Recently in Trends Category

On the eve of high-level policy discussions about the federal role in job creation, university technology transfer, and regional clusters, the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) releases "The Power of Place 2.0: The Power of Innovation--10 Steps for Creating Jobs, Improving Technology Commercialization, and Building Communities of Innovation". 

Innovation assets for creating jobs

"The Power of Innovation," an update to "The Power of Place: A National Strategy for Building America's Communities of Innovation," outlines the role the federal government can take using research parks and other innovation assets for creating jobs and remaining a front-runner in the global technology competition.

"In 'The Power of Place,' AURP demonstrated how geography and connected communities play a large role in innovation," said Brian Darmody, AURP President. "In 'The Power of Innovation,' we offer ten steps, from policy changes to selected investments, that Congress and the President can take quickly to leverage existing federal assets to create jobs, technology companies and communities of innovation, without creating new bureaucracies."

AURP releases "The Power of Innovation" shortly after the Senate Commerce Committee passed Senate Bill 583: Building A Stronger America Act, sponsored by Senator Mark Pryor. The bill will now be considered by the full Senate. Its companion bill, H.R. 4413: The SPRINT Act, has been referred to the House Committee on Science and Technology.

"Science parks provide a launch pad for economic activity in a community. They have a strong record of fostering talent, high tech innovation and job growth. Providing seed funding to create or expand these parks is a necessary investment for our economy as well as our global competitiveness," said Senator Mark Pryor.

The key to moving forward? According to Darmody, connectivity and flexibility in the federal government's investment in research spending, infrastructure support and other programs.

"The federal government, invests billions of dollars a year in research and development at universities and federal labs, and technology led economic development programs. We need better alignment among research universities, university research parks, technology incubators, sponsored program offices, and technology-transfer officials to meet better our nation's global technology competition," said Darmody.

About AURP: The Association of University Research Parks is a professional association of university related research and science parks. AURP's mission is to foster innovation, commercialization and economic growth through university, industry and government partnerships. For more information, visit AURP's Web site at www.aurp.net or contact Chelsea Simpson at chelseasimpson@aurp.net.

It would be wonderful to think that green jobs will lead us out of this "jobless recovery", but that doesn't seem to be a clear leading indicator.  But jobs are found in very distinct sections.  From my research in February 2010, I'm seeing job listings and increases in the following areas:

• IT Information Technology
• Healthcare
• Accounting
• Energy Efficiency
• Government jobs - largely in unemployment services
  

ExecuNet Exclusive: Hiring By Executive Search Firms Makes Big Gain

After a tumultuous 2009, executive search firms entered 2010 with renewed confidence in the executive hiring market, and they're planning to bolster their own consulting and research teams to meet anticipated demand for executive talent. ExecuNet's January Search Firm Hiring Index survey revealed that 33 percent of 214 responding executive search firms plan to hire additional professional staff over the next three months, a gain of 12 points from the number tallied in December.  Source: ExecuNet

It Pays To be Technical!

... and Resilient!  Multitalented.  People skills.  And computer-savvy!

LEED certification and standards have taken the building design and building fields by storm. While not a perfect system by a long shot, LEED is the leading system that is used by government construction, large corporate construction and even a growing number of residential developers. 

As electricians become "energy contractors" who balance upfits of electrical systems with new renewable energy loads, additional training and duties apply.

Here are some of the LEED standards that point to the role of electricians and energy contractors in the green building sector.  ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standards are growing in importance for electricians and energy contractors.

