TECNA NOTES

TECNA 2012 Annual Conference

 

The TECNA 2012 Summer Conference is designed for tech council leadership – as a true peer to peer exchange, with valuable information and thought-provoking discussion on best practices and collaborative dialogue. Join us Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - Friday, August 10, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. For more information and to register click here.

Renée Winsky, chief executive officer of the Technology Council of Maryland, Elected to SSTI Board of Trustees

Renée Winsky, chief executive officer of the Technology Council of Maryland (TCM), has been elected to the board of trustees of SSTI. Prior to joining TCM in 2009, Renée served as the president and executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation.

An SSTI member since 1999, Renée  has been a speaker at SSTI conferences and accepted the 2008 Excellence in TBED award for Commercializing Research Category on behalf of the Maryland Technology Transfer Fund. She previously held positions at the Information Technology Association of America, the National League of Cities and its affiliate, and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

Renée serves as treasurer of The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA).

 

Redistributed with permission from State Science & Technology Institute,Westerville, OH, www.SSTI.org

White House Announces Initiatives to Accelerate Commercialization

White House Announces Initiatives to Accelerate Commercialization

President Obama last week announced several initiatives aimed at spurring technology commercialization following the signing of the America Invents Act, including two new programs to assist biomedical entrepreneurs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The administration also will develop a national plan focused on reforms to speed commercialization and open new markets. A blueprint outlining those efforts is due in January. Following is an overview of new and existing programs focused on accelerating commercialization:

• NIH will offer new license agreements for startup companies to reduce the cost and paperwork associated with obtaining patents related to drugs, vaccines or therapeutics in the NIH/FDA portfolio. Under the short-term Startup Evaluation License Agreement, which can be obtained for $2,000, small companies can apply for any of the available NIH patents and patent applications by submitting a business plan detailing how they propose to use them. Companies that are less than five years old, have fewer than 50 employees and receive investment of less than $5 million are eligible to apply beginning Oct. 1.
• NIH also will establish a new National Center for Advancing Translational Science to help industry shorten the time needed and reduce costs for developing new drugs and diagnostics.
• The United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Small Business Administration will pilot a program to provide comprehensive IP support to 100 NSF SBIR grant recipients and will engage external stakeholders to provide pro bono or low-cost IP services to awardees.
• The Coulter Foundation and NSF launched a competition to identify and promote incentives to adopt best practices that improve university commercialization efforts. The foundation also announced their selection of four universities to participate in a Translational Research Partnership Program where each university will create a $20 million endowment to foster research collaboration between biomedical engineers and clinicians.

In coordination with the bill signing, some of the more than 135 university presidents and chancellors who pledged in April to work with the administration to undertake greater efforts to advance regional and national economic growth reported on their recent activities.   Read the full announcement on whitehouse.gov.

 

Redistributed with permission from State Science & Technology Institute,Westerville, OH, www.SSTI.org

 

Entrepreneurs Need to Think Global From Day One

At TECNA's summer conference, we heard from Ari Huczkowski, CEO of Finland's Otaniemi Technology Hub and Jaime Parada, CEO and President of Mexico's  Monterrey International City of Knowledge.  Both spoke of international opportunities for markets, talent, partners & suppliers - and this article below gives entrepreneurs a list of ways to plan to be international from the get-go!

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New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate.

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance.

What all this doesn’t mean is that you should roll out your product in every country at the same time. But it does mean that you think about the global implications at every step of the process:

• Pick your company and product names carefully.
• Anticipate greater growth outside of North America.
  
• Reinforce your brand in international markets.
  

Read more tips, the full article on Startup Professionals Musings, click here.

