SSTI Digest

Increased scrutiny for public investments has grown in recent years amid tight budget conditions. Returns on innovation-focused efforts often take time, and as a result TBED groups are always looking to improve metrics and reporting to meet greater demand for transparency. In Utah, lawmakers recently passed a bill providing more oversight for the state’s signature innovation-capacity building program following a critical audit last year. At the same time, lawmakers continued to embrace the concept of the agency they established eight years prior, and appropriated level funds to continue USTAR’s efforts in research and commercialization. The legislature also passed a bill dedicating $20 million to the STEM Action Center created last session.  

USTAR is slated to receive $22 million in FY15 funding, the same as last year. USTAR accomplishes its economic objective to increase innovation, entrepreneurship and investment through three components. This includes star faculty recruitment, building world-class research facilities, and the business development technology outreach teams that specialize in commercialization.

A bill providing $35.4 million in workforce training grants to expand Wisconsin’s Fast Forward program was signed into law on Monday by Gov. Scott Walker. Funding will be available in the form of grants to technical colleges to reduce waiting lists for enrollment and for programs and courses that train students in high-demand fields. The funds also will support collaborative projects among school districts, technical colleges and businesses and for employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The measure, Act 139, was approved during a special session, which convened in January.    

In an effort to help spur economic prosperity, several universities have unveiled new initiatives to connect potential entrepreneurs with university resources and help integrate the entrepreneurs into their region’s innovation ecosystem. In partnership with other organizations, these programs are intended to position each respective university as a driver of regional economic development through the provision of education, training initiatives and other support services. The initiatives include new programs at Clarion University in Pennsylvania, Carroll University in Wisconsin and New York University (NYU).  The Blackstone Charitable Foundation also announced it will expand LaunchPad, a university-led entrepreneurship program, to a partnership that includes three universities in Southern California.

Between FY2007-12, research and development (R&D) spending at U.S. universities grew 27.5 percent, from about $51.6 billion to $65.8 billion, according to the latest edition of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey. The survey provides a look at R&D spending at U.S. universities, with data broken down by state, institution, research area and funding sources. California remained the leader in university R&D spending, but spending in the state grew at a slightly lower rate than the national average. Most of the other top 20 states experienced gains that exceeded the national average.

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program recently awarded $2.5 million for five pilot projects to improve small U.S. manufacturers' supply chain competitiveness and foster their readiness to adopt advanced technologies. The projects will be led by MEP centers and bring together teams of experts in specific technology areas. MEP centers in California, Georgia, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin each will receive approximately $500,000 for the pilot efforts, which, in most cases, involve partners in other states. Read the announcement…

Maine businesses may now raise up to $1 million in capital by selling small amounts of equity to individual investors as a result of legislation that recently became law without the signature of Gov. Paul LePage. Using a model similar to crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, participating businesses will be able to register with the Maine Office of Securities, setting both a fundraising goal and deadline.  Individual investors will be able to purchase up to $5,000 in equity from a single business. In order for the round of fundraising to be approved, businesses will have to achieve their fundraising goal by the deadline they initially set. Read the legislation…

With buy-in from the state and private industry, the University of Wyoming (UW) School of Energy Resources will move forward with plans to build a major new energy and engineering research complex. The recently enacted 2014-16 biennial budget also includes $8 million in support of UW’s efforts to gain “Tier 1” status for the engineering school, matching funds to establish endowed chairs, and $15 million for a test center to study carbon sequestration.

While bragging may not be polite, it can be quite helpful to others. That is, sharing your success with organizations working to achieve similar outcomes can inspire new ideas and provide valuable lessons for replicability. Now in its eighth year, SSTI’s Excellence in TBED awards program has recognized 38 initiatives for impactful, replicable and novel efforts that support high-growth companies and advance regional competitiveness. Please consider sharing your story as part of the 2014 awards program. Open call for applications begins April 16. More info at: http://www.sstiawards.org/. 

Enacted FY14 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.

The administration’s FY15 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is $77.1 billion in discretionary spending, reflecting a 1.6 percent decrease from FY14 enacted funding levels. Discretionary spending accounts for only 7.5 percent of the total proposed HHS budget. Mandatory spending for programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program account for the balance. Total FY14 budget authority for HHS would be $1 trillion (6 percent increase over FY14 enacted).  Through the Opportunity, Growth and Services Initiative (OGSI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be allocated $970 million to support approximately 650 additional new grants across several initiatives including:

FY14 estimated funding is used for Department of Agriculture funding comparisons, unless otherwise noted.

The president’s FY15 budget request would provide $23.7 billion (12 percent decrease) in discretionary funding for the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The proposed budget would launch three new multidisciplinary agricultural research institutes dedicated to crop science, advanced biobased manufacturing, and anti-microbial resistance research, and double funding for rural broadband access. Through the president’s Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative, additional funding would be provided for natural resource conservation programs and the construction of a new national biosafety research laboratory.

Research, Education, and Economics

USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) agencies would receive a total of $4.1 billion (2 percent increase) under the proposed FY15 budget. These agencies include:

FY14 enacted funding is used for NASA comparisons, unless otherwise noted.

The president’s FY15 budget request for NASA totals $17.5 billion in discretionary funding and prioritizes research and development that has the potential to bolster long-term space exploration. Major priorities of the proposed budget include extending the life of the International Space Station to 2024 and institutionalizing partnerships with the commercial space industry.

The proposed budget would allocate $4.9 million (4 percent decrease) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which supports research science, invests in advanced technologies, supports over 90 space missions, and maintains partnerships with a dozen other federal agencies and 60 other nations. Funding would include:

Estimated FY14 funding levels are used for NSF comparisons, unless otherwise noted.

The president’s FY15 budget proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) would provide $7.3 billion (1.2 percent increase). Of that amount, $5.8 billion (no change) would be designated for research and related activities, $200.8 million (0.4 percent increase) for R&D facilities and equipment, and $889.8 million (5.2 percent increase) for education and training. The president’s budget proposes three priority goals to improve NSF’s effectiveness and efficiency:

Increase public access to NSF funded peer-reviewed publications; Improve the nation’s capacity in data science; and, Optimize the award process to level workload.

Nearly 90 percent of NSF funding is awarded through a merit review process that includes distribution of grants and cooperative agreements. Key initiatives included in the proposal are: