SSTI Digest

Businesses and entrepreneurs seeking commercializable technologies now have a powerful tool to locate inventions developed at federal labs. The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer first introduced its Available Technologies search engine last fall, but now has upgraded the tool with a Google-powered search and user profiles. Users now can create more specific search queries, which can be saved for repeated use. Access the search engine...

This week, President Obama released details of a climate action blueprint that incorporates preparation for future natural disasters as a major component of the plan. Most of the domestic aspects of the plan are to be implemented by executive order, avoiding the complications of the legislative process. Though much of the blueprint centers on the strengthening of American infrastructure, the improvement of the electrical grid and ambitious renewable energy standards, the plan also includes a few mentions of increased federal support for technology development and commercialization. The three pillars of the administration's climate action plan include: cutting carbon pollution in America; preparing the United States for the impacts of climate change; and, leading international efforts to combat global climate change and prepare for its impacts. With two of the three pillars explicitly targeting preparation for severe weather caused by climate change and post-disaster relief, the plan reflects a shift in focus for the administration from renewable energy development and deployment to infrastructure improvement. One of the few aspects of the plan targeting new…

Over the last week, several states have announced/passed new programs focused on increasing the capital available to spur small business growth and innovation. Officials from New Jersey announced the state's new angel tax credit will take effect July 1. In Arizona and Wisconsin two bills await gubernatorial approval that would rework the Arizona R&D tax credit program and establish a $75 million venture capital fund in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the Minnesota state legislature did not approve an additional $5 million for its popular Small Business Investment Tax Credit. ArizonaIn Arizona, a bill (House Bill 2342) seeking to expand the state's research and development (R&D) tax credit awaits the signature of Gov. Jan Brewer. Administered by the Arizona Commerce Authority, the reform is intended to help small, innovative companies with little to no cash flow by providing a refund for R&D activities. To be eligible for the R&D credit, the company would have 150 or less employees and perform research and development in one of several target industries. In exchange for the refund, the state gets to discount its research and tax obligation by…

For several states, this year's legislative session resulted in continued austerity toward new investments and level funding for established tech-based initiatives producing good results. Workforce initiatives seemed to be the exception, garnering greater attention from state leaders eager to boost employment numbers — especially in high-tech fields. While the existence of a STEM worker shortage has been a hotly debated topic among policy groups (see the May 22, 2013 issue of the Digest), some state leaders, including lawmakers in California, Indiana and Michigan, have prioritized high-tech job training to produce more skilled workers through increased funding for new or established programs in the recently enacted budgets. In California, lawmakers dedicated $15 million over the next five years for job training as part of the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) approved by voters in November 2012. The budget allocation complements a measure to establish a training program in the California Workforce Investment Board to prepare disadvantaged veterans and youth for the state's growing sector of green economy jobs. The bill, AB 114, recently passed in the…

SSTI is honored to welcome advertising legend Dan Wieden, co-founder+global executive director of Wieden+Kennedy and the man behind the "Just Do It" slogan as the keynote speaker for SSTI's 2013 Annual Conference being held in Portland, OR, September 15-17. Dan Wieden grew up in Portland, graduated from the University of Oregon and worked briefly in public relations before trying his hand at copywriting. In retrospect, it wasn't such a bad career move. Dan quickly found himself at a local agency working with his creative partner, David Kennedy, on a regional sneaker account. When the agency—client relationship began to sour, Dan and David seized the moment, scraping together $500 apiece to open their own shop, (fittingly) on April Fools' Day, 1982. They took the upstart sneaker company, called Nike, with them. Three decades later, the agency that started with five employees and a shared pay phone down the hall has offices in Portland, New York City, London, Amsterdam, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo and São Paulo and nearly 1,200 employees around the world. Under Dan's leadership, the agency has grown to be a global brand in its own…

Earlier this month, President Obama announced plans to expand broadband and wireless Internet access to every school and library in the U.S. The new initiative, ConnectEd, has a goal of connecting 99 percent of students to the Internet within five years by having the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) modernize and leverage its existing E-Rate program. The president claimed that millions of students lack access to high-speed broadband and fewer than 20 percent of educators say that their school's internet connection meets their needs, particularly those in rural America. The ConnectEd program will direct federal funds to support the use of new digital education tools in the classroom and provide support and training for teachers to better implement and utilize these tools. With the global education marketplace surpassing $1 trillion in value, the initiative hopes to encourage private sector innovation to produce educational devices and software that can unlock the value of the federal government's investment. Read more about the ConnectEd initiative... Following the president's announcement of the ConnectEd program, he issued a presidential memorandum…