 

Keynote Chad Doiron's Presentation

Tag top 10 technology trends 2011 v21

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CEO Discussion lead by Mark Lewis

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Staff Discussion with by Keanin Loomis

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Staff Discussion with Mike Scricca

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CEO Discussion with Doug Robertson

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CEO Cracker Barrel with Brad Nellis

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Staff Discussion, Staying Current with Your Members

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Building a Tech Based Economy

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International Panelist, part 1

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International Panelist, part 2

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CEO Discussion with Marty Gupta

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TECNA conference streaming live now at www.Learnitlive.com #TECNA2011 tech trends presentation

What are TECNA members doing in their regions? The Innovation Ecosystem and the Assets it comprises

This report is the result of research on technology councils in regions throughout the United States and Canada, and interviews with 39 tech council CEOs and Executive Directors. It includes information gathered from the interviews and from Tech Council websites which reflect what a selected number of Technology Councils have already been doing relative to the creation and nurturing of Innovation Ecosystems. View the report below, or Click here to download the .pdf file

Tecna jobs and innovation ecosystems 6-1-2011

View more documents from CTTech.

Principal author:Jack Antonich, President, Sales Leverage Group
Support and consultation from: Matthew Nemerson, President, Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) 2009-2011President & CEO, Connecticut Technology Council

 

From the report summary:
The Technology Councils of North America demonstrate broad coverage across the U.S. and Canada. This is not only meaningful in terms of the number of regions but also in the fact that they are located in areas of greater population density and represent a large number of the innovative technology companies that are being relied upon to achieve success, grow, and provide the jobs of the future.

In collecting and assembling information for this report, relating to the Impact of Innovation Ecosystems on economic development, the author was reminded of the 50’s song “Two Different Worlds; We Live In Two Different Worlds”.  It wasn’t too long ago that technology councils were primarily trade organizations that represented the best interests of their members, and economic development organizations at federal, state, and locallevels were focused on creating environments conducive to promoting commerce and providing incentives to business and industry to locate in a particular place or take a particular course of action.

No longer can we afford to function in this way. Competition, from throughout the world, has had an unanticipated, and profound, effect on our domestic economy. The results for many citizens who have been negatively impacted are: incomes either lost or reduced, standard of living impaired, and future opportunities made unclear. And; this does not appear to have only current consequences. Loss, or reduction, of income makes it difficult, if not impossible, to save for children’s education or for retirement which can translate into a greater burden on society in the future.

So; in a certain respect, what we’re really talking about is competing more effectively in the globalmarketplace. In the past, our rivals took over manufacturing many of the products we consume, and took advantage of technological advances to provide services to us. They accomplished this, for themost part, by capitalizing on lower cost human and physical resources and, in some cases,manipulating currency and creating trade barriers.

Overcoming the advantages they possess, represents a formidable challenge which, as has been provenin the past, cannot be overcome by individual action. This is the time when people in a position to make a difference have to come together and become part of something bigger.And, the people coming together must be the ones that recognize what is meant by being innovative inthe twenty-first century. In a world of extreme high-tech and science, the winners will be those whodiscover, create, and deliver the advanced products and services of tomorrow.

Thus, the idea of bringing together members of organizations focused on the technology community with those in economic development can produce a synergistic effect that will power our competitiveness andrestore our economic strength. As with most things, it’s a matter of will.

It’s been shown in this report that Innovation Ecosystems exist and are producing results. The next step is to expand on what’s already been accomplished by spreading the word, getting more players on board, deepening our understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it and, most importantly, doing it. We’ll finish with the old sales adage: “There are no Problems, only Opportunities”.

Seizing the opportunity and helping to bring our country back to a strong economic condition can be fulfilling and rewarding. It offers an opportunity to leaders with foresight, courage, conviction and stamina to step up to the challenge and effect change. Did we just describe you?

Is the “America Invents Act” good for small and medium sized businesses or does it raise greater hurdles for innovation?

On April 14, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1249, the “America Invents Act,” by a vote of 32-3. The Bill has already passed in the Senate and is expected to be considered by the entire House either late May or in June.

This is a hot topic for tech councils and their member companies - There will be winners & losers as a result of this. Feel free to add your comments below, and sign up for an informative, interactive session with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office on the status of patent reform legislation in the United States Congress and what it means for the tech SMB.

Several members of the USPTO staff will share pertinent aspects of the legislation as it relates to small and medium sized businesses and entertain questions that you may have.

