SSTI Digest

Congress authorized $10 billion over five years for regional tech hubs to improve America’s competitiveness and regional economies. To date, Congress has appropriated only $541 million for the program—just 5% of the authorized level—of which a $459 million downpayment was provided though the FY 2023 disaster supplemental. SSTI is working with other technology and innovation organizations to encourage Congress to act and fund the program through annual appropriations, supplemental funding, and the proceeds of spectrum auctions—a new means that would be made possible by the Senate’s Spectrum and National Security Act. If you represent or participated in one of the 370 regions that applied originally or want to compete for funding in future solicitations, sign on to a joint letter by November 12. The letter can be found here with the form to sign here. The $541 million provided to date was just enough for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to launch the initial program. Consortia representing 370 regions applied, from which EDA designated 31 as Regional Tech Hubs in 2023. The agency is now in the process of finalizing implementation awards to 12…

Last week, as the SSTI Board considered the year that is ahead, the Board asked Dan Berglund to reconsider his decision from earlier in the year to step down. While the election results are uncertain, one certainty now is there will be a change in presidential administration. The Board felt it was important for the field for Berglund to guide the organization through one more presidential transition-- this will now be his fifth. Presidential transitions and possible changes in party control of the House and Senate represent windows of opportunity for our field-- to explain what we do, the impact we're having and the resources needed to have greater impact. “I see the potential impact we can have and am excited about the opportunity this next year presents. To best achieve that impact, we're splitting the President & CEO role into two positions,” said Berglund. As President, Berglund will continue to lead SSTI as he has since its founding in 1996. He will also be the staff lead for SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council. The new position of CEO is being filled by SSTI's long-time second-in-command, Mark Skinner. Skinner will report to Berglund…

Growing your local or state economy through innovation and technology-based economic development most often feels like a full-sprint ultramarathon. It doesn't help that so many external influences on how you do your job seem to change the rules and landscape thrown at you all the time. Take Nov 5, for example. You need a break! But you also need time to pause, think, and strategize with your teammates for the coming year. There is a way to achieve both simultaneously, and I love it! More... SSTI's annual conference, December 10-12, is set within the beautiful property of the Gila River Indian Community at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass. The conference component of your trip is designed with a focus on the future, allowing you and your team to interact with like-minded people from across the country, taking the time to prepare for 2025 and all it might entail--together. The desert setting also provides an escape from your day-to-day grind to take in inspiration, relax, refresh and re-energize.  Affordably priced, easily accessible from most airports in the country, and heavily discounted beautiful resort accommodations--all…

Congress authorized $10 billion over five years for regional tech hubs to improve America’s competitiveness and regional economies. To date, Congress has appropriated only $541 million for the program—just 5% of the authorized level—of which a $459 million downpayment was provided though the FY 2023 disaster supplemental. SSTI is working with other technology and innovation organizations to encourage Congress to act and fund the program through annual appropriations, supplemental funding, and the proceeds of spectrum auctions—a new means that would be made possible by the Senate’s Spectrum and National Security Act. If you represent or participated in one of the 370 regions that applied originally or want to compete for funding in future solicitations, sign on to a joint letter by November 1. The letter can be found here with the form to sign here. The $541 million provided to date was just enough for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to launch the initial program. Consortia representing 370 regions applied, from which EDA designated 31 as Regional Tech Hubs in 2023. The agency is now in the process of finalizing implementation awards to 12…

While both gross domestic product (GDP) and population have steadily increased across the United States over the last decade, the growth of business enterprise R&D (BERD) expenditures has surged ahead at an even faster pace. Nationwide, BERD as a percentage of GDP has jumped over 0.75 percentage points over the past decade, rising from 1.91% in 2013 to 2.66% in 2022, while BERD per capita has more than doubled from approximately $1,020 to $2,075 over the same time. This edition of Useful Stats will explore in depth the varied changes in BERD intensity metrics at the national and state levels over the most recent decade of available data. The data used in this article is from the most BERD survey for business R&D values and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis for GDP and population.   National overview of BERD intensity metrics While prior SSTI analysis of BERD survey data has found large increases in domestic business R&D performance over the past decade, it is important to contextualize this growth within the bigger picture of the U.S. economy. Just because a given metric is on the rise does not necessarily mean that it is becoming…

The Treasury Department has recently approved an additional $106 million in SSBCI dollars for tribal governments: $102 million as part of the Capital Program and $4 million as part of the Technical Assistance (TA) Grant Program. With this most recent wave of announcements, and including two $2 million Small Business Opportunity Program (SBOP) awards made to tribal governments, Treasury has now approved applications for over $520 million in overall SSBCI dollars to tribal governments. All information used in this article is from Treasury’s most recent October 2024 program approval documents for the Capital Program and TA Program and Treasury press releases. The information below and more can be found on SSTI’s SSBCI Information Page.   Tribal government Capital Program overview The most recent wave of tribal government Capital Program awards, announced October, 2024 represents just over $102 million of SSBCI capital across nine awardees operating 11 programs—two equity/venture capital and nine credit support, as classified by SSTI. Treasury awarded the bulk of this total, $86.8 million, to the Cherokee Nation to operate two loan…

