In the late 1970's, the National Science Foundation established the EPSCoR program in response to congressional concerns about the concentration of federal support for university research at a relatively small number of institutions, located in a handful of states, and the low level of federal support in a number of states. The 19 states designated by NSF as eligible to participate in EPSCoR have 13.5 percent of the nation's population, but receive only 6 percent of such support to sustain and improve the nation's scientific and research infrastructure.
The primary mission of the EPSCoR program is to foster systemic and sustainable change in the capacities of universities in eligible states to support nationally competitive academic research. Its secondary objectives are to assure broad geographic distribution of merit reviewed research awards and access to quality education in science and engineering. In practice, EPSCoR also fosters enhanced interaction and cooperation in research and technology development among universities, state government, and industry in participating EPSCoR states.
Congress began the process of expanding EPSCoR beyond the National Science Foundation in 1990. EPSCoR programs are now under way or in the process of being established in the Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Vermont has earned EPSCoR funding from NSF, DOE, EPA, and Defense.
The Vermont EPSCoR office is headquartered on the UVM campus and involves activities at many colleges and universities in the state. Its link to the State of Vermont is through the Agency of Economic Development and Community Affairs.
/ 29 / In the first phase (1986-'92), Vermont EPSCoR was funded by the National Science Foundation, the State, and higher education. The single major mission was to support the research of promising young scientists so they could become competitive and attract their own research funding for the balance of their professional careers. The program succeeded beyond expectations: for every state dollar, those scientists have already attracted over six dollars in competitive research grants from out of state.
The secondary mission was to build state infrastructure by encouraging research at small colleges in Vermont and fostering public discussion of science and technology issues in Vermont at statewide conferences. The enhanced infrastructure is reflected in the broad involvement of many sectors in the second phase of Vermont EPSCoR.
In the second phase, 1993-'98, EPSCoR has a four-fold mission:
1. To strengthen research capability in areas of strategic importance to Vermont
2. To strengthen linkages between science and technology in higher education and the needs of the private sector (technology transfer, SBIR information and seed grants, inventories of capacity and interests) .
3. To help train the workforce of scientists and engineers.
4. To foster the creation of a state plan for science and technology.
Vermont EPSCoR's link to the private sector, forged in late 1993, is through the Vermont Technology Council. The Council serves as the EPSCoR State Board, and by Executive Order of Governor Dean, provides policy guidance to Vermont EPSCoR.
Vermont EPSCoR has signed a Cooperative Agreement with the National Science Foundation for a three-year program (1993-1996), with an option for a two-year extension. The annual $1.45 million from the NSF ($4.3 million for three years) requires in-state match from State and other sectors. The pattern that NSF has accepted for each of the three years is: State Government funds ($200,000 per year), and funds from higher education and the private sector (approximately $2.25 million per year).
1. Biotechnology: The Receptor Mediated Signaling and Biotechnology cluster links distinguished senior faculty in the College of Medicine with young scientists in arts and sciences, in medicine, in allied health, and in agriculture/life sciences.
2. Engineering and computational sciences: The Computational Science Cluster involves mathematicians, computer scientists, civil engineers, and mechanical engineers working with members of other colleges, including medicine; its research has applications to environmental modeling and biomechanics/ biotechnology.
3. Biodiversity and environmental biology: The Evolutionary Ecology Cluster involves faculty at the Department of Biology, in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Botany in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Its research has applications to questions about biodiversity and endangered species, both of importance to Vermont.
4. Materials science: The Advanced Materials Science Cluster has senior faculty in chemistry and engineering serving as mentors to junior faculty in chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. This cluster is linked to several Vermont manufacturing companies.
All of the clusters will interact in the EPSCoR Modeling Colloquium, an interdisciplinary seminar series that will explore general techniques for modeling complex systems and data sets.
The seed grant program to Vermont entrepreneurs will continue. The socalled "Phase O" SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research Program) serves to introduce entrepreneurs to the federal opportunities for $50,000 - $750,000 for their innovative research projects. To date, EPSCoR has made 11 awards of $5,000 each to Vermont businesses (1992-1994). This "Phase 0" pilot proJect, created in Vermont, has caught the attention of the EPSCoR National Science Foundation program in Washington, which is exploring expansion of the national program to include additional SBIR assistance to EPSCoR states.
