Notice of Public Meeting on the Proposed Experimental Program To Stimulate Competitive Technology (ESPCoT)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Technology Administration

Notice of Public Meeting on the Proposed Experimental Program To

Stimulate Competitive Technology (ESPCoT)

SUMMARY: The Technology Administration will hold an open meeting on

June 16, 1997 to solicit input on the proposed Experimental Program to

Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT) from representatives of state

and local government, universities, and the private- and non-profit

sectors, who are involved with technology development, diffusion,

commercialization, and using technology to promote economic growth. The

purpose of the meeting is to determine what activities are currently

being conducted in the states to foster technology-based economic

growth and how a new competitive, cost-shared federal grant program

with the mission of fostering the development of indigenous technology

assets in states that are traditionally under represented in Federal

R&D funding could be structured. The following states would currently

be eligible to participate in the EPSCoT: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho,

Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska,

Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont,

West Virginia, and Wyoming, as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 16, 1997 from 8:00 a.m. until

11:00 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Billings Hotel in

Billings, Montana. Individuals wishing to attend the meeting should

contact Maureen Wood, Office of the Under Secretary for Technology, at

(202) 482-1091 by close of business June 12, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc Cummings, Technology

Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce at (202) 482-8323.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Technology Administration (TA) is

proposing a new, competitive, matching grant program called the

Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (ESPCoT) to

foster the development of indigenous technology assets in states that

traditionally have been under represented in the distribution of

Federal R&D expenditures.

Technology is the engine of economic growth and, as such, its

development, deployment, and diffusion are critical to U.S.

competitiveness. Although it is often said that nations do not compete,

companies do, it is apparent that sub-national units--regions within

states and clusters of states--do compete, not simply with one another,

but also internationally. This is because in a global economy, capital,

labor, and technology are increasingly mobile and they are attracted to

regions with the most promising opportunities. To this end, regional

policies and infrastructures play a large role in determining both

where companies locate and their ability to be competitive in a global

marketplace.

Commerce Department research shows that firms that adopt advanced

technologies create more jobs at higher wages than those that do not.

Furthermore, regions that boast concentrations of high-tech industries

enjoy high growth rates and standards of living. Regions thus compete

to attract federal research facilities, private investment, and skilled

labor. Recent research suggests that a region's technological

infrastructure is among the most important factors that businesses

consider when making location decisions. Accordingly, regions are

searching for strategies to attract and retain high-tech firms and the

jobs that they bring. These strategies may involve building on existing

strengths at research universities, providing extension services to

local businesses, or integrating existing business assistance

resources, but ultimately their success is contingent upon an

institutional capacity to support technology-based economic

development.

In the Federal government's efforts to foster competitiveness, it

must ensure that all regions of the nation develop the necessary

infrastructure to support indigenous technology development. Most less

populated states, whose manufacturers tend to be small- and medium-

sized, are at a competitive disadvantage because there is generally no

research base on which local businesses can build. The ESPCoT seeks to

remedy this disadvantage.

The EPSCoT seeks to build on the NSF's successful Experimental

Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) which was

established in 1979 to stimulate sustainable improvements in the

quality of the academic science and technology infrastructure of states

that traditionally have been under represented in receiving federal R&D

funds. Within these states, the EPSCoR's primary emphasis is on

improving the competitive performance of major research universities.

By focusing on building the science base of these regions, primarily in

universities, the EPSCoR has successfully strengthened the research

capacity of universities in these states; yet, there remains a

technology ``gap.''

Improving the competitive performance of universities, which is an

essential component of a successful technology-based economy, is often

not sufficient to establish new companies, develop new job

opportunities or raise the standard of living.

This why the Department of Commerce proposes to create an EPSCoT--

the technology counterpart to the EPSCoR. EPSCoT would help to bridge

the gap between university research and the local economy. It would

develop essential economic development tools to foster regional

technology-based economic growth. The program would stimulate the

development of indigenous technological infrastructure and

institutional capabilities of states through a variety of means,

including outreach activities, technology development and deployment,

technology transfer, education and training, and better linking

universities, firms, and state and local governments.

Dated: May 14, 1997.

Mary Good,

Under Secretary for Technology.

[FR Doc. 97-13094 Filed 5-19-97; 8:45 am]

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