SSTI Digest

Recent doctoral recipients who enter the private sector are more likely to go to firms with high payrolls per worker and other business characteristics associated with high productivity, according to a new report – Wrapping it up in a person: Examining employment and earnings outcomes for Ph.D. recipients. Published in a recent edition of Science, the authors found that 38 percent of federally and non-federally funded doctoral recipients enter the private sector within one year of graduation – approximately 57 percent remained in industry and four percent enter the public sector.  

Around the country, states are beginning to feel the fiscal impacts of falling oil prices.  In FY 2016, eight states enacted FY 2016 budgets below their FY 2008 levels, largely as a result of challenges associated with their oil and gas industry, according to the Fiscal Survey of States report by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO). Similarly, a quarterly update of gross domestic product (GDP) by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis finds that mining subtracted from growth in 49 states during the second quarter of 2015.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $2.25 billion in economic and community development awards as part of the fifth installment of the state’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Initiative. Of this total, $1.5 billion over the next five years will go to the three regions (Central New York, Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier) that were selected as the winners of the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. While the proposals receiving awards vary greatly across region, several TBED-related initiatives are seeded through the governor’s funding.

The National Governors Association’s (NGA) Center for Best Practices launched the 2016 Policy Academy on Scaling Work-Based Learning – a pilot program in six states that blends work experience and applied learning to develop youth and young adults’ foundational and technical skills to expand their education, career and employment opportunities. The goal of the program is to connect 16- to 29-year-olds with middle-skills career opportunities in STEM-intensive industries such as advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology and energy. The six states that will take part in the 18-month pilot program include Indiana, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah, and Washington.  Read the press release: http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/2015--news-releases/col2-content/states-look-to-increase-career.default.html. 

A number of governors around the U.S. have already begun rolling out budget proposals for the next legislative session. This week, SSTI examines gubernatorial spending recommendations related to research, commercialization, STEM education and entrepreneurship in Alaska, South Dakota and Utah. See our previous article on proposals in Florida and Wyoming.

AlaskaGov. Bill Walker released a $4.8 billion budget plan for fiscal year 2017, along with details of his administration’s plan to achieve long-term financial stability. The state’s budget would again be streamlined to address a $3.5 billion deficit resulting from the decline in oil prices and production, but Gov. Walker has also proposed a more extensive set of structural adjustments. Under the New Sustainable Alaska Plan, the state would reduce spending, restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund, institute the first personal income tax in more than 30 years, and pursue a natural gas pipeline project.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a suite of new policies and investments aimed at catalyzing the nation’s economy through science, innovation and entrepreneurship. The National Innovation and Science Plan would fund university research, invest in K-12 and university STEM programs, limit the financial risks of entrepreneurship, invest in technology commercialization programs, and introduce a new class of visa for entrepreneurs. The changes would also enable equity-based crowdfunding and provide tax credits for early stage investment. Learn more…

Bank or venture capital (VC) financing? This is one of the toughest questions that aspiring entrepreneurs and small firms must answer. A recent academic study contends that VC financing may be the superior financing structure for early stage capital. However, several other studies contend that both bank and VC financing can help create and grow successful startups. For potential entrepreneurs, each provides strengths and weaknesses that are highlighted in the studies.

In many industrialized countries, including the U.S., government spending on research and development (R&D) has stagnated since the beginning of the decade. A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlights this trend, noting that overall government R&D spending in the group’s 34 member countries has reverted to levels at the beginning of the century. Recent data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) reveals that U.S. government spending grew modestly in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, but not enough to offset substantial losses in the early part of the decade.

Overwhelming majorities of voters across the nation and in key swing states support a comprehensive initiative designed to parlay the United States’ strong research base into greater economic prosperity and a higher quality of life for all. These findings come from a new survey conducted for the Innovation Advocacy Council, an initiative of SSTI, by the bipartisan team of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and TargetPoint Consulting.

After learning about the new Innovative Science & Technology for Economic Prosperity (iSTEP) initiative, 89 percent of voters say they would support the effort, which would convert scientific and medical research into new businesses and jobs, bringing the benefits of the innovation economy to the American people. Support is higher among likely voters who live in presidential election battleground states (92 percent). The iSTEP initiative garners strong support across party lines, reaching 91 percent among Democrats and 86 percent among Republicans.

As universities become increasingly interested in the economic development dimension of their missions, it may be appropriate to consider entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology-based economic development activities in faculty advancement decisions, according to a new report from an Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) task force.

Between the second quarters of 2014 and 2015, consumer spending significantly slowed, according to research from the JP Morgan Chase Institute. The institute used data from credit and debit card transactions to track spending in 15 major U.S. metropolitan areas. They found that most of the slowdown could be attributed to decreased spending among consumers 65 and older, and among middle- and high-income consumers. Also, while consumer spending declined among all businesses, larger businesses reduced their spending by a larger margin. The researchers conclude that the strong and diverse growth apparent in these cities in 2013, had stagnated in 2014 and early 2015. Read the report…

The California Community College Board of Governors unanimously approved a comprehensive workforce development plan to coordinate efforts across its 113-college system to help California close its considerable job skills gap, which is defined as the state needing one million workers credentialed for middle-skill jobs. The new plan includes 25 recommendations across seven areas of workforce development: student success; career pathways; workforce data and outcomes; curriculum; CTE faculty; regional coordination; and, funding. The recommendations are to help ensure a state-wide workforce with relevant skills and quality credentials that meet the needs of the state’s employers. The recommendations were developed by a 26-member Task Force comprised of individuals from inside the community college system and representatives of business, labor and equity groups.