A new high school outreach program which establishes a research mentorship program to link selected Vermont high school students, their science / 31 / teachers, and local college faculty in research of local importance is under way. The aim is to excite students about science by involving them in research. A Science and Technology Careers Day will be promoted statewide.
Funding of faculty/student research at small colleges across the state through an annual competitive grants program has been an on going, successful program since 1987. Forty-nine projects at seven undergraduate colleges and universities (other than UVM) have received EPSCoR funding through the Small College Development Program. The aim of this program is to encourage and support scientific leadership at Vermont colleges and universities.
To facilitate the development of science and technology information in Vermont, EPSCoR has created Vermont TECHNET, an Internet gopher server dedicated to providing information about science and technology resources and expertise in Vermont and providing ready access for Vermont scientists and entrepreneurs to information from federal databases, as well as patent information. Currently, descriptions of the marketable technologies of Vermonters within higher education institutions and the private sector are being collected. The database is resident on a file server connected to the UVM campus network.
Vermont EPSCoR is participating in a new project initiated by the National Science Foundation that will produce state "pages" for electronic browsing from the Internet. The MOSAIC program will be used to feature informative images as well as text.
EPSCoR has participated in the efforts of others within the state to tap federal funds, the most recent being a successful application to the National Bureau of Standards and Technology for a Vermont Manufacturing Technology Extension Program.
EPSCoR BUDGET FY l99C FY 1997 FY 1998 Total State of VT Total State of VT Total State of VT 3,700,000 250,000 4,000,000 250,000 4,000,000 250,000 EPSCoR / 32 /
The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center will be headed by a state director who will oversee the work of five Manufacturing Extension Center agents in the pilot year. The five extension agents will each work with approximately 20 small manufacturers in the pilot year, assess their technology assistance needs and design a plan in cooperation with the manufacturer and area service providers to best meets those needs
The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center will effectively integrate the resources of the Vermont State Colleges, the University of Vermont, other colleges and business assistance organizations, and the convenient locations and statewide accessibility of Vermont's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) In-Take Office locations.
Five Manufacturing Extension Center agents will be housed at SBDC InTake Offices in strategic locations to provide statewide coverage in the first year to work with approximately 100 small to medium sized firms. In subsequent years, more agents will be added to the extension system and with that additional firms will be assisted.
The VMEC will be a "customer driven" operation. Its purpose will be to increase competitiveness through technical and management advancement, with support for improvement of business practices, assistance in assessing training services, and the conversion of technologies and techniques to improve both products and manufacturing processes for commercial and traditionally defensedependent industries. In order to do this effectively, the Manufacturing Extension Center must be widely recognized and accessible throughout the state. Linking the Manufacturing Extension Center with the well-known statewide Vermont SBDC fulfills this need.
The pilot year of service is currently scheduled for 1995-1996. Additional agents will be added in subsequent years to increase the number of firms served, until eventually the VMEC can operate with an "open door" policy allowing any of Vermont's 1,300 small to medium sized manufacturers to receive assistance. Currently, the VMEC is in the planning process, operating under a $90,000 planning grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The planning process will continue until September 1995 at which time the VMEC will begin its Pilot Year.
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MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER PROPOSED BUDGET FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998 Total State of VT Total State of VT Total State of VT 670,000 175,000 800,000 120,000 950,000 80 000 Manufacturing Ext.Ck. / 34 /
State-of-the-art communications, computing, networking, and information technologies will facilitate and encourage the development of science and technology enterprise in Vermont.
Small startup businesses in the Centers of Excellence identified in this report will not have the financial resources to purchase sophisticated private communications networks. Rather, they will rely on the public switched network, which provides interactive voice, data, and video communication to the public at large and is privately owned and operated by communication companies that interconnect with each other and with communications systems across the country and around the globe, creating a seamless worldwide network. Only if the public network infrastructure can support the needs of the information intensive start-up businesses can they, and ultimately Vermont's Science and Technology Plan, succeed.
