SSTI Digest

In the U.S. there is strong bi-partisan consensus that immigration is a key driver for entrepreneurship and regional competitiveness.  With federal immigration reform essentially shelved for 2014, cities and states are searching for their own solutions to attract and retain high-skilled immigrants. Proposals by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other policymakers represent new approaches to immigration reform that can support local entrepreneurship and regional economic development. House Speaker John Boehner has withdrawn Republican support for immigration reform in 2014, effectively ending any federal push to address the issue this year, according the Washington Post. The move comes in the wake of a nationally publicized request from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder for the federal government to allocate 50,000 EB-2 (high-skilled worker) visas over five years for exclusive use by the City of Detroit. While Detroit continues to suffer from the crippling effects of bankruptcy, there are plenty of high-tech and R&D-related jobs in the city that are going unfilled. Gov. Snyder, as well as civic leaders in Detroit, argue that investment in public education, arts,…

The sixth installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in New Hampshire and Wyoming. Read part I, part II, part III, part IV and part V.    New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, State of the State Address, Feb. 6, 2014 “And to help young people fill the jobs that growing businesses are creating here in New Hampshire, we need to come together as a state to ask tough questions about how we can best educate our young people, especially in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math. … “… For New Hampshire to lead the way in building a workforce that is prepared for the high-tech jobs of today and tomorrow, our schools need to provide an even more rigorous STEM education that our businesses believe in, our educators believe in, and our students and families believe in. “That is why I will be creating a STEM Education Task Force made up of diverse stakeholders who will make recommendations for modernizing STEM education in our schools. “Strengthening education in the STEM fields is just one part of the equation. New Hampshire…

UK Moves to Support Growing Social Innovation SectorThe United Kingdom (UK) recently announced that it will petition the European Commission, the European Union’s executive body, for permission to increase the size of tax relief for social investments that address significant social issues. The proposed plan would: Expand the options for indirect investment in social enterprises; Establish a government-run accreditation scheme for Social Impact Bonds eligible for social investment tax relief; and,  Make changes to community interest companies’ regulations to promote the strategy to investors and social enterprises. The proposed changes could spur up to £500 million (approximately $829.8 million USD) in social impact investments over the next five years. Read the announcement… These changes were among several recommendations from the Social Investment Roadmap. The government commissioned report outlined a process to further transform the UK into a global leader in social innovation and entrepreneurship. The proposed changes are the latest in a series of steps that the UK government has undertaken since David Cameron became…

In response to public comments on SBIR/STTR rule changes resulting from the National Defense Authorization Act for FY12, the Small Business Administration (SBA) amended its policy directives for the programs, including changes to eligibility and the award process. The amendments also involve minor clarifying changes to ensure participants better understand certain program requirements. SBA published a final SBIR policy directive on Aug. 6, 2012, implementing provisions of the Defense Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in December 2011. At that time, SBA asked for public input on the final directives, which made several key changes to eligibility, the award process, program administration, and fraud, waste and abuse. Outlined below are some of the resulting amendments for the SBIR program, which became effective Jan. 8, 2014. ·SBA revised and reorganized certain sections to clarify several procedural elements about the time periods used to calculate the transition rate and commercialization rate benchmark requirements. SBA also addressed questions about how agencies determine which firms must comply…

Having world-class facilities to train workers or support research in fields most likely to benefit the state is a draw for many reasons. Attracting outside investment, retaining talent and generating buzz are just a few of the benefits. Last year, Connecticut lawmakers dedicated more than $2 billion to expand science and technology education on the campuses of the University of Connecticut, including construction of new STEM facilities and for build research and teaching labs. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is the latest state leader to announce funding proposals aimed at either building new facilities or making capital improvements for training students in high-wage, high-demand fields. Following years of cuts to higher education during the recession, many states are poised to dedicate significant funds for scholarship programs, tuition freezes and for training more students in STEM fields – a common theme during the State of the State addresses. Supporting the notion that a college degree is worth the cost, a recent analysis from the Pew Research Center found the widest earnings gap for college graduates in 48 years. The report, The Rising Cost of Not Going to…

Rich Luank, President & CEO of Innovation Works, recently was elected to the State Science and Technology (SSTI) Board of Trustees. Lunak will assist in providing strategic guidance and oversight of SSTI’s operations as the group works to encourage economic growth through science, technology and innovation. “Rich is an accomplished leader who brings policy experience and a technical background to the field,” said Dan Berglund, SSTI president and CEO. “We are honored to have him helping SSTI grow and further its mission.” “I’m excited to join the SSTI Board of Trustees. As a leader of a venture development organization, I know first-hand the important role SSTI performs in identifying and setting best practices, connecting people, and advocating for innovative solutions to regional, statewide and national economic issues related to technology and science. I'm looking forward to helping SSTI and its members improve U.S. competitiveness and innovation,” Lunak said. As part of a statewide network that brings together talent, ideas and technologies to serve as a catalyst for advancing the state’s…