Title	Credit	Requirements
Alternative Transportation -- Low-emitting and Fuel-efficient	Sustainable Sites (SS) Credit 4.3	Install alternative-fuel fueling stations (e.g. stations for charging electric cars) for 3% of the total vehicle parking capacity of the site.
Light Pollution Reduction	Sustainable Sites (SS) Credit 8	Internal lighting - Reduce input power (by automatic device) of interior lights by at least 50% between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Electrician will select and install fixtures and controls to meet requirements. External lighting - Light areas only as required for safety and comfort. Lighting power densities must not exceed ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 and must meet lighting control requirements from ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007. Electrician will perform photometric analysis to validate compliance of credit requirements.
Optimize Energy Performance	Energy & Atmosphere (EA) Credit 1	Demonstrate a percentage improvement in the proposed building performance rating compared with baseline building performance rating. The higher the building energy efficiency level, the more LEED points are awarded. Electrician will work with utility company to assess energy performance and identify most cost-effective energy efficiency measures.
On-site Renewable Energy	Energy & Atmosphere (EA) Credit 2	Install and use on-site renewable energy systems (solar, wind, etc) to offset building energy costs.
Green Power	Energy & Atmosphere (EA) Credit 6	Engage in at least a 2-year renewable energy contract to provide at least 35% of the building's electricity from renewable sources (wind, solar, wave, geothermal, or biomass). Calculation of two-year expected energy use is required, along with kWH cost of the green power from the serving electric utility. Electrician should provide projected monthly cost required to obtain this point.
Controllability of Systems--lighting	Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Credit 6.1	Provide individual lighting controls for 90% (minimum) of the building occupants to enable adjustments to suit individual task needs and preferences. Provide lighting system controls for all shared multi-occupant spaces to enable adjustments that meet group needs and preferences.

Electricians Must Prepare for Tightening Standards
With so many green building and renewable energy opportunities on the horizon, electrical and energy contractors need to make sure they're ready to win jobs. To get started, they must gain the skills and knowledge to take on green projects. Both the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) offer education programs for green electrical work. And standards organizations such as ANSI, ASHRAE, IESNA  also offer informtion and training opportunities.

The electrical grid is where green building and green construction are really at.

Houston Neal explores how electricity offers job opportunities at The Software Advice Construction Blog.  Neal says "electrical contractors" will transition to "energy contractors" to support the green construction market, and that the profession will grow tremendously.  A study by the American Solar Energy Society projects renewable energy jobs for electricians to grow approximately 900% by 2030, just in the state of Colorado.

In the next ten to twenty years, "electrical contractor" will no longer be a suitable job title for electricians. They will transition into "energy contractors" to support the fast-growing green construction market.

Global Sustainability

As the global conversation on sustainability heats up, this quarter's survey examined what steps companies are taking to become more environmentally responsible, and why they may be taking them.

• The most frequent "green" action among respondents' companies is reducing energy consumption in company facilities (48%).
  
• This was followed by reducing waste in production and packaging (30%) and promoting incentives and initiatives encouraging customers to be "greener" (21%).
  
• Least popular initiatives were reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from factories and plants (6%),
  
• Supporting legislation on environmental issues (7%)

Spur Innovation, Yes.  Regulate Abuses ... no.

While few are actively supporting legislation on environmental issues, sentiment toward governmental regulation of environmental responsibility is split among CFOs. Though nearly half (49%) believe regulation a bad response, more than one-third (37%) support government incentives to spur innovation, 14 percent support limits on emissions, and 9 percent support cap and trade and other financial incentives.

28% of Companies are Doing NOTHING

Perhaps disappointingly, 28 percent of CFOs indicated that their companies are not taking any actions to make their companies more sustainable. With regard to those companies who are taking actions, the survey revealed a number of motivators.

Cost Efficiencies Main Driver

More than one-third cited cost efficiencies as the main driver, 31 percent refer to personal priorities of their leadership as the cause, 29 percent say enhancement of public perception is the reason, and 24 percent point to a desire to emerge as a committed leader in the industry.

Additional Findings:

Other topics examined in this quarter's survey included International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), CFOs' perceptions of Barack Obama's presidency nearly one year after his inauguration, and the impact of the SEC's enhanced disclosures on risk, compensation and corporate governance in annual reports. With regard to IFRS, an overwhelming majority of CFOs (80%) are confident that IFRS will be adopted, but do not know when. CFOs' perceptions of President Obama remain low, with 64 percent reporting their U.S. economic outlook has weakened since he took office.

Full survey results and historical data comparisons are available at www.cfosurveys.com or from Nicole Madison at Nicole.Madison@fd.com. The study is also available online at the Financial Executives Research Foundation bookstore and on the Baruch College home page at www.baruch.cuny.edu.