Vermont is a leader in the areas of food science, environmental technology, biotechnology and advanced materials technology, but it is not the only state leveraging these disciplines for economic growth. Using the public switched network, businesses within Vermont's Centers of Excellence can stay ahead by accessing the latest information available through the Internet and other information networks; communicating and consulting with colleagues through email; teleconferencing and video-conferencing; and sending data and images across Vermont, the nation and the globe.
As science and technology enterprise develops in Vermont, requirements for qualified employees will quickly surface. Using the public switched network, Vermont businesses can enhance their ability to provide customized training and education programs economically and efficiently, using the emerging application of distance education to generate the intellectual resources needed for their future growth.
Many start-up Center of Excellence businesses may not initially have a need for substantial fixed assets (e.g. acquisition of land, buildings and improvements, machinery and equipment, etc.) nor the ability to make the loan payments associated with them. For them, the growing choice of work at home application / 35 / can be an attractive option. In addition to saving substantial fixed asset costs, a modern network infrastructure actively supporting work-at-home opportunities would allow people in the more remote areas of Vermont to participate in the growth of the new businesses without relocating.
It is crucial that Vermont establish an attractive business and regulatory environment so that all communication industry players have an incentive to invest in the infrastructure and its applications. This investment-friendly communications policy must be balanced by affordability and accessibility to ensure universal availability and the promotion of the overall public good.
Vermont has already taken steps to encourage continued network investment and attract industry competitors to the state. Vermont was in the forefront of states recognizing the need to grapple with the updating of regulation to keep pace with changes in the industry. In 1986, regulators confirmed as a matter of policy the end of franchise protection for local exchange companies, thereby opening Vermont's toll market to competition. Legislation authorizing further possibilities of incentive regulation, was enacted in 1993.
The Legislature directed the Department of Public Service to prepare the Vermont Ten Year Telecommunications Plan. Presented in October 1992, the statutory goals of the plan are reasonable price, availability, quality, and competition. The priorities and objectives are universal service, community interaction, commerce and economic development, services and network capabilities, personal privacy, consumer protection, and reliability. It is essential that the State continue to review and revise the plan as technology, competition, customer requirements and regulation evolve.
The Steering Committee for Vermont's Distance Learning and Video Conferencing Strategic Plan issued a report in December 1993 that recognizes that "Vermont citizens, living in a democratic society, must have the capability to use information technologies in ways that will improve educational opportunities, support or provide equity, conserve resources and enhance competitiveness".
An executive order by Governor Dean recognizes the essential nature of a long-term economic development plan that creates "jobs for the benefit of Vermonters now and in the future and that meets the competitive realities of the global economy," and that "coordinated development of a modern telecommunications network is crucial to the success of the state's long-term economic prosperity."
The Vermont Business Roundtable supports the continued development of a coherent and consistent telecommunications policy that would promote and incent the development of an advanced telecommunications infrastructure available to all. /36 / Clearly, there is widespread recognition in the business and education communities of the value of the public switched network to Vermont's economic development. A key element in the state's economic growth will be the implementation of the Vermont Science and Technology Plan. Without question, an advanced public network is vital to its success. The regulatory and business incentives necessary to encourage investment by those who possess the essential vision and are able and trained to provide this infrastructure must be made available, and with dispatch.
The innovative scientific research effort and expertise and intellectual activity in Vermont, in general, and at The University of Vermont, specifically, is world class. The discoveries that emanate from this research, and that may emanate from future research, have the potential to impact positively on the well being of Vermonters, the nation, and the world.
The State and UVM have a responsibility to assure that the commercial and social potential of discoveries emanating from research is developed. It is important that UVM and the State allocate the resources necessary to protect and develop the intellectual property emanating from university research.
UVM, having been designated as Vermont's principal research institution, has a unique responsibility and opportunity to provide the leadership for technology transfer activities. UVM is uniquely positioned, with business and government support, to develop a viable technology transfer activity that will bring discoveries to the public, enhance the economic opportunities of Vermonters, and create economic development opportunities in Vermont.
