Friend--

I've [Ted Strickland] just finished delivering my third State of the State speech, and I wanted to share it with you.

Across the country, Americans are grappling with the worst economic climate in 80 years. In Ohio, too, we've seen the devastating effects of a crisis caused by failed Washington policies and Wall Street greed.

But while the Wall Street recession has knocked Ohio down, we're not staying down. The state of our state is unyielding. With a long-term approach that focuses on creating jobs from the bottom up, Ohio can emerge from this global recession stronger than ever.

Read the full State of the State address here to learn how we're building an Ohio that can lead once again. 

DAVID WILHELM, CO CHAIR OF THE OHIO THIRD FRONTIERS PROGRAM AND FELLOW BOARD MEMBER OF NASVF WITH ME, SUGGESTS THAT GOVERNOR STRICKLAND UNDERSTANDS THE ROLE OF INNOVATION IN THEIR STATES ECONOMIC GROWTH AS WELL AS ANY GOVERNOR OR POLITICAL LEADER.

I TEND TO AGREE, RICH BENDIS

The Objective and Challenge:

Can Gainesville transition its current economic focus to a more competitive, knowledge-based economy for all of our citizens? How can we engage the University and other knowledge providers – public and private sector alike – to transform the way we do business, retain students and graduates, and expand the resources necessary to enhance our quality of life?

Can we overcome limitations – in both mindset and the way we measure success – by adopting new metrics?

Can we tell our story better – about our successes, assets and individual endeavors? Yes we can. And we will.

THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A COMMUNITY THAT WORKED TOGETHER TO DEVELOP A NEW INTEGRATED INNOVATION BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT DECADE.

RICH BENDIS

USAJobs - The Director, Technology Innovation Program (TIP) serves as the executive responsible for managing and leading this critical program for NIST. The TIP was established as part of the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) to assist United States businesses and institutions of higher education or other organizations, such as national laboratories and nonprofit research institutions, to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need.

The Director plans, organizes, directs and controls the activities and programs of the TIP. He/she formulates its programs, policies, and procedures and ensures that they are carried out. The incumbent is responsible for the successful management of all program thrusts in the Technology Innovation Program. The TIP is funded at $69.9 million for FY2010. The incumbent must have a clear understanding of business dynamics that shape company investment and marketing decisions. The incumbent must have a clear understanding to apply the relationships between technology and the economy. He/she submits results of the Program to other agencies of the government, industrial organizations, professional societies, and technical committees. The incumbent is responsible for initiating the Program's policies and procedures concerning administration, including fiscal management and staffing policy with respect to both the number of personnel and the maintenance of high standards of professional quality.

IN the glory days of the digital photo frame business, when his products were still a novelty and shoppers were flush with cash, getting a bank loan to manufacture them was a cinch, Michael Levy says.

“We would say: ‘We got a $1 million order from the Sharper Image. We need financing. With a snap of the fingers, the guy drove down to my office, we’d sign a document, he’d give us the money,” Mr. Levy recalls, sitting in the Deer Park, Long Island, office of the Media Street Group that he runs with his brother, Norm.

But like many other business owners, Mr. Levy saw his prospects change drastically in 2008 as the financial crisis unfolded. The Sharper Image and several other top customers filed for bankruptcy, and Mr. Levy found himself scrambling to keep the business afloat.

It’s a good time to be an angel: With venture capital in the dumps, Bay Area angel investing groups say the quantity and quality of potential deals coming through the door is up as entrepreneurs are forced to look for alternatives.

“We’re getting some very interesting deal flow that would have gone to traditional venture capitalists in the past,” said Randy Williams, founder and CEO of the Keiretsu Forum, which has 350 members in Northern California. “What’s happening is the venture capitalists are focused on existing companies and the limited partners are not giving them additional capital.”

In the midst of a punishing recession, Ohio's Third Frontier program has been a rare bright spot and a critical driver of economic growth across our state. Since the bipartisan economic-development program was enacted under former Gov. Bob Taft, state grants have helped create more than 41,000 jobs and $6.6 billion in economic activity through 2008. That was a $10 return on every dollar invested by the state.