CFOs looking toward 2010 anticipate positive increases in a number of areas. Key areas of expected increases include:

• Net earnings expected to rise by 22 percent (more than double anticipated Q3 mean increase of 11%)
• Revenue anticipated to grow by 10 percent
• Capital spending expected to grow by 8.9% (compared with an increase of 1.1% in Q3)
• Technology spending anticipated to increase by 6.1 percent
• Inventory anticipated to increase by 2.5 percent (compared with Q3, where CFOs predicted reductions of -1.9%)
• Hiring expected to grow by 2.9 percent (up from 1.7% in Q3)
• Price of products expected to grow by 1.13 percent (up from the Q3 projected increase of 0.7%)

When CFOs were asked this quarter to identify areas for increases in 2010, marketing and advertising and business acquisitions were also top of mind, with 39 percent of CFOs planning to increase marketing and advertising and 33 percent of CFOs planning increases in business acquisitions. In addition, while 37 percent of CFOs reported they will cutback on executive perks, a small number of respondents remain (4%) who plan to increase executive perks in the coming year.

Efficiency is the New Norm

"The return to a place where CFOs are anticipating increased earnings and revenue provides encouragement that those companies that have endured the downturn are ready to come back strong," said Marie Hollein, CEO and President, Financial Executives International. "As far as the new normal is concerned, efficiency is the name of the game."

When asked what their organizations would continue to do as they begin to emerge from the recession, nearly nine out of ten CFOs reported that they would continue process efficiencies put into place during the downturn.

Two-thirds (66%) said they will continue technological efficiencies, and one-third (34%) plan to continue the restructuring of their business.

CFOs Taking Steps to Be "Greener" but Debate Continues Over Regulation

As the global conversation on sustainability heats up, this quarter's survey examined what steps companies are taking to become more environmentally responsible, and why they may be taking them.

The most frequent "green" action among respondents' companies is

• reducing energy consumption in company facilities (48%).
  

This was followed by

• reducing waste in production and packaging (30%)
  

promoting incentives and initiatives encouraging customers to be "greener" (21%).

Least popular initiatives were reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from factories and plants (6%), and supporting legislation on environmental issues (7%).

Support of Environmental Legislation is Split

While few are actively supporting legislation on environmental issues, sentiment toward governmental regulation of environmental responsibility is split among CFOs.

49% believe regulation a bad response,

37% support government incentives to spur innovation,

14 percent support limits on emissions,

9 percent support cap and trade and other financial incentives.

Perhaps disappointingly, 28 percent of CFOs indicated that their companies are not taking any actions to make their companies more sustainable. With regard to those companies who are taking actions, the survey revealed a number of motivators. More than one-third cited cost efficiencies as the main driver, 31 percent refer to personal priorities of their leadership as the cause, 29 percent say enhancement of public perception is the reason, and 24 percent point to a desire to emerge as a committed leader in the industry.

More than 1.2 million students and professors nationwide are now using McGraw-Hill Connect - an advanced all-digital teaching and learning exchange for higher education.

Customize Instruction, And Engage Online

Since the online platform was introduced last fall, colleges and universities across the country have embraced this 21st century learning tool, which enables professors to easily customize instruction and allows students to master content and succeed in courses.

With Connect, students are now engaged with course content outside the classroom - from wherever they are and from whichever device they use to access the Internet. In fact, a recent survey of Connect users shows that more than 90 percent of students access Connect frequently at home or in their dorm rooms, helping them remain engaged with class content throughout the day, week and semester.

With this increased access to course content, nearly 3/4ths of the students using Connect feel better prepared for exams and assignments, according to a McGraw-Hill research study.

"Connect is an extremely effective and powerful tool for 21st century teaching and learning," said Ed Stanford, president, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. "We're very pleased that Connect is yielding excellent results in college classrooms across the country, enhancing faculty productivity and driving greater student achievement."

Instructors and students cite key benefits of Connect:

• quality of content,
  
• ease of use,
  
• integration with text,
  
• the ability to reinforce classroom material 24-7
  

Of the professors surveyed by McGraw-Hill, 80 percent stated that they are using Connect to improve student learning and retention.  

Surveyed students said that Connect helps

• reinforce classroom concepts through practice tests and quizzes,
  
• prepare them for success on assignments and exams,
  
• master course content.
  

"Connect is a great product, and now I cannot imagine teaching my class without it. My students like the feedback and the practice they get from doing the homework," said Jerri Buiting, Professor of Marketing at Baker College in Flint, Mich. "Connect really helps keep my students engaged."

26 academic disciplines

Connect currently covers 26 academic disciplines and about 15 more will be added this year. To view more information about Connect, visit www.mcgrawhillconnect.com.

