SSTI Digest

An Aug 22 Readwrite post drew our attention to a potential “peak app” period arising. That wasn’t the intended conclusion of the ComScore, Inc. according to the authors of the white paper, The U.S. Mobile App Report. The report’s focus is on how much of the digital media market is dominated by mobile devices so companies should direct more of their advertising budgets here. There are a few compelling stats, though, that should have many in the accelerator, co-work, and weekend/bootcamp/competitions wondering about the future viability of all of the new app-oriented startups we’re encouraging people to create. 

Most R&D expenditures are concentrated across just a handful of states, according to recent NSF data on how research and development is funded in the United States.  In 2011, nearly two-thirds of all research and development expenditures came from private sources. In the wake of the nation’s federal stimulus package that saw an upswing in government spending on research and development, most states are beginning to rely more on innovation that stems from R&D conducted and paid for by private sources rather than the federal government.

Minnesota’s economic future may well be rooted in its historic leadership in agricultural production, according to a new report prepared by Battelle, Agbioscience as a Development Driver: Minnesota Agbioscience Strategy. The report includes an assessment of Minnesota’s key capacities and opportunities in agricultural research and a suggested strategy for the state with a specific focus on growing the state’s agricultural bioscience (agbioscience) research infastructure. After interviewing more than 100 researchers and research administrators, the authors identified four agbioscience research platform areas to target:

U.S. state tax revenues declined for the first time since the recent economic crisis, according to reports from the Rockefeller Institute of Government and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The small drop in revenues is not being viewed as a sign of another fiscal collapse, but does indicate that the recovery may be slowing. For the 26 states in which revenues still have not returned to 2008 levels, the slowdown may suggest that a full recovery could still be years away.

The Rockefeller Institute notes that state tax collections began to soften in the second half of 2013, leading revenues to decline in the first quarter of 2014 for the first time since the end of 2009. After four years of uninterrupted quarterly growth, states reported an overall revenue decline of 0.3 percent. Preliminary data suggests that revenues may drop again in the second quarter, due to declining collection of personal income tax.  The decline was anticipated by many because of a scheduled increase in federal capital gains tax rates, according to Pew and Rockefeller.

Bloomberg Philanthropies will award $45 million in grants to large U.S. city governments to help improve urban life. Specifically, the foundation hopes to encourage the adoption of the “Innovation Delivery” model in big cities, an approach that relies on in-house innovation consultancy within city halls to deliver data-driven solutions to urban problems. Bloomberg and Nesta released a report on the model earlier this year. The foundation has invited 80 cities to apply. Eligible applicants must have more than 100,000 residents and mayors with at least two years left in office. Awardees will be selected in the fall and will receive $250,000 to $1 million annually over three years. Learn more…

As a wave of new freshmen begins to enter the halls of college campuses, a new trend is emerging – students staying. While the idea of students staying an extra year or two might make some parents cringe, in reality, college towns have proven to be an ideal environment not just for young people, but for young companies as well. Student entrepreneurs are becoming a critical component of regional innovation ecosystems, and as a result, universities and their respective cities throughout the country are focusing not only on growing and cultivating their companies, but also on retaining them.

Recent memoranda issued by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology policy include the support of lab-to-market technology commercialization as a key pillar of cross-agency spending for the upcoming fiscal year.  The White House instructs agencies to explain how resources are being redirected from low priority efforts to multi-agency collaborations in specific fields, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, earth observation, global climate change, information technology, life sciences, homeland security and research policy-making. The memos encourage the expansion of efforts to boost the economic impact of federally funded research. Read the memos…

About 70 percent of 2011 U.S. business R&D spending occurred in 10 states, according to a report from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). California leads the country in overall business R&D, and nearly every top industry.  Both the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland and Los Angeles-Long Beach area rank in the top three areas for business research.  Other top states include Washington, with high spending on software R&D, and Texas, a leader in semiconductor and mining research. Read the InfoBrief…

To compete in the global world market, regions must continue to evolve and better understand how best practices support their regional industries, including defining the benchmarks of a successful industry cluster. In a recent academic article from Harvard researchers, Mercedes Delgado, Michael Porter, and Scott Stern unveiled a new algorithm tool that generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions. The new algorithm will be integrated into the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project to help researchers and policymakers cultivate more successful regional clusters.

Funded by a grant from the Economic Development Administration, authors announced the tool – a new clustering algorithm that generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions – in a new research study that includes details on the tool, the findings of study, and recommendations for the tools use.

In one of his first appearances at a national economic development conference, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams will address SSTI's Annual Conference on September 15 in Chicago.

As the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), Williams is charged with leading the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the global economy.

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, he served as the Executive Director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers and served as the Mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, from 2006 to August 1, 2011.

Global investors are more confident investing in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, according to a recent survey from Deloitte and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).  Confidence in the U.S. macroeconomy and U.S. investments has now grown for the third straight year and continues to lead among the 12 countries included in the study. Respondents, however, indicated that they had a negative opinion of the country’s investment policy environment. U.S. investors have the lowest confidence of any country in their government’s ability to enact policies favorable to domestic investment.

The 2014 Deloitte/NVCA survey incorporated data from 331 venture capital, private equity and growth equity general partners in 17 countries, polled in May and June 2014. About one quarter of participating investors were based in the U.S. Respondents were asked to assign a one-to-five rating to their confidence level on a number of investment-related topics, including global economic trends, national economic prospects, and industry sectors.

The National Governor’s Association (NGA) announced that it will provide grants, technical assistance and opportunities to align education and training systems with private sector needs in 14 states. Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia have been selected to receive support to build industry and education partnerships and optimize their workforce-oriented incentives. Example uses of the support include the launch of the Washington STEM Education Innovation Alliance and continued support for Iowa’s workforce development programs.

Learn the details…