Business, civic, and political leaders in St. Louis are coming together to raise $100 million in private funds over the next five years to support the Regional Entrepreneurial Initiative, a new effort aimed at helping emerging regional businesses grow and thrive. The project was launched with funding from the federal government and will draw on several ongoing fundraising initiatives in the community. About 80 percent of the funds will be used to provide capital support for startup businesses, with the remaining 20 percent directed toward entrepreneurial support and mentoring, according to the St. Louis Beacon. In April 2012, the city and county of St. Louis invited stakeholders to develop a regional economic development strategy that would guide efforts to grow and retain high-growth startups. The St. Louis Regional Entrepreneurship Initative Report received financial assistance from the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the state of Missouri, and the St. Louis County Economic Council. The findings of the report suggest that the St. Louis region has a growing cluster of resources to support entrepreneurship, but that they are not of uniform quality and not…

State economies appear to be re-energizing after several years of slow recovery from recession, according to the Spring 2013 Fiscal Survey of States by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and the National Governors Association (NGA). As a result, state government revenues also are improving with 42 governors recommending higher spending levels in FY14. Total FY13 spending, however, remains below the pre-recession 2008 peak, and much of the increased spending will be dedicated to areas where spending was reduced over the past five years. Read the report...

The Manufacturing Institute, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, has released an inaugural roster for the “M-List,” which includes academic institutions training workers up to industry standards in advanced manufacturing. M-List schools have designed their curriculums to compliment industry standards and provide their students with credentials through the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System. The M-List will help connect workers and employers by identifying schools that prepare their students for the globally competitive standards of U.S. advanced manufacturing. In support of the program, the NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program provides grants to M-List schools to support the connection between workers and employers. Read the press release...

Two projects, one in the United Kingdom and another in Africa, are working to improve the information economy, university training and research in their respective regions. A new United Kingdom strategy includes a partnership between the national government, industry, and academia in support of the information technology sector. In Africa, the World Bank will engage in an international effort to promote education and research, supporting regional economic development across the continent. The World Bank plans to launch the African Centers of Excellence project in July. Originally proposed in summer 2012, the World Bank board approved the program last month. The Centers of Excellence program will invest $129 million to “strengthen the capacity of selected universities and their partner institutions to deliver high quality training and applied research at the region level within areas of STEM, Health, and Agriculture that are of particular are of particular relevance to Africa's development,” according to the World Bank's Project Information Document. Twenty-five percent of the funding will go to health, another 25 percent will go to…

In 2010, almost one-quarter of every dollar spent on R&D by U.S. businesses was spent in the state of California, according to data from the National Science Foundation. Together, the top seven states for business R&D spending (California, New Jersey, Texas, Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois and Michigan) were host to almost 53 percent of private research investment. While California leads in total business R&D, the state of Washington has the greatest concentration of private research spending in the state economy, with $3.92 spent on business R&D for every $100 in state gross domestic product (GDP). SSTI has prepared a table of funds spent by businesses on R&D by state in 2010. The table also includes the percent of total U.S. business R&D spending represented by each state. In order to gauge the volume of business R&D spending with respect to total economic activity, the table provides 2010 state GDP levels and a ratio of business R&D spending to state GDP. View the table...

SSTI Online Events: Every Third Thursday at 3:00 PM ET Major research universities are an invaluable asset in building thriving high-tech regions, but institutions of all sizes can play a key role in local innovation economies. Our July webinar will feature two successful regional networks connecting smaller colleges and universities to maximize their contribution to the high-tech economy. These networks are promoting inter-institutional collaboration, while also providing entrepreneurs with easy access to research services and commercializable technologies. Presenters: Barb Eccles, Manager, Technology Transfer at Lakehead University Jill Edwards, Executive Director, Innovation Transfer Network Date: Thursday, July 18Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ETLocation: Online — Gather your colleagues around the conference table or log on from your comfy couch at homeCost: $49 member, $69 non-membersRegistration Deadline: Thursday, July 18 12:00 PM ET Members can attend a minimum of one webinar for FREE. Contact Noelle at sheets@ssti.org to receive your promo code or become a member. Register today at: http://www.ssti.org/webinars.html…