SSTI Digest

Nevada legislators recently approved $10 million in funding for the state's Knowledge Fund, a technology development and commercialization support program first introduced in 2011. The fund, modeled on Utah's USTAR program, received no allocation for its first two years due to a lack of state funds, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal (also see the July 20, 2011 and January 23, 2013 issues of the Digest). Knowledge Fund dollars may be used to support research teams at Nevada state universities and the Desert Research Institute, to launch a technology outreach program to connect researchers with entrepreneurs, to build new research facilities and to fund technology commercialization activities. Read the bill...

Since 2011, three states (Kansas, Georgia and North Carolina) have enacted securities exemptions that allow their state's entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise up to $1 million dollars via the sale of securities to residents of the state — Washington lawmakers introduced similar legislation in 2013 session where it is still pending. These exemptions, commonly referred to as crowdfunding exemptions, are intended to increase the pool of investors for small businesses by allowing them to publicly offer securities without having to spend the significant time and cost associated with registering a sale of securities with the state The enacted exemptions from Kansas, Georgia and North Carolina as well as the proposed legislation in Washington share several similarities including: All states require that the issuer be a business/organization formed under the laws of the state. All state allow issuers to use a state-regulated broker dealer/funding platform, but it is not required. All States require all investors to be a resident of the state; North Carolina and Washington also require the issuer to receive evidence of the investor's residency. In…

Rice University's Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has been named the top university business incubator in the world by the University Business Incubator (UBI) Index based in Sweden. The group reviewed 550 university business incubators and studied 150 incubators to determine the top incubators in the world based on their value for the ecosystem, their value for clients, and their attraction rate and past performance. Other U.S. incubators that made the UBI Index Top list include VentureLab, the University of Buffalo Technology Incubator, and Tech 20/20.

While policymakers often tout workers in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as a critical element of U.S. competitiveness in the global economy, the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program claims that a narrow definition of STEM occupations neglects vital employees in these technical fields. In a recent report entitled The Hidden STEM Economy, the authors examined knowledge requirement scores for STEM fields obtained from O*NET (Occupational Information Network Data collection Program) to assess the knowledge, education, and wage needs of the various STEM occupations. They determined that redefining STEM occupations based on knowledge and skill requirements rather than solely educational requirements provided a more comprehensive understanding of the STEM economy and revealed that many economies across the nation benefit from the presence of non-professional, sub-bachelor degree STEM workers. Not all STEM workers need formal college-level skills, but they do need to master a specific body of knowledge under the Brookings definition of a STEM worker. Such occupations include installation, maintenance, and repair, construction, production,…

A new series of briefs from the National Institute of Standards and Technology lays out the argument for federal, state and local intervention in the high-tech economy. Authors Gary Anderson and Gregory Tassey suggest that U.S. economic policy places too much emphasis on macrostabilization efforts at the expense of policies targeted to promote technology development and entrepreneurship. They make the argument that one effective approach to federal intervention is through the support of research consortia and regional cluster development programs. Read the briefs...

While public debate rages over the role of surveillance in our society, one particularly infamous government surveillance technology, drones, is being prepared for private sector deployment in the U.S. Drone-related technologies are predicted to revolutionize commerce in the U.S., with industry projections valuing their initial deployment as an $82 billion boost to the national economy. In preparation for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rollout of drone-use regulations in 2015, entrepreneurs, multinational corporations and state governments are scrambling to be in a competitive position to benefit. While drones have been scrutinized in the press for their extensive use in overseas counter-terrorism operations, entrepreneurs at universities and startups across the country are experimenting with hundreds of potential civilian uses for the technology. State-by-state projections for the economic impacts of drone technology are widespread and robust. California is expected to win big because of its drone manufacturing base while Midwestern states like Kansas are expected to capitalize from the industry's agricultural applications. One of the key selling…

Seventy-one percent of the rural population had access to basic broadband service compared to 98 percent of the urban population according to a report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The report examines the disparity of broadband availability between rural and urban areas based on 2011 broadband availability data. However, as broadband speeds increase, the access gap between these populations grows. When breaking down the population into five groups, the densest population geographies have greater availability at or above maximum advertised speeds, with suburbs surpassing central cities overall.