Robbie Melton has been named the executive director and CEO of the High Technology Development Corporation. Gov. Bobby Jindal has appointed Louisiana Tech University president Les Guice to chair the Louisiana Innovation Council. Brian Cummings, formerly Ohio State University’s vice president of technology commercialization, has joined Alta Ventures as the Midwest representative. KP Reddy, community catalyst at ATDC, has been named interim general manager. Previously, Michael Hersh held the position of general manager. The Michigan State University Foundation has named David Washburn, president and CEO of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, as its executive director. Gov. Rick Snyder created the Michigan Office for New Americans and named Bing Goei as its director. The office is tasked with attracting and retaining highly skilled immigrants. In New Hampshire NH-ICC and the abi Innovation Hub have merged and will be known as the abi HUB. The new entity will promote innovation, commercialization and acceleration.

Companies that locate in the 42 communities known as historic manufacturing hubs would be given priority to receive funds for modernizing production, purchasing equipment, developing new technologies, and training workers under a proposal introduced by Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy. The Advanced Manufacturing Fund would be administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development with support from an advisory committee that includes industry experts. With an initial commitment of $25 million, expected to last two years, companies could apply for funds to grow and modernize operations and equipment. Funds also could be used to attract new companies to the state and support universities’ efforts to increase federally funded research activity, according to a press release. By giving priority to towns with a history rich in manufacturing, the governor hopes to help revive distressed communities and address high unemployment rates in those areas. Funding is included in the FY15 governor’s midterm capital budget adjustments. Gov. Malloy also announced $100 million in additional funding for the Manufacturing Assistance Act (MAA), a program that…

Angel and venture capital firms invested more in seed and early stage companies last year than any time in the past decade (for details see the related Useful Stats article). Seed and early stage companies appear to be generating a great deal of attention from the venture capital industry, even as overall U.S. investment activity remains steady. Both seed and early stage investment continue to grow, a development that a recent CB Insights report attributes to the proliferation of new micro VC funds and multi-stage venture firms. Though year-end numbers are not yet available for angel investing, which represents a major source of financial support for seed and early stage companies, early reports indicate that activity levels continue their trend of steady growth. CB Insight’s analysis of the U.S. seed capital market over the past few years reveals a large spike in active seed investors in 2012, powered by smaller-scale investors and new attention on the need to support startups on the way to becoming profitable investments down the line. The number of seed VCs, defined as firms that made at least four seed deals per year, almost doubled from 63 in 2011 to 112 in…

Last year, U.S. venture capitalists invested about $10.7 billion in seed and early stage companies, 17.1 percent higher than 2012, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Moneytree survey.  Though the overall venture capital (VC) market has returned to about the same level of activity as before the economic crisis, investment in seed and early stage companies has grown by more than a third. Most of this increase is attributable to growth in early stage investment, but seed activity has grown as well (as discussed in another article). Previously, SSTI reported on a number of trends in the U.S. VC market during the period from 2008-13, including overall dollars and deals by state, per capita dollars and deals by state and each state’s share of national venture capital activity. SSTI has now prepared tables of seed and early stage venture investment and average deal size by state during the 2008-13 period. Download the tables in Excel format (xlsx)… While the U.S. seed and early stage capital market has never shown consistent growth year-after-year, it has generally trended up over the…

The fifth installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Maine, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Read part I, part II, part III and part IV.   Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, State of the State Address, Feb. 6, 2014 “Here are three ways we can continue helping employers to grow jobs this session. “First, we can continue to fund the Small Business Express program, which has a proven record of success. “Second, the budget adjustments I submit to you today include $125 million to support Connecticut businesses. That includes increased funding for the Manufacturing Assistance Act, to help grow some of those target industries I mentioned, as well as a new Advanced Manufacturing Fund. “Together these initiatives will provide incentive-driven financial assistance to Connecticut businesses to help them modernize their technologies, focus on research and development, and create the jobs of tomorrow. … “... To ensure that our students are better prepared for college and a career when they finish high school, particularly in high-tech…

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell outlined a FY15 budget proposal with further detail and funding levels for TBED priorities announced in his recent State of the State address. The budget would provide $1 million to create a faster path to degree or certificate completion in advanced manufacturing and establishes a $3 million cyber workforce initiative. Higher education institutions would be tapped as partners for the new initiatives, and also would receive an additional $2 million for federal R&D matching grants as part of the budget recommendations. Much of the governor’s address focused on the urgency to match skilled workers with industry needs. To do so, he plans to roll out a program in the fall geared toward providing juniors and seniors in high school with real-world manufacturing experience that leads to job-ready certifications – specifically in mechanical, electrical and computer engineering fields. Partners in the effort include the Delaware Manufacturing Association and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, who will help indentify industries that offer hands-on training. The governor’s budget provides $1 million for the effort within the…