Now many states face vast budget shortfalls and must choose between protecting public-private R&D programs that could create jobs in the long term and slashing public education and health benefits. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, for instance, has proposed cutting $35 million for a bioscience initiative and shutting an agency that offered financial and managerial help to promising tech companies. Indiana plans to slash $20 million for life sciences research and development, while budget cuts are forcing the Maryland Technology Development Corp. to cut spending in programs that help collaborations between businesses, state universities, and federal laboratories commercialize their technology. “Since states can’t print money like the feds, programs that encourage private and university partnerships are under stress,” says Brian Darmody, associate vice-president for research at the University of Maryland.
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