Establishes the strategic partnership for industrial resurgence program

4 Co-sponsors

• Robin Schimminger
• Francine DelMonte
• Marc Alessi
• Donna Lupardo

BILL NUMBER:A9751A

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to estab- lishing the strategic partnership for industrial resurgence program

Purpose Or General Idea Of Bill: To codify the established strategic partnership for industrial resurgence program in the state university of new york for the purposes of strengthening the state's small and mid- sized businesses by helping them address engineering problems and proc- esses to improve industrial competitiveness and to provide new york companies with technical assistance on research projects and in the application for federal and other funding for which they are eligible.

Summary Of Specific Provisions: The chancellor would allocate available funds to the engineering schools of the state university of new york at Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook to provide technical assist- ance to small and medium sized technology companies in new york. Addi- tional engineering schools in the SUNY system can be added if additional funds are available and existing relative funding allocations to the individual universities is maintained. Projects must have well-defined deliverables and timeframes and would include only those that support the goals of student education and professional development as deter- mined by the dean of the engineering or an equivalent faculty member at each engineering school. Any new york state technology-based or technol- ogy-dependent company in the manufacturing, product development, infor- mation technology or service sector with fewer than two hundred and fitly employees is eligible for assistance from the program and compa- nies must provide at least a 50% match. Allowable expenses include the compensation and tuition assistance of graduate and undergraduate students directly working on the project as well as student travel directly related to the project. The program may also include technical assistance to companies developing proposals for federal grants.

Effects Of Present Law Which This Bill Would Alter: Adds a new section to the education law.

Justification: The Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) program was established on July 1, 1994, by the State of New York to utilize the extensive engineering resources of the SUNY system to help industry in the State compete more effectively. SPIR fills a crit- ical gap in existing State industrial assistance programs by providing technically advanced multidisciplinary assistance on a fast turnaround basis,. The intent is to help companies improve their market posture, retain existing employees and create new jobs. There are no other simi- lar programs nationally. The SPIR program was developed to follow the model of the ag-extension programs around the country but focusing on engineering needs. Over the past ten years, the SPIR program has worked with over 1,000 New York State companies on almost 5,000 individual projects. It is estimated that the program's advanced technical assist- ance has led to the creation/retention of tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in increased sales.

This bill would codify the program.

Prior Legislative History: None.

Fiscal Implications For State And Local Governments: Subject to avail- able funds.

Effective Date: Immediately.