[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 27587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13094]


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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]
BILLING CODE 3510-18-M