SSTI Digest

The U.S. Economic Development Administration and Harvard Business School have unveiled a new website that provides easy-to-navigate, granular data on U.S. economic clusters. The project aims to strengthen regional and national competitiveness by providing up-to-date, high-quality data on the economic performance of regions across the U.S. Users can browse a cluster dashboard, which maps out the strength of specific industries by region, or receive in-depth economic data on a particular region. In addition, the site provides a guide to organizations and businesses that are supporting cluster growth in their local economies. View the project…

Tuesday, June 17 is the final day to submit your application for the 2014 Excellence in TBED awards. Awards are presented in six categories representing the various approaches found in thriving, innovation-based economies. Tell us how your work to encourage economic growth is impacting your region, and you may be invited to share your success and present best practices to a national audience in Chicago, September 14-16. Learn more and apply: http://www.sstiawards.org/.

Between December 2007 and February 2010, the manufacturing sector loss 2.3 million jobs, according to the Department of Commerce. This drastic decline accounted for about one-quarter of the negative shock experienced during those 26 months and the loss in manufacturing represented one-half the decline in U.S. GDP. In the aftermath of this decline, both public and private sector leaders began to search desperately for ways to stop the bleeding. A new Commerce report, Manufacturing Since the Great Recession, indicates that we may have found some success in halting the hemorrhage.

With nearly $10 million in additional funding for the upcoming year, the public-private Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC) will receive a boost in support for core programs and new resources to administer early stage business grants. MTC invests in emerging high-tech companies with a focus on bioscience industries.

Massachusetts continues to reign as the U.S. state best prepared to meet the challenges of the current and future global economy, according to the sixth edition of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s (ITIF) State New Economy Index. The Index, which has been released periodically since 1999, ranks state economies using 25 indicators in five categories to evaluate the degree to which they are knowledge-based, entrepreneurial, globalized, IT-driven and innovation-based.  Delaware, California, Washington and Maryland round out the top five states.

Tasked with taking the Small Business Administration (SBA) to the next level, Maria Contreras Sweet, the new head of the agency, envisions a modern SBA with a greater focus on inclusion. Contreras Sweet outlined steps to achieve her vision earlier this week in a speech at the Center for American Progress.

NASA is looking to U.S. universities to explore transformative space technologies and help the agency advance its plans for exploration to deep space and Mars. The agency will make up to 12 awards totaling $500,000 each this fall with R&D efforts taking place over two to three years. Notices of intent to submit proposals are due June 24.

National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins has accepted recommendations from an NIH working group that call for increased investment in the federal government’s effort to map and understand the human brain. Under the recommended plan, the initiative would receive $400 million each year between 2016-20, which would grow to $500 million a year for 2021-25. The BRAIN Initiative is a multi-agency effort, supported by NIH, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation and Food and Drug Administration. NIH has announced that BRAIN Initiative funding for FY14 will total $40 million. Read the report…

In a recent Pacific Institute and Vox Global survey, about 80 percent of U.S. companies reported that water availability has become an issue for their business, particularly among firms in the South and Southwestern regions of the country. About 63 percent said water issues would affect their future location decisions, and more than half reported that they expected water scarcity to impact their growth and profitability over the next five years. This year’s Global Risks report from the World Economic Forum, ranked water concerns as the third greatest risk to the global economy, separate from and ranked above climate change and extreme weather events.  In recognition of these developments, Michigan’s University Research Corridor institutions have begun highlighting their work in the water economy.

In recent years, national polices supporting university-led innovation have shifted from the linear, science-push model to a model that supports an interactive, reciprocal process of knowledge transfer between industry and university through research parks, university-industry research projects, etc. As these new national polices mature, academic researchers are starting to examine the effectiveness of university-focused policies on spurring innovation and their impact on economic development. A recently released study examines the effectiveness national polices in leading Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries in spurring university-led innovation and the impact of these policies on social and economic development.

Last year, 108 unique institutional funders made a total of 260 investments in North Carolina companies, according to a report from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development. The 2013 Innovators Report details the $461 million in equity investments, grants and awards received by firms, including support from venture investors, angel networks, foundations, federal agencies, competitions, crowdfunding and other sources. Life sciences firms generated the most activity with $275 million in 134 deals, driven by the biopharmaceutical industry. Technology firms secured $117 million in 106 deals. The report identifies the location of the state’s funding institutions, with the largest number based in North Carolina (26), followed by the Northeast (24) and the Mid-Atlantic (14). Read the report…

A project underway between IBM and Louisiana State University’s School of Engineering aims to better meet employer needs by tripling the number of computer science graduates in five years. Hoping to generate more partnerships like these, lawmakers approved legislation supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal that allows colleges and universities to compete for funds in an effort to produce graduates in high-demand areas. A smaller percentage of the funds distributed under the new Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy (WISE) Fund will be based on federally funded research expenditures.