SSTI Digest

The Economic Development Administration has released the 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Build to Scale program. With $50 million in available funding, the program continues to support regional commercialization, entrepreneurship, and capital formation efforts. This year’s competition, however, comes with a restructured application process and updated evaluation criteria. Key changes for 2024 The most significant change for 2024 is the consolidation of the Venture, Capital, and Ignite challenges into a single “Implementation Challenge.” This new format streamlines the application process by allowing organizations to submit one comprehensive proposal that includes related activities instead of separate applications for each challenge. Additionally, the maximum award has increased to $5 million. However, with EDA planning to make 40-50 awards, applicants should expect an average award amount below the $5 million cap. This year’s NOFO also features updated scoring criteria. While core themes like leveraging ecosystem resources and growing innovation economies remain central, repeat applicants should note the multiple changes to scoring…

Ohio recently awarded more than $97 million for the Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub in Toledo, the onMain Innovation Hub in Dayton, and the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub in Akron. These hubs are part of the recently created a $125 million Ohio Innovation Hubs Program. The program is “designed to make Ohio a national leader in innovation, creating new jobs and business opportunities by supporting world-class research in industry-aligned platforms that build upon Ohio’s existing legacy industries and research strengths,” according to the Ohio Department of Development which administers the program. The Ohio Innovation Hubs Program’s $31.25 million award to fund the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub project, led by the Polymer Industry Cluster, will be matched by $10.4 million from local partners. Approximately $25 million will support a Polymer Pilot Plant to scale, test, and prototype new materials. The remaining funds will be distributed to support work within the areas of R&D, workforce, startups, and staffing to support the longevity of the Polymer Industry Cluster. Over the next seven years, the Polymer Industry Cluster anticipates the…

Quantum technologies are revolutionizing sensors, computation, and communication, according to an article from the World Economic Forum. This reality is inspiring many states to build foundations for reaping the economic benefits of these technologies. This year, several states, including Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, South Carolina and South Dakota have passed legislation, provided new funding or have launched new quantum initiatives.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs offer opportunities for small businesses to innovate and secure federal funding for their ideas from eleven U.S. government agencies. Every state in the U.S. assists potential SBIR/STTR companies to increase their chances of success. SSTI has created a new SBIR/STTR resource guide that includes examples of state-level initiatives in four broad categories:  Proposal assistance and mentorship, Technical assistance and networking, Financial assistance, and Commercialization support In many states, some or all of the assistance programs are offered as part of the Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) program.  The resource guide includes a downloadable Excel file of all programs and their offerings. Additionally, there is a map to visualize which types of financial assistance are available in different states. Lastly, the guide provides examples by state of the different types of support programs available nationwide. The data in this resource guide is based on publicly available information as of the first quarter of 2024. SSTI…

With classes resuming for the fall term, SSTI continues its reflection on the state of higher education. In last week's issue, today's and next week's, we’re examining where higher ed has been and where it currently stands. The post-secondary education system is the cornerstone of the American innovation system—as an R&D performer, moving research into the marketplace, offering technical assistance to companies, and supplying a skilled workforce. The challenges are significant—eroding public support for universities, cuts to state funding during each economic downturn that takes years to recover, and burgeoning tuition and student debt.   In today’s issue, we consider public attitudes toward higher education and its value. Attitudes have changed over time, from thinking of a college education as something for the wealthy to thinking that all high school graduates should go to college and now back to a growing opinion that not everyone needs to go to college. We also consider different societal contexts that have influenced public attitudes toward higher education, such as the rising costs of attending, the expected return on investment, and political…

For the last 40 years, higher education has been the dominant performer of basic research in the United States, but there has been a slide in higher education’s share over the last 20 years as businesses have increased their performance of basic R&D (Figure 1). If the current trendline continues, businesses will soon surpass higher education as basic R&D performers and become the predominant basic R&D performer just as they have been in applied R&D for decades.

