AUGUSTA, Maine - The Department of Economic and Community Development's (DECD) Office of Innovation is presenting phase two of the State’s Science and Technology Action Plan at the Creative Economy Conference, Juice 2.0.

"Maine's economy is facing global competition and we need to compete through innovation," said DECD Commissioner John Richardson. "Much of the research in Maine is not being commercialized or connected to our industries in a way that maximizes economic value to the state. This Action Plan is a bold approach to stimulate Maine's economy and will encourage investments in innovation, R&D and entrepreneurship."

New Zealand is still having problems transferring technology from universities and other public research organisations into the private sector, Prof Sir Peter Gluckman says.

Prof Gluckman, chief science adviser to Prime Minister John Key, made his comments in an open lecture attended by more than 300 people at the University of Otago's St David Lecture Theatre.

World leaders meeting in Singapore have said it will not be possible to reach a climate change deal ahead of next month's UN conference in Denmark.

After a two-day Asia-Pacific summit, they vowed to work towards an "ambitious outcome" in Copenhagen.

But the group dropped a target to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which was outlined in an earlier draft.

Enterprising students compete for seed money in 'Pitch George' contest

Tim Foley pulled out a glossy black brochure and started talking fast. He had three minutes to sell his idea for a social networking Web site for car lovers. That's all he needed.

"This is a once in a lifetime idea," said Arlington Butler, a small-business owner and George Washington University alumnus who returned to campus to judge Saturday's "Pitch George" competition. He saw Facebook-esque potential in Foley's idea.

Yogi Berra was one of my heroes when I was a kid. He was in his prime as the perennial All-Star Catcher for the New York Yankees and I idolized him. But it wasn't until after he retired as a player and hit the banquet circuit did I really appreciate his genius.

His quotes have become apocryphal for their malapropisms and "huh?" factors. One of my favorites is, "This is like deja vu all over again." But the Yogi-ism that is applicable to the current SBIR reauthorization situation is, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

The question is, which path at the fork do we take? Which way to go? Perhaps the path well traveled - follow the crowd. Sometimes it's the path someone pays you to take. Much of the time, it's the path of least resistance

As any entrepreneur who's spent some time trying to understand the venture capital universe will tell you, VCs typically invest locally. The logic goes like this: Having startups to invest in nearby makes it easier for both parties to interact, get guidance, brainstorm, etc.

So if an entrepreneur believes that getting venture capital is incumbent to his startup's success and location is important to venture firms, it's probably worth spending some time thinking about where your startup will call home. A look at the Q3 2009 venture capital funding statistics compiled by ChubbyBrain offers a data-driven view of venture investment by geography, which may help entrepreneurs with another data point as they consider the age-old question of location, location, location. (For a data-driven perspective into the world of venture capital, download the free 44-page Fast Company-ChubbyBrain Q3 VC Activity Report.)

Making good on the President’s pledge in Cairo

WASHINGTON—In his June “A New Beginning” speech in Cairo, President Obama announced that the U.S. will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship to identify how we can deepen ties between those focused on advancing entrepreneurship in Muslim communities around the world.

Today, the Commerce Department’s new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship begins accepting nominations for delegates to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship on its Web site, http://www.entrepreneurship.gov/summit.

Nearly 150 delegates focused on entrepreneurship in Muslim communities around the world, including minority communities in Muslim-majority countries, will be selected from nominations submitted to the Summit Web site, through our embassies and other sources. These delegates will represent their home countries, regions, sectors and communities at the Summit and help highlight successes, challenges and opportunities while working to identify personal, national and regional goals for entrepreneurship development.

Today’s press review clearly demonstrates the contrast that exists in the promotion of the creative economy from one region to another. Most countries in the world participate in a clearly defined creative economy and creative industry movement while the US promotes a do-it-yourself art/cultural economy model.

It’s broadly recognized that the concept of the creative economy started in 1994 in the UK when they expanded their definition of the art economy and the cultural industries to include the creative industries and the newly recognized creative economy. Since then many European and Asia-Pacific countries have followed their lead and now carry out targeted efforts to promote their creative industries locally, nationally and internationally.

There is no escaping China’s growing impact on clean technology investing. Even at Boston Cleantech Venture Day, held on Nov. 10 and focused on helping European come to the U.S. to raise capital and to penetrate American markets, China’s growing role was front and center.

“We’ve got to keep our eyes on China,” said Alexander “Hap” Ellis of Rockport Capital Partners, five of whose portfolio companies have Chinese manufacturing facilities. “China is becoming a leader in the deployment of clean technology and … will be superb in manufacturing and in stimulating demand.”

"In the twenty-first century, our country once again needs to undergo comprehensive modernisation. This will be our first ever experience of modernisation based on democratic values and institutions. Instead of a primitive raw materials economy we will create a smart economy producing unique knowledge, new goods and technology of use to people."

-- PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV

Biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical sectors of the economy have weathered the recession better than many other industries. Some large companies are beginning to show growth, and small companies and research centers of all sizes are reaping the benefits of government funding. This fall, President Barack Obama announced the release of $5 billion in stimulus funds for the National Institutes of Health. The funds are part of the $10.4 billion the NIH is slated to receive through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 5, 2009.)

Now its third year, Otis College of Art andDesign’s report on the L.A. creative economy finds that the industry, excluding manufacturing segments, is projected to grow by an estimated 4,000 jobs, or 1.6 percent, by 2013.

The report, using 2008 statistics, was commissioned by Otis and prepared by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.