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Week of July 24 - 30, 2006

Welcome to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. Links to the day's entrepreneurship stories from across the nation and around the world are posted each weekday on the NDE main page - bookmark it and stay informed about the latest entrepreneurship news.

Capitol Hill Update

Congress has been busy for the past few weeks, working its way through various authorization and appropriation bills. While we still have a long way to go before the FY 2007 appropriations process ends, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s an update on the status of some key programs.

• American Competitiveness Initiative and related R&D programs: President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) is moving forward smartly. Key House Appropriations panels have agreed to support budget increases for the National Science Foundation (up 8.3%), the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (up 15.3%), and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) (up 20%). R&D spending at NASA and the Pentagon is also slated to rise, but other agencies (such as the Agriculture and Transportation Departments) may see their research budgets drop.

• Commerce Department: As noted above, House appropriators have increased research spending at NIST. Another flagship NIST program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), receives $92 million in the House plan. This is a decrease from last year’s total. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $105 million for the MEP in FY2007. The Economic Development Administration receives roughly $260 million in the House plan while the Senate has approved an EDA budget of $280 million.

• Small Business Administration (SBA): SBA’s budget would receive a slight boost ($34 million more than requested by President Bush) under the House spending plan. The Senate has approved a smaller budget increase of $7 million. The House also passed an amendment—drafted by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)—that provides direct funding for SBA’s flagship 7(a) loan program and that may help reduce fees for these loans.

All of these appropriations bills have a long way to go before final enactment. We will continue to provide updates. Further information on the status of FY 2007 appropriations bills can be found at the Library of Congress’ THOMAS website at http://thomas.loc.gov.

UEP, Gulf Coast Renewal Focus of Preston Visit

New SBA Administrator Steve Preston is quickly addressing one of the major challenges facing the agency in the last year, the issue of recovery and growth in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast area. Preston met with more than 150 African-American business owners in New Orleans to discuss progress of the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP) initiative – a partnership of the Kauffman Foundation, the Bush Administration, the National Urban League and the Business Roundtable. The initiative combines private, public and non-profit sector resources to expand entrepreneurship and jobs in historically neglected and economically underserved urban areas. During the visit, Preston heard personally from dozens of business owners about their needs and their experiences getting counseling and other assistance from the UEP.

A new website, www.UEP.gov, describing the background and latest developments of the initiative will be launched later this month.

Global Venture Investment Survey

A new study from the National Venture Capital Association and Deloitte & Touche LLP examines the state of the global venture capital industry. While the US market remains the primary target for most venture capitalists (VCs), many investors are starting to look overseas for new investment opportunities. In fact, 58% of those surveyed expressed an interest in international opportunities. Not surprisingly, India and China are the top targets for overseas investing. While most surveyed VCs remain bullish on the US market, they did identify some problem areas. Seventy percent of US VCs see the threat of legal action as a major risk to investing in US. Similarly, 55% of US VCs noted that the cost of compliance and corporate governance regulation in the US is too high.

Read more on the Global Venture Investment Survey

Finding the Sweet Spots in Technology Markets

On July 25-27, more than 600 of the world's most powerful technology entrepreneurs, thought leaders, academics, investors and journalists will gather for AlwaysOn's annual INNOVATION SUMMIT@STANFORD, co-hosted by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (http://stvp.stanford.edu). The focus this year is on sweet spots in technology markets - where innovation is disrupting behavior and creating new business opportunities. Speakers will include CEOs and senior management from companies such as Sony Pictures, Accenture, Novell, Yahoo!, YouTube, Dreamworks and some of Silicon Valley's top venture capital firms. Educators, entrepreneurs and members of the public can watch a free, live webcast and will have the opportunity to comment and participate interactively in real-time during presentations.

To see the full agenda, visit http://stanfordsummit.goingon.com/permalink/post/866. The summit will be webcast live starting on July 25 at www.alwayson.goingon.com. 

Government Innovation Awards

Business entrepreneurs aren’t the only ones introducing new innovations; government agencies and employees are also creating innovative new ways to manage and deliver services. Seven world-class government programs were recently honored by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Council for Excellence in Government. The winners of this year’s Innovations in American Government include the following efforts:

• The Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit

• The US Fish and Wildlife Service Grass-roots Conservation Program

• The US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Information Technology programs

• The City of Indianapolis’ (IN) Charter School Initiative

• Connecticut’s Supportive Housing Pilots Initiative

• Massachusetts’ Child Welfare Teaming Initiative

• Broward County’s (FL) Urban Academies Program

Each winner receives $100,000 to support efforts to further disseminate and share lessons learned from their experiences.

To learn more about the winners of the 2006 Innovations in American Government award, please visit
http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/spotlight.html?id=140&preview=1

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All stories © 2006 The Public Forum Institute
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