SSTI Digest

Clean energy innovation provides an opportunity for state-level policymakers and other stakeholders to expand economic opportunities and increase the impact of federal activity on climate and energy while also creating local economic development opportunities, according to a new report. Regional Clean Energy Innovation, produced by the University of Maryland in partnership with Energy Futures Initiative (EFI), identifies a multi-step process for state-level policymakers to strategically advance clean energy innovation, based on a 50-state assessment and case studies of Colorado and Maryland. Clean energy innovation offers many benefits to regional and state policymakers such as the opportunity to grow in-state research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) and manufacturing firms, reduced costs of electricity for consumers through new technologies, and an environment with clean air and water. A number of key recommendations are made in the report; a few are highlighted here. Regional policymakers need to include not only wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels in their definition of clean energy, but also technologies for decarbonization such as low-carbon…

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced a new Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA) to accelerate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. To help achieve the goal, the USDA is making several commitments including creating a comprehensive U.S. agriculture innovation strategy to align public and private research efforts. To do that USDA will seek input from the agricultural community on what innovative technologies and practices are needed to meet these demands. The department also says it will integrate the latest innovative conservation technologies and practices into USDA programs. Additionally, the USDA will improve data collection and reporting, which will serve as a catalyst for innovation and improved conservation decision-making. The USDA has outlined numerous benchmarks to hold themselves accountable to each of their commitments.

This edition of Useful Stats examines — by state and over the period from 2000 to 2018 — how many new establishments were founded, how many jobs these new establishments created, how many establishments closed, and how many jobs were lost from those closing establishments. In only one year, the last year of the period, 2018, all states experienced positive net gains in employment and establishments, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As shown in the interactive map below, the states that had the greatest number of new establishments in 2018 were California (63,073), Florida (31,063), Texas (28,079), Washington (20,525), and New York (13,967). The states that experienced the greatest net employment numbers in 2018 were California (177,061), Florida (117,746), Texas (115,624), Washington (45,394), and New York (44,045).

The Advanced Manufacturing Program within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy awarded nearly $140 million to companies and universities in 25 states and the District of Columbia to support 55 advanced manufacturing research projects. Recipients are contributing an additional $47.8 million toward project costs. Projects received an average of $2.5 million, but range from $400,000 to $12 million. The accompanying map presents the distribution of awards across the country and brief details on each recipient. Thematically the R&D addresses three broad topics:  Innovations for the Manufacture of Advanced Materials: $124.6 million for 36 projects focused on new, low-cost manufacturing processes to catalyze domestic battery manufacturing, phase-change storage materials for heating and cooling applications, and the development of innovative materials for harsh service conditions. Lower Thermal Budget Processes for Industrial Efficiency & Productivity: $28.7 million for eight projects to conduct novel research on industrial process heating and drying technologies to increase energy efficiency and…

A report on employment trends from hiring firm Robert Half found that 2020 presents greater challenges for employers looking to expand their workforce as the country’s labor market is near full employment and job openings remain at high levels. When looking specifically at technology hiring, the report reveals that in a survey of IT hiring decision makers, 86 percent reported challenges finding skilled workers. Such conditions have many states seeking new ways to address the skills gap and develop their workforce to attract or keep business. Several recent efforts are detailed below. Last month, Pennsylvania’s Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, a public-private partnership created last year by the governor to study workforce development, presented its first report to the Wolf administration. It found five major barriers to employment and a list of 42 recommendations to address those barriers. Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposes investing $14 million to support the recommendations, building on a $124 million investment to fully fund PAsmart, career and technical centers, industry partnerships, and apprenticeships to provide job skills training.…

Although changes in gross domestic product (GDP) give us an idea of how economies are changing, this measure fails to tell the full story. This edition of Useful Stats examines county-level GDP-per-capita, the measure of economic output for each resident in an area. What we see is strongly skewed data with high 2018 GDP-per-capita levels and high 10-year growth rates concentrated primarily in low population-high output counties. We also see that rural populations have declined over the period while metropolitan areas have grown, yet the median GDP-per-capita growth rates between the groups are essentially the same.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration has announced the FY 2020 notice of funding availability for the Regional Innovation Strategies program. There are multiple changes to the program this year, including that EDA is now referring to the program as “Build to Scale.” A total of $35 million is available this year due to support from Congress with advocacy from SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council. The Trump Administration budget proposal for FY2020, and again for FY2021, proposed eliminating the program. Initial applications are due March 24. The following are significant changes to the program this year: Branding – EDA has renamed all aspects of the program. RIS is now "Build to Scale." The i6 Challenge is now the "Venture Challenge." Seed Fund Support is now "Capital Challenge."  Application process – EDA is instituting a two-step application process. All applicants now begin with a comparatively brief "Concept Proposal" (the format is similar to SBA's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition). This preliminary application is due March 24. After receiving feedback from EDA, organizations will have until June 14 to submit the full proposal. "…