And yet, despite the undisputable success of this effort to nurture home-grown, high-tech companies, some Republicans in the legislature oppose a robust renewal of this vital program. The Ohio House has passed a measure to extend the program for five years at a cost of $950 million, while the Republican-controlled Senate has proposed a far smaller effort of $500 million over the same time frame.

Hiring people is usually thought of as a supply-side activity. You know what you need and you try to get the best for the least. No argument there. But taking it to the next level, you can also hire for fit with your organization’s unique culture. Since your culture is a function of how people interact, you’ll need to measure your candidates’ ability to team in the distinct way your company requires.

Teaming Characteristics
The biggest challenge in any job is often something other than the knowledge, skills, and talents we hire for. It’s the way we expect people to work together. That’s true whether we’re talking about a development team, a short-t rm project staff and the client, or a sales person and their prospect. It’s all about the teaming characteristics needed to nurture, secure, and maintain those relationships.

Personality traits have been extensively measured and applied o business situations, but they focus on the ‘components’ of an individual—not on the holistic aspects of ‘teaming’, which predict how well a person will work with others in a given context. Someone with great teaming characteristics can get along ith almost anyone, in almost any situation. But even those who don’t enjoy chit-chat can still have fine teaming characteristics. It’s all a matter of what the environment demands vs. what (and how) a person is oriented to contributing.

INNOVATIVE TEAMS THAT WORK WELL TOGETHER AND HAVE GOOD LEADERSHIP WILL PERFORM MUCH BETTER THAN DYSFUNCTIONAL ONES. HERE IS A WAY TO DETERMINE IF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS HAVE THE RIGHT CHEMISTRY BEFORE MAKING EXPENSIVE HIRING MISTAKES.

RICH BENDIS

In the State of the Union Address last Wednesday, President Obama said ?the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy and America must be that nation.? At the same time, on the other coast, 75 clean energy investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers were debating whether the U.S. can gain this leadership position. They agreed that even though Silicon Valley leads the world in technology, it is not clear if it will ever lead in Cleantech. The Valley may develop some breakthrough technologies, but without government help these are unlikely to translate into global leadership. The technology world is rightfully allergic to government assistance and intervention. Cleantech is different, however, and we aren?t dealing with a level global playing field.

The Knowledge Economy Institute Leadership Summit, which I attended, was held at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), in Emeryville, California. The question posed: what will it take for the U.S. to achieve global leadership in the clean-energy economy? The group concluded that the U.S., by far, has the strongest innovation platform in the world. But other countries may well reap the benefits of its research efforts. China, in particular, is making massive investments and has a huge advantage from focused policy and large markets. Even though China is not likely to produce its own innovation, it will continue to appropriate U.S. technology and gain a major advantage by combining this with its manufacturing prowess. American firms which are increasingly choosing to build design and manufacturing operations in China will provide it with additional advantage.

Big news for late on a Friday afternoon: Tesla Motors, the darling of the burgeoning electric car market, has filed for an initial public offering worth $100 million. If it pulls it off, electric vehicles will have officially gone mainstream.

Tesla was one of several companies in the cleantech sector named as likely IPO candidates at the start of the year, along with Silver Spring Networks in the Smart Grid space. With solar system maker Solyndra also filing in December, it looks like green might be one of the most active areas for public exits in 2010 — just as the Cleantech Group predicted.

But this isn’t your average public sale. Eyes have been fixed on the company’s success since its inception, both because of its sexy product and its notorious CEO, Elon Musk — who has been pushing toward this IPO for years. For this reason, its success could boost business for the whole electric car market, including competitors like Fisker Automotive, Th!nk North America, Coda Automotive and even General Motors with its Chevy Volt. However, if the filing languishes, or it doesn’t exceed $100 million, it could dampen excitement for the next generation of advanced vehicles.

One of the most exhilarating but also most difficult things about creating a start-up from scratch and trying to nurture it to success is the feeling that everything is tied up in your company - not just your heart and soul, but all your financial hopes too.

At least on the financial side, First Round Capital is trying to help entrepreneurs stressed out by “all-eggs-in-one-basket” syndrome - it has announced a pooled fund for founders in its portfolio companies.

The founders of First Round companies will be able to contribute a small portion of their company stock to the First Round Capital Entrepreneur’s Exchange fund and in return will receive an interest in all the other companies that participate. When any one of the companies in the fund reaches an exit, all the entrepreneurs involved will benefit.