About McGraw-Hill Higher Education:

McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a provider of teaching and learning solutions for 21st century post-secondary and higher education markets worldwide. Through a comprehensive range of traditional and digital education content and tools, McGraw-Hill Higher Education empowers educators and prepares professionals and students of all ages to connect, learn and succeed in the global economy. McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) , has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

Source: McGraw-Hill Higher Education; McGraw-Hill Connect

Violence isn't green, isn't sustainbale... and certainly not part of a sustainable community.  But dealing with the potential for violence is a sustainability issue.

"... an Army psychiatrist apparently went on a shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 27 wounded at the Fort Hood army post where he worked.

" An engineer who was dismissed for poor performance two years ago allegedly returned to his former workplace in  Florida and shot and killed one person while wounding five others."

Policies and procedures that ignore anxiety producing workplace issues aren't "best practices" for an organization.

Take a look at your HR policies and procedures and look for abusive loopholes that allow ineffective or corrupt activities to fester or thrive. 

What's NOT there can be an even greater impact than what's THERE.

• Are there ways to report abusive behaviors?
• Are there methods to negotiate conflicts?
• Is training available for non-violent conflict resolution?
• Is there a way to identify and handle employees or customers with mental health problems?
• How is a healthy, sustainable organization visualized for your organization?  Is that ideal spread through the entire group, and encouraged and rewarded when progress is made?

Policies that prevent violence get down to the basic question, "Do you care about your people and their real world problems and needs?"

If you do, you will take the time to find preventive solutions that foster good workplace relationships.  If you don't ... well, you don't belong in a free enterprise environment.  Good citizenship starts with caring about your fellowman...and your community.  Business is about more than money ... it's about being a valued member of productivity that fosters LIFE.

Commenting on the Yale University case, Richard Denenberg, author of the book The Violence-Prone Workplace, said in an interview with Workforce Management that "each workplace should have an intervention system and a system to report untoward incidence or chronic conflict so a conflict can be interdicted."

The USA needs more local job training shops stocked with machine tools.

Some high schools and community colleges currently have woodworking and auto mechanic shops that are open for continuing adult education, as well as student vocational education.

But product fabrication facilities is a new idea that is making progress.  High tech approaches to sensors, controllers, photovoltaics, LED lighting, etc. could spur advancement of innovation, as well as prepare the workforce for these cutting edge jobs.

CNC equipment like mills and lathes and a variety of other advanced tools and processes including biotech systems are needed to prepare people for the current revolution in manufacturing.

These shops might be seen as public extensions of local schools, essentially turning the shops of public schools into a public library of tools.

A few variations on this concept have been developed
Men's Shed,  http://www.mensshed.org/
FabLab,   http://fab.cba.mit.edu/
TechShop,  http://techshop.ws/
100KGarages,  http://100kgarages.com/

And books like David Morris' "Neighborhood Power: The New Localism" propose similar approached to distributed technical education.

A related article is "The Case for Working With Your Hands":
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html

Note from the Australian Men's Shed Association:  "Communities are keen to provide activities, identity and meaning for vast numbers of older, unemployed, job-redundant, 'downsized', isolated, depressed and happily retired, active, creative, enthusiastic men. Men's Sheds are fast being recognized as vital, viable places to fulfill these needs and provide relaxed, happy creative spaces for men to enjoy."

How can we strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative?

Participate!

Open Government Dialogue is a website by the National Academy of Public Administration that opens idea contribution to the public.  Read...and share your ideas at: http://opengov.ideascale.com/

Categories include Transparency, Participation, Collaboration, Capacity Building, and Legal & Policy Challenges.

On January 21st, the President issued the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, calling for an unprecedented level of openness in government. In the memorandum, the President outlined three principles for promoting a transparent and open government: transparency, participation, and collaboration. Now, the President is calling on you to help shape how that commitment is fulfilled. This online brainstorming session, open from May 21st to 28th, 2009, will enable the White House to hear your most important ideas relating to open government.

This platform allows you to submit ideas, discuss and refine others' ideas, and vote the best ones to the top. We are seeking innovative approaches to policy, specific project suggestions, government-wide or agency-specific instructions, and any relevant examples and stories relating to law, policy, technology, culture, or practice. The National Academy of Public Administration, a Congressionally chartered, non-profit, non-partisan institution, is hosting this brainstorming session on behalf of the White House.