Free Webinar
Register Online: http://bit.ly/mTyPxC
U.S. Patent Reform and the Tech Small & Medium Sized Businesses
Date & Time Thursday, May 19, 2011, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM

We are pleased to have –

Janet Gongola
Associate Solicitor, Office of the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, United States Department of Commerce

Rob Clarke
Deputy Director, Unit 1, Office of Patent Legal Administration, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, United States Department of Commerce

Dana Robert Colarulli
Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, United States Department of Commerce

Brought to you by TechVoice, a partnership between CompTIA and the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA)

TECNA will be in DC for TechAmerica's Technology & Government Dinner June 15, 2011

TECNA members will converge in DC on June 15, 2011 for a policy meeting early in the day, and go to the dinner in the evening. For more info about TECNA programming in DC that day, contact, Paige Rasid prasid@ct.org  

That evening, TechAmerica Foundation will host its Ninth Annual Technology and Government Dinner. As in past years,TECNA (Technology Council of North America)  members  have attended the sold-out event to hear keynote addresses from top industry leader executives.   The dinner is the premier Washington, DC technology networking event bringing hundreds of tech industry, congressional, and government leaders together at one venue to celebrate the partnership between industry and government.  Full info, click here 

Registration for the Technology & Government Dinner and American Technology Awards, As of 5/10, registration is now open. Fees are:

$350 – Industry: $350
$200 – Non-profit & Academia

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin legislators unveil venture capital program

Bill will create early stage funds totaling $400 million

MADISON, WI -- Legislation to bolster venture capital investments in Wisconsin companies was unveiled last week at a Capitol news conference held by the bill’s main sponsors, Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, and Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel.

Dubbed the Wisconsin Jobs Act, the bill is expected to be introduced within days with bipartisan support. The focal point of the legislation is the creation of two funds totaling $400 million under the umbrella of a new Wisconsin Venture Capital Authority. The complementary funds – the Jobs Now Fund and the Badger Jobs Fund – are designed, respectively, to address Wisconsin’s short-term and long-term investment needs.

The Wisconsin Jobs Act builds on the success of the widely acclaimed and often duplicated Act 255 Tax Credits, which were passed in 2005 and enhanced in 2009. Those tax credits have helped enhance early stage investing in Wisconsin – but largely at the “angel” capital level, thus creating a need for follow-up investing by venture capital firms in emerging companies.

The bill will include provisions for governance of the independent authority; management of the Jobs Now and Badger Jobs funds; criteria for investors and eligible companies; and accountability standards.

The Jobs Now Fund will be a rapid-response fund. It would issue $200 million in tax credits to insurance companies over time for investments in certified capital funds. The tax credits would be for 80 percent of the value of the investments made, so $200 million in credits could attract $250 million in investments. The credits could not be claimed for a minimum of five years, so the money would be put to work long before the credits are paid.

The fund will eventually create a source of revenue for the state's general fund through returns on investments. It is a modified version of an approach used in many states.

The Badger Jobs Fund is a longer-term tool. It would invest in qualified venture capital funds on a "fund of funds" basis. The authority could issue up to $200 million in private placement bonds for the Badger Jobs Fund, with the bonds supported by investment returns, the incremental growth of state tax collections from financed companies, and contingent tax credits.

Bonds would not be a debt of the state, and no more than 15 percent of the funds could go to any single venture capital firm. For every $1 a qualified venture capital fund receives from the Badger Jobs Fund, it would need to raise $3 on its own.

Some 30 states have enacted programs to enhance investing in early stage companies, including most of Wisconsin’s neighbors.

“With its pump primed by the Act 255 credits, Wisconsin must now develop the economic infrastructure to ensure the consistent flow of risk capital,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. “At present, there is a ‘valley of death’ in Wisconsin’s financing continuum, and this bill would help many jobs-creating companies in crossing that divide.”

A joint-hearing of both the Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy and the Senate Committee of Economic Development is expected to be held. The time and location have not been announced.

The legislation and Wisconsin’s general venture capital climate will be the topic of the upcoming Wisconsin Innovation Network luncheons in Milwaukee (May 12^th) and in Madison (May 24^th). Visit www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/eventsto register or learn more.

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Contact: Tom Still or Zach Brandon at 608-442-7557
To learn more: www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com