The Vermont Technology Council supports development of infrastructure that will accomplish the following objectives:
1. The university has created the University of Vermont Technology Transfer Fund to provide funds which will enhance the university's capacity to patent, license, and otherwise facilitate technology transfer and related activities.
2. The Council will actively assist the university in securing financial support for this fund through the solicitation of Vermont business and industry and others who might lend support to this effort. The Committee urges the Legislature and administration to join in this effort and consider appropriating a sum of money annually to this activity. The first year goal is to have in place the sum of $500,000.
Design and offer a series of seminars and lectures to provide researchers at the university and around the state with information related to all areas of technology transfer from disclosure statements of sponsored research, patenting process, and the full range of potential commercialization activities.
3. The Technology Transfer Subcommittee will assist the University in reviewing policies and procedures related to technology. The Technology Transfer Subcommittee will assist the university in identifying the needs of external constituencies and defining areas and policy items that may need to be amended to facilitate the effective transfer of technology.
4. The subcommittee will assist the university in developing an inventory of research activities in Vermont, a cadre of individuals and businesses that might provide assistance and advice, and otherwise assist in articulating the case for enhanced technology transfer activities to the Legislature, governor, and other external constituencies.
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Operated since 1982 by the Small Business Administration's Office of Research and Technology, the SBIR program was reauthorized in 1992 after Congress found it to be a successful method of providing small business concerns with opportunities to compete for federal research and development awards. Eleven federal agencies participate in the SBIR program.
Research results that offer high promise of being commercially viable and that correspond to the objectives of any of the participating federal agencies are eligible for the SBIR program.
The SBIR funding program is divided into stages: Stage I (basic feasibility), up to $100,000; Stage II (product development), up to $750,000.
Vermont is taking advantage to an increasing degree of these funding sources, but Vermont's total share is still very small compared to other states.
The Committee proposes that the State through its Department of Economic Development stimulate the participation of Vermont researchers in the SBIR program by reimbursing them up to $3,000 each for the expense of generating a Stage I SBIR proposal. Up to ten SBIR proposals each year should receive such a reimbursement. A panel of state government officials and Vermont Technology Council members would review the SBIR proposals on their merit, and would recommend to the secretary of economic development the ten SBIRs that should receive the reimbursement.
This SBIR stimulus program would encourage the academic entrepreneur to seek cooperation with local industries, which is a critical factor for the success of a particular project. An SBIR reimbursement program has been used successfully in several states.
After the successful completion of a Stage I SBIR project, a candidate can apply for a Stage II development grant of up to $750,000. There is often, however, a time delay between the completion of the Stage I development and the award of the Stage II development grant. The committee proposes that the State of Vermont through its Department of Economic Development establishes a bridge funding grant of up to $50,000 to be awarded to a deserving candidate to bridge / 39 / the Phase l-Phase 11 funding gap. The State should budget for one such grant per fiscal year, to be reviewed and recommended as above.
The payback for the State would be very quick. The chance of success for an SBIR Stage II grant, with proper reviews in place, can be assumed to be as high as 1 out of 2. Thus, on average every $50,000 bridge grant will attract $375,000 in federal grants into the State's economy. With the multiplier effect, the payback in the form of income and sales taxes would be almost immediate. There is, of course the additional prospect of new permanent jobs being created for Vermont.
To make the achievements and contributions of Vermont's scientific community very visible to a wide cross section of the population, the Vermont Technology Council proposes that the State of Vermont publicly recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to science and technology. We propose the creation of a Vermont Society of Science and Technology to which selected Vermonters would be inducted each year. Appointments to the Society would be made by the Governor, acting on recommendations from the Vermont Technology Council.
At its annual meeting, the Vermont Society of Science and Technology would showcase the scientific achievements of the Vermont scientific community, and generate the necessary public attention for their work.
At the same time, the Society could act as a scientific advisory board to all branches of Vermont government, and could help executives and legislators to put important scientific context to legislative or executive actions.
The Vermont Technology Council will be the administrative contact point for the Vermont Society of Science and Technology. The charter, the laws of succession and the size of the membership in the Society should be established by a special Vermont Technology Council subcommittee.
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