The Office of Strategic Capital within the U.S. Department of Defense announced the availability of $984 million for equipment financing for projects to develop critical technologies. Companies can have their loans sponsored by another public or nonprofit entity, which appears to be a means of supplementing applications from companies that are otherwise too new or financially risky. Loan applications will be available from January 2 to February 3, 2025, and the office anticipates making 10 loans from $10-$150 million. Whether the terms will offer any benefits beyond capital access (e.g., low interest rates) is unclear, but the announcement provides many other details about the program. Technology covered by the loans can be in one of 31 “critical” categories, which range from advanced manufacturing to quantum sensing. Funded projects are intended to advance America’s national security or economic interests and to attract private capital to tech with public interest. Individual loan evaluation criteria[1] include information about the degree to which likely purchasers of the specific technology product and any partners in the project, with an apparent preference for…

Are you tired of your organization's impact going unnoticed? Join our webinar to discover how to use compelling, attention-grabbing impact reports to tell your success stories in a way that resonates with funders, media, and the public. You’ll hear from three types of organizations with three very different funding models. Our expert panel will share real-world examples of TBED organizations using impact reports to secure funding, boost media coverage, strengthen partnerships, and elevate their reputation. Learn how to highlight the long-term value of your initiatives, use various communication channels to reach a wider audience, and avoid common pitfalls and maximize the impact of your reports. Don't miss this opportunity to take your TBED organization to the next level. Register now for our TBED Community of Practice webinar on Maximizing visibility: leveraging impact reports for TBED success. Speakers include President & CEO, Arkansas Research Alliance Bryan Barnhouse; Director, Muskegon Innovation Hub at Grand Valley State University Kevin Ricco; and Director of Marketing & Communication, South Carolina Research Authority…

Despite recent attacks on affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion, the TBED community continues to work toward broadening participation in innovation driven growth. This continuing attention may be attributable—as stated in the recently released report Tech Equity in Action—to the practical knowledge among TBED practitioners that “(e)fforts to grow local economies are hampered when sizable portions of the population are left out of this high-growth sector.” The report, published by the New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN), provides practical advice for TBED professionals who want to continue to ensure their projects are equitable and inclusive. “Put frankly, whether one calls it DEI or not, the work must be done,” Mark Skinner, SSTI’s executive vice president, said. “Regions cannot ignore the urgent need for greater involvement in innovation among more of their population to achieve long-term competitiveness and sustained economic growth.” Skinner added, “How one accomplishes that is an integral focus of our conference agenda in December.” More on SSTI’s annual conference, to be held Dec 10-12 in Metro Phoenix, is available here. NGIN…

Even though women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, their involvement in critical occupations going forward does not reflect that. For instance, in 2021, they only constituted 35% of environmental engineers, 17% of civil engineers, and 9% of mechanical engineers, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau analyzed by the Society of Women Engineers. Additionally, the Pew Research Center reported in 2021 that “Women account for 25% of those working in computer occupations. The share of women in this fast-growing occupation cluster declined from 2000 to 2016 and has remained stable” through at least through 2021, the end date of their study.  Furthermore, according to Women in STEM, 2023, “At the current pace, we will not see equal representation in STEM until the year 2070.” The Girls' Index™: Girls & STEM Impact Report, conducted by Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX) and supported by Battelle, aims to provide insight into the root causes of women’s lagging numbers in pursuing STEM occupations. The study, which surveyed 17,502 girls in 5th through 12th grade, is the largest national survey to do so. The Index suggests that girls' lag in pursuing…

Innovation spreads, but how far can it reach? A new study finds that firms operating in multiple tech clusters act as conduits, transmitting knowledge and boosting productivity across distant locations. However, certain types of firms are better at it—and benefit more readily—than others. This insight, from a recent National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper, “Innovation Spillovers across U.S. Tech Clusters,” challenges our understanding of how innovation benefits spread geographically. Combining patent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with confidential plant-level data from U.S. Census Bureau surveys from 1976 to 2018, the NBER researchers investigated the extent and impact of innovation spillovers between tech clusters. They focused on manufacturing firms with inventors producing patents in the same technological field across multiple plants. The analysis revealed substantial variation in the degree of interconnectedness: the most connected plants had links to an average of 11.3 clusters, exposing them to the knowledge of more than 8,000 inventors. In contrast, the least connected plants were tied to just one cluster, with only 32 outside…

As a part of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)’s Technical Assistance (TA) Program, the Treasury Department has announced 14 Small Business Opportunity Program (SBOP) awards to 12 states and two Tribal governments, each ranging from $1.6 to $10 million, totaling $75 million. SSBCI’s TA program is divided into two major programs: the TA Grant program and SBOP. The TA Grant program is an allocation formula-based grant program for which all eligible jurisdictions having submitted complete and approvable applications are generally recommended for funding. SBOP, however, is a competitive grant program for which only certain applications are selected for approval based on evaluation criteria specified in the NOFO. This information and more can be found in the SBOP FAQs. Note: The nationwide injection of nearly $10 billion from SSBCI has fundamentally transformed finance in most of the country outside the usual regional suspects for tech, innovation and entrepreneurship. Interested Digest readers are invited to join Treasury officials and SSBCI program participants gathering at SSTI’s annual conference Dec. 10-12 to discuss TA, program updates and…