Matter for Innovation Practices in Information Technology? Questioning the Significance of Technological Knowledge Spillovers, examines the impact that a cluster has on R&D workers in IT field with an emphasis on territorial learning and knowledge spillovers.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the list of projects approved for Qualifying Therapeutic Discover Project grants and credits. Introduced in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed earlier this year, the program supports projects that show a reasonable potential to create new therapies, lower health care costs or advance the cause of curing cancer within the next 30 years. The credit or grant covers up to 50 percent of the cost of qualifying biomedical research at firms with no more than 250 employees.

The Tennessee Biotechnology Association has changed their name to Life Science Tennessee.

Ann Arbor SPARK recently added Bill Mayer as director of their business accelerator team.

After months of closed-door negotiations, the chairs of National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has released a draft list of proposals to reduce the growing federal deficit. The proposals include drastic cuts to the federal government's economic development agencies, including the elimination of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP), as well as the merging of the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Massachusetts remains the state best prepared to navigate the changing economy, according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's (ITIF) 2010 State New Economy Index. ITIF uses 26 indicators in five categories to evaluate the economic structure of states and assess their capacity to drive innovation-based growth. Massachusetts ranked number one in economic preparedness by a wide margin, as it has since the first index was released in 1999.

Facing the largest budget deficit in the European Union, British Prime Minister David Cameron will not to cut spending on S&T. The European Commission predicts the UK will face a 12 percent budget deficit in 2011. To combat this deficit, the Cameron led Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition took drastic measures to reduce the deficit by 2014.

The Department of Defense (DoD) lacks complete data on the number of technologies commercialized and therefore cannot determine the return on its space-related SBIR investment, finds a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). To meet space-related technology needs, DoD invested $5 billion, or approximately 11 percent of its total SBIR budget, on space-related Phase I and Phase II contracts over fiscal years 2005-09.

This week, millions of people in more than 100 countries across the globe will participate in activities, forums and competitions geared toward helping young people develop the skills and knowledge needed to grow innovative companies as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010. The third annual celebration co-founded by the Kauffman Foundation and Enterprise UK boasts participation from students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and government officials. In tandem with the global celebration, President Obama proclaimed Nov.

ASAIO, the oldest society in the world focusing on medical devices, is seeking device developers who are early in development (pre-seed/seed stage funding) to submit abstracts to the New Ventures Forum (NVF). The NVF is based on a partnership between ASAIO and students from MIT Sloan School of Business that seeks to provide a forum for the presentation of next generation medical devices and a robust discussion of the commercialization challenges these technologies may encounter.

"Despite the clear limitations of existing federal innovation programs, they remain important to our national economic competitiveness," according to a new report from the Center for American Progress. In Silos of Small Beer, authors Maryann Feldman and Lauren Lanahan examine the efficacy of federal innovation programs on the regional economic development of the eastern Midwest region that includes Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania; and Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown in northeast Ohio.

Michigan lawmakers last week passed a measure aimed at increasing access to capital for small businesses by allowing taxpayers to collect an income tax credit worth 25 percent of a qualified investment in emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing and life sciences. Under HB 5921, the investment must be at least $20,000 and certified by the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF). MSF can certify up to $9 million in credits in a single year with up to $250,000 for each business. Gov.

Although fiscal year 2011 will present a slight improvement in state fiscal conditions, spending and revenue is unlikely to return to pre-recession levels for several years, according to the Fall 2010 Fiscal Survey of States. The loss of federal stimulus funds in 2012 will compound the problem and is anticipated to create significant gaps between current spending levels and total available funds in many states.

In Growing the ICT Industry in Canada, David Wolfe and Allison Bramwell present an overview of the current state of the global Information and communications technology (ICT) industry with a predominate focus on Canada's ICT industry. A detailed discussion of the current state of the ICT industry and the impact of the recession on the sector is covered in the first section of the report.