SSTI Digest

The White House Fiscal Year 2026 discretionary budget proposal outlines a significant shift in federal spending priorities, proposing substantial reductions in non-defense discretionary funding, which, if enacted by Congress, would impact scientific research and regional economic development support across numerous federal agencies.  The initial release of the White House's FY2026 budget proposal is characterized as a "skinny budget," indicating that it provides a high-level overview of the administration's discretionary spending priorities without the detailed line-item specifics contained in a full budget request. The proposal aims for a $163 billion cut in non-defense discretionary funding, a 22.6% reduction from the previous fiscal year.  The FY2026 proposal details considerable cuts to key research-funding bodies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). While substantial cuts are proposed for many research areas, the budget also outlines increased funding for defense-related research, human space exploration…

The AI market is projected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2023—a 25x increase in just 10 years, according to the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2025 Technology and Innovation report. The technology will be leap-frogging other “frontier tech markets,” including the Internet of Things, which currently dominates 36% of the market for emerging platform technologies. The super-charged AI market will impact up to 40% of global jobs, both positively and negatively. How this growth will affect jobs in different countries and how the effects could be directed to increase fairness globally is of great concern to UNCTAD and the focus of the new report. UNCTAD asserts that up to one-third of jobs in nations with advanced economies are at risk because of efficiency gains resulting from AI automation. "Workforces in advanced economies are at greater risk since more of their jobs involve cognitive tasks,” said the report authors, but added, “However, these economies are also better positioned than emerging and low-income economies to capitalize on the benefits of AI.” In contrast, 24% of jobs in nations with emerging economies and 18% of jobs in low-income economies are at risk as…

SSTI’s recent webinar for its EDA-funded TBED Community of Practice work explored the emerging trend of creating centralized tech transfer offices (TTOs) serving multiple institutions. Centralized approaches are intended to more efficiently help develop and commercialize inventions from smaller or regional colleges and universities. Panelists Kayla Meisner of Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), Charles Layne of LaunchTN, and Carlos Baez from the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust highlighted the value centralized models bring to regions and the national landscape.  Panelists discussed the key advantages of centralized TTOs in their regions, including efficiency, economies of scale, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced service quality. They emphasized the ability to identify, evaluate, and support innovations, manage intellectual property, and negotiate licensing for institutions with limited research budgets and little experience in tech transfer. As with TTOs at the larger, better resourced R1 institutions, impacts are measured through key performance indicators such as invention disclosures, patents filed, licenses signed, and startups…

May 20, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET | Zoom  This webinar will explore how organizations can develop meaningful industry partnerships that drive tech-based economic development. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) will share its approach to creating compelling value propositions for potential partners and converting these initial connections into lasting, mutually beneficial collaborations. Their AI initiative, AnalytiXIN, will serve as a case study, demonstrating the methods and principles that have made their industry engagement efforts successful. Speakers: - Nathan Ringham, Vice President, Research and Insights (CICP) - Darshan Shah, Executive Vice President, Data and AnalytiXIN (CICP) Register for this webinar here.

Most countries have dramatically increased their investments in R&D over the past two decades, with OECD nation spending reaching a record high nearly $1,600 of gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) per person in 2023 (PPP[1] converted), approximately triple the value recorded in 2000. Although the U.S. has an extremely strong R&D output, relatively smaller economies, like Israel and South Korea, lead when expenditures are standardized for better comparison across nations. This edition of Useful Stats uses internationally comparable figures from the OECD’s Main Science and Technology Indicator (MSTI) database to benchmark R&D performance across OECD nations in both per person PPP-adjusted dollars and as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). Examining the data in this manner provides potential context for understanding the priority countries set for becoming more research-intensive and, perhaps, more innovation-centered in future economic growth. Refer to the OECD’s website here for notes on the data and metric definitions. International overview of GERD In 2023, of the OECD nations with available data, Israel had the largest GERD value…

A recently published InfoChart from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) presents an annotated walk through federal R&D obligations from FY 1951 through 2024, explaining key events influencing key moments in the surges and downswings along the nation’s path to supporting discovery, research, development and innovation. The data is presented in constant 2017 dollars.  Over SSTI’s 30-year history, it has seen federal R&D trends greatly influence state, university and regional innovation policy and investment priorities. Shifts in federal spending ripple through local economies, research‑intensive firms, workforce development, and public infrastructure investments. Understanding those factors influencing federal investment can be a useful guide for designing future regional innovation policy and financial commitments.  