Silicon Valley earned its name and first great fortune as the cradle of the computer age. Then it built a launching pad for the Internet age. Now the valley has assumed a leading role in the global competition to develop renewable energy and other clean, green technologies.

Cleantech is poised to be the valley's third great wave of innovation — not just the next big thing, but perhaps the biggest thing ever. Confronting the peril of greenhouse gases and climate change happens to be a multi-trillion-dollar business opportunity.

"Energy is the biggest opportunity Silicon Valley has ever seen," declared T.J. Rodgers, the founder of Cypress Semiconductor and chairman of SunPower, a leading maker of photovoltaic panels to produce solar energy.

If someone asked members of your Innovation Team about "ownership" of a current initiative, would individuals reply, "Yes"?

Or would the people involved point to the team leader, the CEO or someone else - someone other than themselves? Would they reply, "No, that's his"?

I spoke recently with a CEO of a consumer products company who expressed disappointment that an idea for an exciting new wrinkle in sunglasses technology had faltered. In doing so, others had beaten the company to market.

As Florida embraces “economic gardening,” a concept first advanced in Colorado and becoming an accepted principle of economic development, much of the initial activity will take place across the Florida High Tech Corridor ... working to see that second-stage companies have the resources necessary to build the state’s economy. • The Florida High Tech Corridor is fertile ground, according to economic gar- dening expert Steve Quello. “Gardening is about serving growth-oriented companies of all sectors. Technology companies tend to create more high-wage, high-value jobs which means focusing on the High Tech Corridor is a good place to start.”

Companies in the Corridor are already creating new technologies, and Florida can capitalize on technologies ready to be transferred from its established research universities, Quello observes. “Visionaries in the Florida Legislature have said it is time to be there to support growth companies at the second stage of development,” Quello says, “and the potential for return on investment in the High Tech Corridor is very high.”

Quello was an early advocate of the concept in Florida, urging leaders to consider investing in second-stage development. He has served as an advisor to the Edward Lowe Foundation of Michigan, advancing their mission of supporting entrepreneur- ship and second-stage businesses, and worked closely with Chris Gibbons ... consid- ered “the co-founder” of the economic gardening movement. Gibbons, of Littleton, Colo., helped create and refine practices now in place throughout the country in communities ranging from California to New Mexico, Indiana and Georgia.

“Florida has been wise to protect the focus on the stage-specific needs of growth companies. This aspect of the Florida economic gardening pilot is unique when com- pared to other related initiatives that we’ve observed across the nation,” says Mark Lange, executive director of the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Seven projects in this province are getting up to $13.8 million from ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund. The announcement was made yesterday at the Marine Institute by Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Peter MacKay. Among the projects funded is bottom trawl fishing technology, as well as autonomous underwater vehicles, high frequency radar applications and genetics. Projects selected for AIF funding are PanGeo Subsea, C-CORE, Memorial University's faculty of engineering and faculty of medicine, Fisheries and Marine Institute and AMEC Americas Limited.

The eight entrepreneurial finalists of the inaugural CERT-Wharton Entrepreneurial Planning and Innovation Competition (EPIC) at the HCT Global Entrepreneurship 2010 Conference ('E2010') in Dubai on March 8, have been announced.

The 'Great Eight' will pitch their innovative concepts to the judging panel at the Venture Finals of the Competition, during E2010 at the Dubai Men's College campus.

The CERT-Wharton EPIC /'Great Eight' finalists are:

• Boutique on Wheels: A low-cost B2B marketing tool through the use of mobile marketing.
• Lotus Restaurant: A restaurant that focus on serving healthy meals and beverages at lower prices.
• Miracle Makers: A Life Sciences/Bio-Tech company which combats the prevalence of diabetes in the UAE community.
• Qahwa Cafe: A high quality coffee and food products, and services for women, in a warm and inviting environment.
• OrganicMe: An organic products store serving Jumairah and Um Suqaim through a home delivery system.
• PartyRAK: A catering service that focuses towards small businesses and home residents for events and parties, such as wedding anniversaries, birthdays, and new addition to the family.
• The Tea Haven: A locally established tea bar offering the best selection of tea, either freshly prepared, or packed for enjoyment at home.
• Yebab.com: An Emirati website targeting UAE women who are future brides-to-be. It provides information related to the wedding and specifically for the bride.

