Science, math, innovation and economic development Saturday, December 17, 2005 Improving science and math education is another issue that is starting to move into the orbit of economic development. A number of recent studies have documented the lagging performance of U.S. students in science and math. See, for example, this report from the Thomas Fordham Institute. Read two good overviews here and here. Commentators are beginning to take up the call. Read more. Increasingly, business leaders are worrying that by not keeping up, the U.S. could lose its leading position in innovation. China and India are catching up to the U.S. So we are seeing more of our leaders connecting the dots among science, math and innovation. Business leaders in the U.S. are focusing more and more on innovation. Here's a recent speech from former Michigan Governor Engler, now head of the National Manufacturers Association. Read more. The realization comes at an important time. Across the globe, countries are improving their ability to compete by copying the U.S. model of higher education. Read more. Big companies are hedging their bets and, through their investments, they are flattening the earth even more. In recent weeks, both Intel and Microsoft have announced new agreements in India to boost connections to accelerate innovation. Read more here and here. At the same time, Indian managers see the challenges ahead and are aggressively investing in innovation. Learn more. U.S. universities are also "flattening the earth" by investing in partnerships with Indian universities. Read more. So, back in the U.S., governors are starting to push again on science and math performance. Two weeks ago in Indiana, Governor Daniels convened a meeting to explore how innovation in science and math education could be accelerated. Read more. In Virginia, Governor Warner is pushing for additional science investments in his state colleges and universities. Read more. In South Dakota, the Board of Regents is pushing the legislature to invest in more research. Read more. In Arizona, civic leaders are recognizing that the game is shifting toward innovation. Read more. In Maine, a report issued earlier this month urged that the state double its investment in research and development. Read more. In Texas last week, the Texas High School Project announced the launch of the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (TSTEM) Initiative, a $71 million public-private partnership. Read more. In Kansas, the state legislature voted in 2004 to invest $580 million into the state's biosciences research and commercialization infrastructure. Read more. Georgia has been a leader in recognizing the emerging role of research universities in economic development. The recent annual meeting of the State Science and Technology Institute focused on the Georgia story. Read more. You can see that this article was posted from a very good e-newsletter published by Montana Associated Technology Roundtables You can subscribe to weekly updates from SSTI from this page. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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