One of the top perennial concerns of America’s manufacturing and business communities relates to the workforce. The main issues may vary year to year; examples include too few workers available, skill mismatch, poor work habits or preparedness because of non-work issues such as basic education attainment, drug use, prison records or lack of work ethic. Among factors complicating workforce development responses are the diverse and disparate skill needs across the spectrum of occupations and sectors, the rapid advancement of technological innovation, and the array of private and public skill development and training efforts.  As a result, federal involvement in workforce development has crept into many programs and funding priorities where, traditionally, skill development and training did not reside. That might all be changing with the executive order President Trump signed on Wednesday, April 23 2025. The president is requiring the secretaries of Labor, Commerce and Education to submit a report by the end of July that will identify:  Opportunities to integrate systems and realign resources to focus on “critical workforce needs and in-demand skills…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently released a report on the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program with data through December 31, 2024. As of the end of 2024, Treasury has disbursed nearly $4 billion of the $10 billion set aside for the program in the 2021 American Rescue Plan of Act.  In terms of the three-tranche, formula-based allocation structure of the SSBCI program, the report documents the first disbursement to 130 jurisdictions, the second for 20, and the third, or final, tranche for six. Within this article, SSTI provides two data visualizations to graphically compare states and their progress with accessing SSBCI funds.  The graphics below include data for only the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and not Tribal governments. Figure 1 includes a stacked column for each state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, showcasing a breakdown of each’s total allocation (deployed, disbursed but not deployed, and neither disbursed nor deployed). The data in this figure was calculated by SSTI using Figure 5 from Treasury’s new Quarterly Report.  Figure 1: SSBCI metrics (%) for…

The same April 23 executive order as mentioned above requires Labor, Commerce and Education to work together and prepare by the end of August, a plan “to reach and surpass 1 million new active apprentices.” Apprenticeships were a preferred skill development program during President Trump’s first term in office as well.  Priorities for the new strategy laid out in the order that may appeal to state and regional TBED efforts include expanding the Registered Apprenticeships to “new industries and occupations including high-growth and emerging sectors.” Additionally, the plan highlights two particular federal programs as vehicles that may see increased support. The executive order says the plan shall identify “opportunities, including through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (Perkins V) Act and Federal student aid, to enhance connections between the education system and Registered Apprenticeships.

The short answer to the question, “Is college still worth it?” is, “It depends.” Attending higher education institutions may impart an array of societal and personal development benefits. Still, one factor of increasing import that raises the question of the worthiness of attaining a college education in a market-driven economy is the personal cost involved. The question becomes even more pertinent based on three trends: rising costs, decreasing employment opportunities for college graduates and a fair share of Americans having little or no confidence in higher education.  Consider these three trends:  College tuition has doubled in the last 20 years, as shown in SSTI's September 2024 analysis. An April 2025 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found a 5.8% unemployment rate among recent college graduates aged 22-27 in March 2025—rising from a low 3.9% in April and May 2022. A 2024 Gallup survey found that Americans are “nearly equally divided among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32%) in higher education.”  Adding complexity to the economic…

Earlier this week, SSTI participated in InBIA’s 39thInternational Conference on Business Incubation (ICBI39) in Philadelphia. The event brought together entrepreneurship support professionals from around the world to tackle shared challenges and explore strategies for fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems.  SSTI Program Director Casey Nemecek presented strategies for effectively communicating TBED concepts to broader audiences as part of the “Advocating for Entrepreneurship” panel session. The presentation emphasized three key approaches: making technical concepts accessible through relatable examples, centering local impact, and enlisting trusted community voices to demonstrate why innovation-driven economic development matters to communities and funders. This theme of clear, strategic communication resonated throughout much of the conference’s programming, from sessions on program sustainability to discussions about cross-organizational partnerships to build resiliency.  As always making new connections and reconnecting with familiar faces from SSTI member organizations was energizing. We look forward to being on the road again in June for the Global…

Recognizing Louisiana’s lag in some prosperity metrics, loss of talent over the past decade, and need to build a more competitive economy among its southern state peers, the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) has created a strategic plan that emphasizes innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship as the means to address the challenges and opportunities it faces in creating a more robust and talent-attracting economy. The Positioning Louisiana to Win: 2025 Comprehensive Statewide Strategic Plan, released in March 2025, details several recommendations and initiatives that seek to nurture homegrown entrepreneurs, startups and technology-driven businesses; attract and retain talent; and modernize the state’s traditional industries, educational, and training programs to ensure that key sectors and Louisianans are positioned to prosper from a more competitive technology-based economy. Emphasizing technology and innovation as drivers of economic growth and recognizing that talent and entrepreneurship are critical for creating a prosperous economy, the plan underscores the need for Louisiana to attract /expand technology sectors as cultivators of…