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist Friday laid out his budget priorities for Florida’s 2010–2011 fiscal year.

Three big ‘E’s’ -- Education, Environmental protection and Economic recovery -- were among the biggest recipients for state funding under the governor’s proposed budget.
Environment

Crist said he planned to dedicate $2.1 billion to protecting the state’s natural resources, including $50 million each for Everglades restoration and the Florida Forever program.

An additional $167.6 million would go toward wastewater and drinking water initiatives, while solar tax rebates would receive $10 million.

A comprehensive look at the scientific, commercial and economic development accomplishments in New York City's growing bioscience industry during the past year

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Funding successes and advancements made by bioscience companies in NYC
• Science highlights from NYC's top academic medical centers
• Chronicle of the City's commitment to the biotech sector

This report captures the momentum of New York  City's bioscience cluster and outlines the City's key initiatives, including developing commercial lab space, incentive programs and supporting industry events for the sector.

CLick here to download the full report: Link to report

Coral reefs aren't just beautiful and rich in species. They also have long served as an evolutionary wellspring for countless types of marine life, even groups such as clams and snails that researchers thought had originated in shallow coastal waters. That's the conclusion of a new examination of the fossil record, and the findings reinforce the idea that evolutionary potential is linked to the environment.

Coral reefs are well-known hot spots for biodiversity, but scientists have assumed that many types of reef-dwelling animals had migrated from other ecosystems, such as shallow coastal waters. Paleontologist and lead author Wolfgang Kiessling of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin initially shared that assumption. But spurred by older studies of reefs and hints from the genetics of fishes, he took a closer look.

How can regions participate in, and take advantage of, today's knowledge-based innovation economy? A new website provides tools to facilitate relevant insights and help answer the fundamental questions underlying regional development in today's changing economy. The purpose of these tools is to aid strategic discussions about where to invest dwindling resources and build regional prosperity for the next generation. Two of these tools will be discussed here, Measuring Regional Capacity for Innovation, and Occupation Cluster Analysis.

Measuring Regional Capacity for Innovation
Innovation is a key ingredient in an economy’s ability to increase the standard of living for a region’s residents. Building on other national and European research, a newly released Innovation Index provides policymakers and economic development practitioners with a unique web-based tool for exploring regional innovation performance and comparing that with the United States, a state or other regions. Provided by the Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, the Index combines multiple variables into a composite index providing a single, high-level snapshot to evaluate innovative capacity, innovation outcomes, and economic progress. The indicators in the Innovation Index are derived from both official government statistical agencies and several private, proprietary sources, including Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc., Innovation Economy 360, and Moody’s economy.com. The user can determine the state, county (or counties), or Metropolitan Statistical Area they want to compare. Up to 255 individual counties may be selected. Each region of the country has a different mix of qualities that can boost its overall innovation score. No two counties or regions will be exactly alike and there is no single path toward an innovative and growing economy.

The Public Policy Institute this week released a new report, "Transcending the Hamster Cage." Weird name (it's explained inside). Interesting publication. The document sets out to explore and solve a challenge: "The key to unlocking the innovation economy is talented, driven and risk favorable people. Motivation, inspiration and the capacity to dream, and to act on those dreams, are the greatest assets in the global innovation competition."

Guided by New York State academic and industry leaders, economic developers and entrepreneurs, it includes chapters on:

* Human capital -- creating a critical mass of talent
* Business climate -- developing regional innovation clusters
* Economic development -- policies and investments that emphasize innovation
* Tax policy -- enhanced incentives for R&D
* Energy -- encouraging the development and commercialization of green technologies
* Sector-based development -- strengthening key sectors such as bio-pharma and biotechnology

The theme of the report is creating an "innovation culture" that facilitates the creation of ideas that can be translated into new products and services. "The only path to sustainable growth is through innovation," writes Linda Sanford, IBM, a contributor to the report. "Today's global economy rewards the innovators who can deliver unique value that cannot be easily replicated. Creating a climate that consistently produces new ideas and advances intellectual property effectively to the marketplace is the best way to remain competitive in the innovation economy."