NATCAST, the operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) tasked with bolstering the United States' semiconductor industry, announced Albany NY and Sunnyvale CA as the locations for two major R&D facilities. The funding comes from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, legislation aimed at revitalizing American semiconductor manufacturing and research.

While most of the country’s attention has been on the contests for control of the White House and Congress, eleven states and two territories, including Puerto Rico, held gubernatorial elections on Nov. 5. Voters in eight of those states (Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia) were choosing a new governor to replace either a term-limited incumbent or governors who chose not to seek re-election. In Montana, Utah, and Vermont, governors seeking re-election, handily won. Information on the winners and their views on economic development follows.

Since the pandemic, those working on local prosperity through the nexus of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship—the four cornerstones of SSTI’s mission—have seen the largest investment yet by the federal government to catalyze and support their work. It awakened teams of organizations across the country in virtually every city, institution of higher education or region to start or improve innovation-centered economic development strategies.

As SSTI reported earlier this fall in its series of articles on higher education, college tuition and student loan debt are rising. In a recent report from the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)—the first such comprehensive report from that body since they convened the Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education in 2006—a task force comprised of 29 legislators and four legislative staff from 32 states concluded that increased federal efforts to address these tuition and loan issues "quietly expanded the federal footprint in higher education," and so now calls for a rebalancing of the state-federal relationship regarding higher education. They propose a national strategy for the federal government, states, and higher education institutions to improve the public perception of higher education.

When Tennessee reported on its first cohort of students after implementing Tennessee Promise, the nation’s first statewide free community college effort, SSTI reported on the program’s impressive early results. The graduation rate had increased over the previous year’s non-Promise cohort, and overall, 3,257 students in the 2015 cohort earned a degree or certificate within five semesters, an 82% increase over the pre-Promise 2014 group. Earlier this year, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) marked the program’s 10-year milestone, announcing over 150,000 enrolled students and $207 million in funding since its inception in 2014.

The European Union is engaged in a debate about changing its systems for R&D funding, the first potentially significant changes since its current framework program began in 1984. A group of 15 individuals from research and industry selected by the European Commission last year has submitted a report, Align, act, accelerate, which gives recommendations for overhauling the system. These recommendations are aimed at the remaining three years of Funding Program 9 (FP9)—Horizon Europe (2025-2027) and preparing for the next European Research and Innovation Framework Programme, FP 10 (2028-2034).

The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program announced that 71 teams are advancing to the next stage of the second NSF Engines competition. Of the 71 teams invited to submit full proposals to the NSF Engines program, 23—or nearly one-third—are led by nonacademic organizations; 13 are led by organizations new to NSF funding; 23 are led by organizations located in NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdictions; and nine are led by a minority-serving institution. In addition, nearly half of the teams received an NSF Engines Development Award.