Just days after the White House proposed eliminating EDA’s and SBA’s innovation programs, SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council held more than two dozen meetings on Capitol Hill. Teams of universities, venture development organizations and statewide entities talked with congressional staff about the importance of the Regional Innovation Strategies (now “Build to Scale”), the Regional Innovation Clusters, and Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) programs. Offices were largely interested in, and supportive of, the message. While this first Hill Day of the year is over, you can still support funding for these programs by contacting your congressional offices. SSTI is happy to facilitate this for members — contact Jason Rittenberg (rittenberg@ssti.org | 614-901-1690) to get started.

The Trump administration released its FY 2021 budget this week. As with the past three iterations, Congress is unlikely to consider the proposal, which would cut domestic spending by 20 percent over a decade. Nonetheless, a quick review of the White House’s budget reveals the administration’s priorities: EDA, ARPA-E and MEP would be eliminated; total R&D would be cut by nine percent while dramatically increasing funding for AI and quantum information science; loan programs at USDA and SBA would see funding cuts made up through increasing user fees; and, technical education would see a boost through both investments in high school programs and apprenticeship initiatives. Congress has already agreed to topline funding that allows for a slight increase in spending this year, and so the final FY 2021 budget seems likely to be more similar to the current-year budget than this proposal. SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council is on the Hill this week to talk with members of Congress about the importance of supporting locally-driven innovation initiatives. Over the next few months, SSTI members will be involved in sharing their impacts, sending letters, and otherwise…

With nearly 40 of the state governors now having given a state of the state or budget address, innovation themes continue to echo in their reviews of past accomplishments and plans for the coming year. There is a priority on education (both on teacher salaries and preK initiatives as seen in Alabama, in addition to higher education and a focus on its affordability with Connecticut proposing free tuition for community college for recent high school grads and Pennsylvania putting additional dollars into scholarships), energy, workforce, broadband and a special emphasis on distressed communities in Connecticut and Tennessee. While SSTI continues to review the addresses and features excerpts as they relate to innovation intiatives in this series, remaining speeches will be scattered over the coming weeks. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey gave her third state of the state address earlier this month, and presented an agenda that called for changes in the state’s educational system, and growth in broadband and workforce development. Noting that “a world-class workforce begins with a world-class education system,” the governor called for more money to help build a “solid…

During 2018 and 2019, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) National Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy (TEAM-UP), examined the persistent underrepresentation of African Americans in physics and astronomy in the U.S. as measured by bachelor’s degrees in these fields. The 2020 report spotlights its findings that African American students have the same drive, motivation, intellect, and capability to obtain physics and astronomy degrees as students of other races and ethnicities; however, they are choosing to pursue majors perceived as being more supportive and rewarding. The report uncovers two main causes for underrepresentation of African Americans in physics and astronomy: the lack of a supportive environment for these students in many departments and the enormous financial challenges facing the students and programs. The task force hopes to double the number of physics and astronomy bachelor’s degrees (from the 2017 values of 238 and 12, respectively) awarded annually to African Americans by 2030. TEAM-UP identified five factors as essential to solving the issue: belonging, physics identity,…

In 2015, state and local business incentives across the nation combined for a total annual cost of roughly $45 billion, according to Timothy Bartik's 2017 report for the Upjohn Institute for Employee Research. New research suggests states and regions trying to attract business through the use of firm-specific tax incentives may want to try another tactic. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) recently released a working paper analyzing the impacts of business tax incentives, finding little evidence of long-term benefit for the local economies. Evaluating State and Local Business Tax Incentives examines three major state and local business tax instruments used to attract potential industrial development: lowering corporate tax rates, narrowing the corporate base, and providing firm-specific tax incentives. The paper’s authors, Cailin R. Slattery of Columbia University and Owen M. Zidar of Princeton University, found broad use of incentives, but questionable impact. "State and local governments are devoting substantial resources towards attracting firms and corporate capital," the authors say, but go on to conclude that there does not seem to be "strong evidence…