SSTI Digest

A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showed that women’s increased participation in the labor force has not led to a correspondingly greater participation of women in the highest executive positions at the organizations where they work. In fact, the study showed that women are significantly less likely to lead U.S. businesses than men are, and that this share has remained largely unchanged over the 2000-2014 period. The report set out to investigate the role played by women as entrepreneurs and executives in the private sector. Using data from the National Establishment Time-Series collected by Dun & Bradstreet, the authors found that all firms with a female CEO rose slightly, from 17.6 percent in 2000 to 18.8 percent in 2014. However, the share of women-led firms across new firms increased more significantly, rising from 19.7 percent to 24.1 percent over the same period. The study also showed that conditional on leading a business, women are more likely to be CEOs of smaller and younger firms than men. The authors note that while the study showed differences between firms led by male and female CEOs, it does not explain the causes and…

TEDCO’s current portfolio of assisted companies has grown to 326 companies and more than 3,100 jobs, according to an economic impact report by the University of Baltimore’s Jacob France Institute and TEConomy Partners. TEDCO was created by the Maryland State Legislature in 1998 to facilitate the transfer and commercialization of technology from Maryland’s research universities and federal labs into the marketplace. The direct Maryland economic activity generated by these core programs totaled nearly $900 million in 2018, a considerable increase from the $572.3 million in economic activity reported in 2015. Of all TEDCO programs, the Seed Investment Fund has the largest direct impact, accounting for more than half of all employment and direct economic activity.

In January, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier as director of the White House Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and since the end of the partial federal government shutdown, the director and office have produced informative reports and speeches. Two common threads through these sources are emphases on continued American leadership in key tech sectors — and that this leadership will increasingly occur in conjunction with, or under the direction of, private industry. OSTP Director’s comments Droegemeier’s first speech as director was made to AAAS on Feb. 15 and was preceded the day before by an interview with Science. In both places, the director lays out a series of organizing principles that also serve as an explanation of the administration’s science activities to date: Creating labs at universities to be primarily funded by industry and nonprofits; Reducing regulations around R&D funding at universities (an alternate means of improving the indirect cost margin on federal awards, which Droegemeier has testified is too low); Organizing the country’s science strategy as portfolios, rather than individual investments…

This week we nearly finish our state of the state coverage, save two remaining governors (Louisiana and Minnesota) who have yet to present their addresses. In reviewing the speeches for news on innovation efforts, we find education taking the main stage in Florida and Tennessee, while Alabama and Ohio’s governors are hoping to build the state’s workforce, and North Carolina, still recovering from natural disasters, wants to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and provide tuition assistance for community college. Many governors are presenting separate budget addresses, and we will continue to monitor those for news on innovation initiatives. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, in a state reeling from catastrophic tornado damage this week, focused on rebuilding and growing the state economy, in part through technology activities, as well as educational efforts: “As we anticipate the rising demand of the computer science field, we are continuing our efforts to enhance computer science education in Alabama. Last year, I signed legislation establishing the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering. We also secured additional funding to create the Alabama…

Nearly three-quarters of all research and development was performed by the private sector in fiscal year 2016, though this share differed greatly across the states, according to an SSTI analysis of recently released data from the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF NCSES). Delaware showed the greatest concentration of business R&D (90.5 percent of all R&D in the state), while Tennessee had the most diversified R&D portfolio with a roughly even distribution of R&D performed by businesses, higher education and federally funded R&D centers (FFRDC’s). The interactive chart below shows the breakdown of performers of research and development for each state. ] Nearly three-quarters (74.2 percent) of all domestic R&D in 2016 was performed by the private sector, and business R&D comprised more than half of all R&D in 38 states during that year. In 2016, businesses performed the highest share of overall R&D in Delaware (90.5 percent), New Jersey (89.5 percent), and Oregon (88.4 percent). After the private sector, the second largest performer of R&D in states…

For the first time, total research and development performed in the United States has surpassed $500 billion, reaching $515.3 billion in 2016, a $22 billion (4.4 percent) increase from the previous year, according to a recent info brief from the National Science Foundation. Furthermore, NSF estimates that larger increases are ahead, with early projections for 2017 showing an additional $26.9 billion increase (5.2 percent). Business R&D, which represented 72.7 percent of the nation’s total in 2016, was the main driver of the growth between 2015 and 2016: 87.3 percent of new R&D performed in the U.S. during those years was from the private sector. Intramural federal research performance was the only segment to see declines between 2015 and 2016, according to the brief.  