Public perceptions of higher education are complex and multifaceted. A Chronicle of Higher Education 2023 report found that while Americans believe in the value of a college credential, they are not convinced higher education is fulfilling its promise to society; nonetheless, many recent polls, surveys, and reports also conclude that people, whether they have a four-year degree or not, would advise others to pursue one. Respondents are mixed on whether they think four-year institutions do a good job educating their students—or that colleges and universities greatly benefit graduates. Alternatives like trade schools or community colleges appear to many Americans as a viable path to a successful livelihood. However, colleges’ value to communities and society draws skepticism. Overall, the Chronicle found that respondents felt higher education is important for individual attainment, but not necessarily for the greater good. Similarly to the Chronicle report,  a 2023 Gallup survey found that Americans’ confidence in higher education has fallen to 36%, sharply lower than in two previous readings in 2015 (57%) and 2018 (48%), with the greatest drop in confidence measured…

By 2031, 72 percent of jobs in the US will require postsecondary education and/or training, according to a 2023 report by Georgetown University. The authors contend, “Postsecondary education is no longer just the preferred pathway to middle-class jobs—it is, increasingly, the only pathway.” But the average cost of college tuition and fees at public four-year institutions has risen 179.2% over the last two decades, according to the Education Data Initiative  and a public seemingly less convinced about the worth of higher education,—two-year colleges, also referred to as community colleges or technical schools, are seen as a reliable alternative for a quality postsecondary education, and are valued for their affordability and accessibility to obtaining the degrees or credentials needed to ensure a dynamic and skilled national workforce.

With classes resuming for the fall term, SSTI thought now would be a good time to reflect on the state of higher education. In this issue and the September 5 issue, we’ll examine where higher ed has been and where it currently stands. The post-secondary education system is the cornerstone of the American innovation system—as R&D performer, moving research into the marketplace, offering technical assistance to companies, and supplying a skilled workforce. The challenges are significant—eroding public support for universities, cuts to state funding during each economic downturn that takes years to recover, and burgeoning tuition and student debt. In today’s issue, we consider the growth in educational attainment since 1990. While those stats are encouraging, when compared to how we stand internationally, it’s clear we have significant work to do to compete with other OECD countries. Then, we turn to trends over time with degrees that are being earned in five broad categories and at more detail in STEM fields. At the same time, we look at the move in recent years among corporations and states to remove degree requirements to open employment opportunities to…

Two-year colleges have gone through various changes in recent decades. The following are highlights of some of them. College enrollment Encouraging more people to attend or go back to college is a vital part of ensuring individual and national economic success, but with rising costs of attending traditional four-year colleges and a public seemingly less convinced about the worth of higher education, two-year colleges, also referred to as community colleges or technical schools, are seen as a reliable alternative for a quality postsecondary education, and are valued for their affordability and accessibility to obtaining the degrees or credentials needed to ensure a dynamic and skilled national workforce.

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) released Open for Business: Illinois' 2024 Economic Growth Plan, a comprehensive five-year plan to guide the state’s economic development priorities, strategies, and initiatives. It emphasizes innovation, focusing on burgeoning fields, such as quantum computing, and aims to nurture high-growth sectors like the life sciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing while providing a 21st-century workforce equipped to meet the demands of those rapidly evolving industries. The state’s new blueprint is the culmination of a research, planning, and stakeholder engagement process that involved participants and agencies from various aspects of the economic development ecosystem, including local communities and experts from a range of industries. The key components of Illinois' economic development plan are designed to create a robust and inclusive economy. The 2024 Economic Growth Plan is guided by four overarching economic development goals: Focus on high growth sectors and continue overall business climate improvements Advance comprehensive…

The educational landscape of the United States has undergone significant transformation over the past three decades, with the percentage of individuals 25 and older having earned a bachelor's degree steadily increasing since the 1990s. Nationwide, 20% of those aged at least 25 had a bachelor’s degree in 1990, while in 2021 this figure jumped to 38%. However, educational attainment varies greatly across states. Many states, such as Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, alongside 15 other states, fall above the national value of 38% in 2021. However, a total of 30 states fall beneath the national value. Below, Figure 1 maps out this data for select years between 1990 and 2021; clicking on any year beneath the title will adjust the data visualized. Note that all years operate under the same quintile scale, meaning that data points across all years were used to create five equal groupings, each representing a fifth of the data. Figure 1: Percentage of population aged 25+ with at least a bachelor’s degree   Washington, D.C. was excluded from Figure 1 due to its consistently higher values relative to the 50 states. In…