SSTI Digest

Many people have noticed that the Opportunity Zones tax incentive, intended to encourage investments in economically-distressed areas, lacks the type of reporting requirements that could help determine the real impacts of the incentive. Kresge Foundation is one organization that has been concerned by this information gap and has been working to implement solutions. The ultimate impact of Kresge’s latest effort is to provide further investor incentives in exchange for reporting compliance.

Kresge recently announced it had selected two organizations to receive guarantees for new OZ investment funds. The organizations are Arctaris Impact, which was one of the managers of Michigan’s State Small Business Credit Initiative funds, and Community Capital Management (CCM), which has a history of Community Reinvestment Act investing. Arctaris is receiving $15 million for guarantees against a $500 million fund, and CCM is receiving $7 million for a $300 million fund.

This week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $70 million for a Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute to develop technologies that will advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, energy efficiency, and innovation. This institute will focus on early-stage research for advancing cybersecurity in energy efficient manufacturing.

DOE identified two major high priority challenge areas where collaborative R&D can help U.S. manufacturers remain resilient and globally competitive against cyberattacks: 1) Securing Automation and 2) Securing the Supply Chain Network. DOE plans on funding one new award for up to five years, subject to appropriations. Concept papers are due on May 15, 2019. The funding application and submission requirements are available here.

A smattering of recent opinion polls and research papers looking to the future have revealed some grim perceptions about the economy and environment, but a more positive opinion of the role for science and technology (S&T) emerges.

A new Pew Research Center survey found that majorities of Americans foresee a country with a burgeoning national debt, a wider income gap and a workforce threatened by automation by 2050. However, Pew respondents look to science and technology as well ways to help solve the nation’s challenges: 87 percent say S&T will have a very or somewhat positive impact in solving the nation’s problems and another 74 percent feel the same about the role for colleges and universities.

If you are feeling that your money is not buying as much as it used to, that delinquent crime may be increasing as teenagers sit idle, that there is not enough focus on climate change or that corporate responsibility may be lacking, you may validate those feelings through the findings of several recently released research papers. SSTI received notice of the conclusions of five working papers that we thought we’d share.

The Trade War is increasing U.S prices, declines in real income.

NSF is inviting interested parties to participate in a new endeavor, the Convergence Accelerator Pilot (NSF C-Accel). The NSF C-Accel Pilot seeks to accelerate use-inspired convergence research in areas of national importance by facilitating convergent team-building capacity around exploratory, potentially high-risk proposals. The initiative reflects NSF’s commitment to be at the cutting edge, supporting fundamental research while encouraging rapid advances through partnerships between academic and non-academic stakeholders.

NSF C-Accel Pilot will begin with three tracks that are aligned with one of NSF’s 10 Big Ideas themes: Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) (track A1) and the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (FW-HTF) (tracks B1 and B2).

Outside of the private sector, colleges and universities perform the vast majority of R&D in the United States – but where do these funds come from? An SSTI analysis of data from the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NSF NCSES) finds that, across the country, the federal government was the source of more than half (53.5 percent) of all R&D performed at colleges and universities in 2017. Institutional funds (25.1 percent), nonprofit organizations (6.8 percent), businesses (5.9 percent), state and local governments (5.6 percent), and other sources (3.0 percent) comprised the remaining sources of higher education R&D funding. The interactive chart below shows the breakdown of funding sources for research and development at colleges and universities for each state.

In an effort to inform grassroots economic development in rural communities and small- and mid-sized cities, a new report from the Upjohn Institute identifies collaborative strategies that do not necessarily rely on government funding or philanthropic gifts. The report, Building Shared Prosperity: How Communities Can Create Good Jobs for All, is based on findings from Upjohn’s Promise: Investing in Community initiative, which focuses on place-based scholarships, local labor market issues, and economic development policy.

More than 50 current and former program awardees, along with 11 tech-based economic development-focused organizations led by SSTI have signed letters supporting the Regional Innovation Strategies program at EDA. Since 2014, when the program first received funding, EDA has funded 180 projects across nearly every state, D.C., and Puerto Rico. In FY 2019, Congress appropriated $23.5 million. These projects have supported specific regional activities, including mission-focused seed investing in Kansas, maritime tech demonstrations in Washington, and incubator services in Florida.

While the FY 2019 appropriation is the largest in the program’s history, demand is such that EDA is only able to fund approximately one in every six applications. The $23.5 million is also significantly less than the COMPETES legislation’s vision of a $100 million program. The letters call on Congress to consider further support for the program, enabling more regions to leverage local assets in building robust innovation economies.

Read the letters here:

EDA is currently soliciting proposals for $23.5 million in Regional Innovation Strategies (i6 Challenge and Seed Fund Support), and submissions are due April 4. For those looking for more information, EDA’s website contains profiles of all past awardees, and SSTI has a collection of past webinars, including the informational webinar for the current opportunity.

One of the most important economic development issues facing communities across the country, especially those reliant on family-owned manufacturing firms, may sometimes fly under the radar: succession planning. A robust study from the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois-Chicago combines qualitative (literature review, survey, and interviews) and quantitative analyses (economic impact report) to shed light on this issue, with a focus on the Chicago metropolitan area.

Both female-founded startups and female investors have seen slow progress over the past 10 years, and still face an uphill battle for equality in the venture capital industry. While the deal count for companies founded solely by women has more than quadrupled since 2008, the share of venture dollar invested has remained nearly flat, hovering around 2.0 percent over the same time, according to PitchBook. Similarly, only 10 percent of VC ‘decision-makers’ are women, up from 5.7 percent in 2016.

JPMorgan Chase has announced a new $350 million, five-year global initiative intended to meet the growing demand for skilled workers. The New Skills at Work investment will support community college and other non-traditional career pathway programs. It focuses on creating economic mobility and career pathways for underserved populations, as well as helping to forecast emerging skillsets for JPMorgan Chase employees.

The initiative includes $200 million to help prepare individuals for the future of work by developing and piloting innovative new education and training programs aligned with high-demand digital and technical skills. Philanthropic investments are planned for programs that are proven to help more people, such as women, people of color, veterans, and returning citizens, secure in-demand, good jobs.