In an effort to close the gender gap in STEM, a $25 million commitment from the Lyda Hill Foundation will help to build a coalition of science institutions along with names and brands in popular culture to help fund and elevate women in STEM fields. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the coalition members, will select 100 women in STEM professions to serve as ambassadors for the new IF/THEN Initiative, to help build skills and opportunities among middle school girls in science communication, public engagement, media, diversity and inclusion, and STEM education.

While the U.S. economy hovers near full employment, employers contend that the skills gap still persists and it is impacting their ability grow. To address the long-term issue of the skills gap, several states and regions have turned to S&T internships to help students develop the necessary technical skills to address the needs of industry. The development of an S&T internship program can serve as a potentially highly effective strategy for developing and retaining talent workers while also helping integrate underserved communities into the 21st century workforce. This article highlights several examples from across the country.

Decreasing state funding for higher education is having a negative effect on higher education in the New England states, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The report comes on the heels of a recent survey from American Public Media (APM) and the Hechinger Report showed that most Americans are unaware that governmental funding for public colleges and universities has actually decreased over the past 10 years. Decreased funding has resulted in higher tuition, more student loan debt, fewer approved patent applications, and implications for the New England economy, the Fed report asserts.

From 2000 to 2017, the share of the U.S. population with a bachelor’s degree (or higher) increased from 24 percent to 31 percent. Meanwhile, the share of the population with a high school education (or less) decreased from 48 percent to 40 percent. All states experienced these directional changes in educational attainment. State performance relative to other states was relatively static, particularly for those performing best and worst in 2000, with few changes in the rankings of states by share of the population with a bachelor’s degree. These measurements of educational attainment are from U.S. Census data in 2000 and the five-year estimates from the American Community Survey for 2012 (collecting data from 2008-2012) and 2017 (2013-2017). The summary file SSTI created for this article is available here.   Washington, D.C. has led the nation in the percentage of its population to hold at least a bachelor’s degree since 2000 and had the greatest percentage increase over the past 17 years. All of the other states in the top five for educational attainment — Colorado (3rd in 2017), Connecticut (5th), Maryland (4th) and Massachusetts (2nd…

The share of H-1B applications approved by United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) in FY 2018 was well below the levels in FY 2017 and FY 2016, and new data from the first quarter of FY 2019 shows a continuing downward trend. In FY 2018, there were nearly as many H-1B visa denials (61,346) as there were in the previous two fiscal years combined (29,856 in FY 2017 and 23,032 in FY 2016), while there were more denials of H-1B applications in the first quarter of FY 2019 (24,851) than in any previous quarter since FY 2015. Furthermore, the number of cases challenged by the government has tripled since the start of the Trump administration.   Although the majority of H-1B visas go to larger metropolitan areas, they are still an important source for skilled talent for many of the innovative companies and universities that anchor regional economies across the country. As a result, changes to the H-1B system are not just an immigration issue, but an economic development issue as well. The chart above shows the share of H-1B visa applications that were approved (blue) and where the administration requested additional information (green)…

There are numerous opportunities for policymakers and elected officials at the state and local levels to encourage clean energy, and doing so could spur economic development, according to a new report by David Hart, a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and a professor of public policy at George Mason University.  As state and local leaders pursue these strategies, Hart focuses on five non-exclusive tracks to pursue: offering incentives to clean energy manufacturers and other investors; nurturing technology-based start-up companies; deepening existing clusters of related industries; substituting indigenous for imported energy resources; and, stimulating market demand for clean-energy products and services. In addition to providing examples of actions across each track, Hart also notes that there is a role for federal policy to complement these efforts by supporting economic development strategies, improving technology transfer at federal labs, and expanding investment in R&D programs such as ARPA-E and Manufacturing USA.