Recently, I've been thinking about how innovation plays into our political discussion, or doesn't, as it currently appears. Then, I saw Tom Friedman of The World is Flat fame on C-Span addressing the National Governor's Association. He was so articulate. See my blog for his comments, and mine!
Cathy
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Legislative Wrap-Up - Budget and Seed Capital Tax Credit Passed
The Maine Legislature went home in late June, having crafted a balanced budget and dealt with a number of contentious issues. Of interest to the innovation community is the news that the University of Maine, Maine Technology Institute and all the other smaller, state funded programs, received the same appropriations under the budget as in recent years.
A big win was the passage of LD 22, the bill that transformed the Seed Capital Tax Credit. The Governor signed this bill into law without any fanfare, or press releases, but that doesn't take away from the victory. Under the new law, all qualified seed capital investments will get a 60 percent credit, regardless of where the company receiving the investment is located. Previously many companies could only offer a 40% credit. Another important aspect of the bill was to make the credit refundable for venture capital funds "from away." This increased the incentive for venture funds to invest in Maine companies, because the credit lowers their effective risk. Big thanks to Representative Linda Valentino for her sponsorship and tireless work on this bill, and to Tim Agnew who led a loose coalition of investors and entrepreneurs that have worked on this concept for several years.
The big loss was that there were no bonds approved by this session of the legislature. Several bills calling for R&D bonds were carried over to next year.
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New Study Questions Cluster Impacts
A recent study of over 1500 companies in Norway concludes that the key drivers of innovation in the country are the communications channels that local entrepreneurs maintain to the outside world, and their open-mindedness toward foreign cultures, change and new ideas. The authors found that companies the maintain ties only within their local cluster are four times less likely to innovate than the globally connected. The study concludes that regional and national clusters are "irrelevant for innovation!" Read the whole study at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09654313.2011.548467.
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Jackson Laboratory Abandons Florida Adventure
For the past two years, the Jackson Laboratory, a jewel in Maine's biomedical community, has been considering an expansion in Florida, lured by promised of state and local funds, and collaboration with the other biomedical research enterprises in the area. In June, JAX announced that it had decided not to pursue this expansion, largely because Florida's fiscal situation affected the amount of assistance they could really commit. JAX remains one of Maine's largest employers, with over 1200 employees, based in Bar Harbor.
In related news, the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health recently announced it was closing its doors after five years. The Bangor biomedical research institution had been a joint venture of Eastern Maine Medical Center, the University of Maine and JAX. The director of MIHGH left last summer.
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