SSTI Digest

The GRA Venture Fund LLC, the private investment fund for companies originating from the Georgia Research Alliance's commercialization programs, has added another $25 million in venture capital. This latest round of funding brings the fund's total investment capital to $45 million. The fund currently has 10 portfolio companies. Combined, these 10 companies have collectively raised more than $241 million and have created over 400 jobs in the state of Georgia. To learn more about the GRA Venture Fund, LLC, visit www.graventurefund.org.

Forty-one states are spending less per student than before the 2008 recession, according to a recent study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. As a result, more of the burden of higher education costs is being passed on to students, putting college out of reach for many. With state budgets still tight, many states are experimenting with new ways to make a college education accessible to all students.

Georgia lawmakers have approved a $40 billion FY16 state budget (HB 76), which is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Nathan Deal. The governor has line-item veto authority over the final document, but most appropriations related to innovation and economic development are consistent with the governor's proposed levels.

Georgia's Department of Economic Development would receive about $30.8 million in state funds under the accepted budget. Within the department, the Global Commerce office and its programs would receive $10.3 million. Innovation and Technology would receive $1.5 million, a large decrease from FY15 due to the transfer of funding for the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) from Innovation and Technology to the state's Board of Regents.

Three research-focused economic development organizations have released reports over the course of the last month detailing their progress in supporting economic growth, innovation, and beyond. The University of Massachusetts, the Georgia Research Alliance, and the Virginia Center for Innovative Technologies each use a different approach to measure their success and to communicate their impact to external stakeholders. The variety of releases demonstrates the range of approaches that organizations use to provide useful data in a format that attracts attention to their achievements.

In case you missed it, the midterm elections were on Tuesday, resulting in Republicans taking control of Congress, several new governors, and five states endorsing minimum wage increases. Although the 146 state ballot measures up for vote were a quarter-century low, several proposals were relevant to the TBED community, as highlighted in a Digest article last week. Voters ultimately approved many of these proposals, although initiatives related to higher-education in North Dakota and Oregon both failed. 

On November 4, 42 states will vote on 146 ballot issues across a wide array of issues. In addition to initiatives on gun control, bear baiting, and the minimum wage, several initiatives relevant to the TBED community are also up for decision. SSTI has gathered information on many of these and will discuss their results after next week’s elections.

This article is part of SSTI's series on trends in state technology-based economic development legislation in 2014. Read our other entries covering legislative action on patent reform, research capacity, capital & tax credits, workforce & STEM and manufacturing & clusters.

This is part two of a two-part series on the effects of policy dynamics on university innovation and focuses on state polices in three Southern U.S. states; part one focused on national policies from OECD nations.

State leaders often cite publicly supported innovation infrastructure as investments in jobs of the future. When targeted and executed smartly, such investments can spur job growth over the long-term and help advance technology commercialization. Lawmakers in Georgia and Kansas recently passed budgets that include funding to support high-tech research facilities and similar measures are pending in several other states. The University of Georgia (UGA) is slated to receive nearly $45 million for a Science Learning Center and, in Kansas, the legislature approved $2 million for creation of a new Innovation Campus aimed at attracting technology jobs.

UGA’s Science Learning Center is a 122,500-square-foot facility that will replace current science buildings and increase lab space for students. Construction is expected to start this summer and be completed by 2016. Another $5 million will help equip a new cancer research building at Georgia Regents University in Augusta.

Aligning industry needs with workforce training has gained renewed focus in states and emerged as a national priority. This week, President Obama announced two grant programs totaling $600 million in existing funds that challenge academic institutions and businesses to design job training for the globalized economy and set industry-recognized standards.

The grant programs fall into two categories. The first challenge is part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance and Community College and Career Training competitive grant program that supports community colleges in preparing dislocated workers. Under the new initiative, the Department of Labor invites applications for training programs that respond to employer demand and create pathways from entry-level positions to more advanced positions. Funding for the $500 million competition is prioritized toward partnerships that include industry associations that help in designing the program and implementing industry-recognized credentials.

Investments and policy to support innovation-focused agendas have flourished with the close of the 2014 legislative sessions in several states. Crowdfunding legislation, incentives for attracting talent, higher education affordability, punishing patent trolls, and encouraging greater accountability are some of the areas where lawmakers focused their efforts.

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program recently awarded $2.5 million for five pilot projects to improve small U.S. manufacturers' supply chain competitiveness and foster their readiness to adopt advanced technologies. The projects will be led by MEP centers and bring together teams of experts in specific technology areas. MEP centers in California, Georgia, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin each will receive approximately $500,000 for the pilot efforts, which, in most cases, involve partners in other states. Read the announcement…