SSTI Digest

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.

Two private venture firms have committed to raising a total of $125 million to invest in rural, early stage startups under the Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Investment Program. The program was launched last April, when Advantage Capital Partners launched the first $150 million Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) fund. Two new RBIC funds are now being raised by Innovation Memphis ($25 million) and Meritus Kirchner Capital ($100 million) to make targeting equity investments in rural businesses with high-growth potential. Learn more...

A new website, Resources for Transitioning Economies, has been created to assist those interested in diversifying and strengthening their local economies, with an emphasis on county and regional leaders in coal-reliant communities. As part of a cooperative agreement between the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), with support from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation, the website features resources produced by public, private, and nonprofit organizations across three different categories: publications, tools and training, and funding and organizations.

The resource portal serves as a companion to a series of intensive, hands-on workshops to be held throughout 2015. Teams will participate in a competitive process to earn spots at the training workshops.

As a whole, research produced in the U.S. is cited 49 percent more than the world average, according to a new report by the academic publishing company Elsevier in partnership with the Council of State Governments (CSG). In a data-driven assessment of each state’s comparative knowledge economy advantages based on the research they conduct and the knowledge they produce, America’s Knowledge Economy: A State-by-State Review outlines a process to help policymakers and other decision makers identify where states have research strengths and where they can improve. A ranking of states along select indicators of research performance can be found in the appendices of the report, though Elsevier and CSG also created state profiles containing information on the amount and types of publications in each state, comparative research advantages, citation impact tendencies, and other individualized characteristics.

State Treasurer Janet Cowell announced a second North Carolina Innovation Fund (NCIF), a $250 million commitment to North Carolina-centered companies. Approximately $165 million will be designated to make co-investments in growth stage companies with the potential for a risk-adjusted, high return on investment (ROI) – 20 percent ROI. The second NCIF will make targeted investments into a diverse set of industries that include key sector identified by the state as growth sectors. The remaining funds, approximately $83 million, will have a multi-stage investment focus (e.g., venture, growth, buyout, and mezzanine funding), according to the Triangle Business Journal.

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) announced the establishment of a consortium for research and innovation that is intended to have a long-term positive economic impact on the region. The 35-member consortium will be comprised of universities and other private and public institutions in eight states – Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. DRA selected Arkansas State University to lead the consortium and bring together university research officers and local economic development leadership to support the commercialization efforts and economic impacts of research universities in the DRA's footprint. Founding members of the consortium include Delta State University, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University, Southeast Missouri State University, University of Memphis and University of Tennessee at Martin. Read the announcement…

In 2010, 16.5 million individuals indicated that their job required at least a bachelor's degree level in a STEM field, according to a new report by the National Science Board (NSB) – Revisiting the STEM Workforce.  These positions included many positions that are not traditional thought of as STEM jobs such as sales, marketing, and management. Drawing on its biennial Science and Engineering Indicators report, the NSB's latest report uses data to highlight the growing need for STEM knowledge and skills in the U.S. economy and the importance of developing consensus definition for STEM positions that includes employees across a wide swath of disciplines and job arenas, possessing everything from non-degree certifications to Ph.D.s in STEM fields. The report also includes recommendations to strengthen the U.S. stem workforce via inclusion, workforce and education initiatives that bring together leaders from government, education and business.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced $3 million in planning assistance to communities impacted, or which may be impacted, by contractions in the coal economy.  The funds were made available in part due to the newly established Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) initiative, a new interagency effort to assist communities negatively impacted by changes in the coal industry and power sector. The funds are intended to help communities develop strategies that diversify their economies; create jobs in new or existing industries; attract new sources of job-creating investment; and/or, provide a range of workforce services that result in industry-recognized credentials for high-quality, in-demand jobs.  Funding will be available until the $3 million is expended or September 30, 2015. The lead applicant may be a U.S. state, local government, institutions of higher education, or nonprofit organization. Read the Federal Funding Announcement…

Veolia, The Water Council, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation have reached an agreement to launch the emPowering Opportunities in Water (POW!) program – a two-year national competition to support entrepreneurship and economic development while fostering sustainability efforts in the field of water. Sometime this year, Veolia, a leading water and wastewater treatment company, and The Water Council should issue a nationwide challenge to fast-track water-related ideas by entrepreneurs and startups revolving around specific areas of interest.  Startups that have the highest likelihood of solving the challenge, will be chosen to enter the program that will be housed at The Water Council’s Global Water Center located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Read the announcement…

Over the past few months, SSTI has followed proposals issued by governors in their budget requests, State of the State Addresses, Inaugural Speeches and other events. Now that many state legislatures have begun approving budgets, the Digest will check on the status of these proposals, and examine the state of technology-based economic development funding in the states. This week, we review actions in Alaska, Colorado and Indiana.

Alaska
The Alaskan legislature reached a fiscal year 2016 operating budget agreement earlier this week (HB 72), but were unable to close a $3 billion gap. Gov. Bill Walker convened a special session on Wednesday to demand that lawmakers find a way to balance the budget.

Under the current agreement, legislators allocated $3 million for economic development and $11.5 million for an eighth round of renewable energy project grants through the Alaska Energy Authority.

As a component of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Skills for Business initiative, The Communities That Work Partnership is a new joint project aimed at accelerating industry-led workforce development and training efforts.  The partnership will competitively select six groups from across the country comprised of industry, government, education, workforce, and economic development leaders, each of which is pursuing employer-driven talent development strategies that promote economic growth and opportunity in their regions. Through a $500,000 grant from DOC’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative (AspenWSI) will lead the initiative, providing technical assistance and leadership development resources.

A webinar for prospective applicants will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Monday, May 15^th. Interested participants can register here.

Although the benefits of basic research are often misunderstood due to their lack of immediate payoff, a new report by the MIT Committee to Evaluate the Innovation Deficit finds that this research is of the utmost importance in sustaining U.S. economic competitiveness. In The Future Postponed: Why Declining Investment in Basic Research Threatens a U.S. Innovation Deficit, the authors, MIT faculty members from a variety of fields,  provide numerous examples of how basic research benefits have helped to shape and maintain U.S. economic power, as well as a number of tangible cases of under-exploited areas for future innovation. Given that recent notable scientific achievements, such as landing on a comet or the development of the world’s fastest supercomputer, were led by international competitors, the report urges for continued government role in spurring innovation and a long-term approach to viewing R&D activities.