Compiling SBIR Phase I awards and proposal statistics by state for FY12, SSTI finds the 10 states with the most awards in FY12 were California (724), Massachusetts (415), Virginia (207), Maryland (154), Ohio (138), Texas (138), New York (137), Colorado (129), Pennsylvania (124), and Florida (85). Maryland gained two spots rising to fourth place. Ohio and Texas tied for fifth place, while New York and Colorado both fell from their prior year positions. Notably, total SBIR Phase I awards granted to small business entities in FY12 increased by 1.4 percent, while proposal numbers were down from 2011 across nearly all of the participating agencies. In FY12, agencies granted a total 3,314 awards, up from 3,268 in FY11. Overall, agencies that reported proposal statistics received 20,305 in FY12, a 12.8 percent decrease from the prior fiscal year. Using figures provided by the individual federal agencies, SSTI has prepared a table showing FY12 Phase I SBIR data for all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Statistics include awards, proposals and award-to-proposal conversion rates for 10 of the 12 participating agencies (the Department of Education and the…

SSTI Online Events: Every Third Thursday at 3:00 PM ET Thursday, June 20, 2013, 3:00 PM ETWhile others are waiting on the sideline for the Securities and Exchange Commission to release equity-based crowdfunding regulations, several states and regions already have tapped into the potential of the crowd to support potential high-growth startups. With access to crowdfunding, entrepreneurs are able to gain access to new streams of capital and gauge market demand. Our panel will discuss the results of these early experiments in crowdfunding, share some of the lessons they have learned and explore what states and regions can do right now to unleash the potential of this powerful new tool. Register today at: http://www.ssti.org/webinars.html

Yuka Nagashima, executive director of the High Technology Development Corp. and center director for the Innovate Hawaii program, has resigned from both posts and will leave the state agency in August. Nagashima will be leaving for Denmark to support her husband's research career. Len Higashi, current senior economic development manager, was selected to become the acting executive director. Raja Krishnamoorthi has been appointed vice chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council by Gov Pat Quinn. Jason Hall has been named the St. Louis Regional Chamber's vice president for business development and corporate counsel, effective June 28. Hall's most recent position was as deputy director for the Missouri Department of Economic Development. E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University announced plans to retire, effective July 1. Executive vice president and provost Joseph Alutto was named interim president. Rep. Jo Bonner announced he will retire from Congress on Aug. 15 in order to take a newly created position of vice chancellor for government relations and economic development at the University of Alabama System. Joan Dunbar…

Connecticut's General Assembly approved a biennial budget that includes major increases for science and technology research and education at the University of Connecticut and a boost in funding for the state's others higher education institutions. The $44 billion budget also includes continued funding for the state's economic development programs. The budget, in conjunction with the Next Generation Connecticut legislation, passed this week, significantly expands funding for science and technology education at the campuses of the University of Connecticut. Under the Next Generation Connecticut plan, the university's campuses would receive $1.5 billion over the next ten years to expand science and technology facilities and enrollment. The additional funds would be used to support the construction of new STEM facilities, building out of teaching and research labs, upgrading of information technology and additional housing and parking. With the approval of this spending, state leaders intend to greatly expand the University of Connecticut's reputation as a leader in research and STEM education in order to improve the quality of its workforce and to…

Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP), Pennsylvania's tech-based economic development program, released a joint study by the independent Pennsylvania Economy League and KLIOS Consulting, which determined the economic impact of the organization between 2007-2011. These numbers aggregate the impact of the four regional Ben Franklin Technology Partners. In total, the activities of the organizations have resulted in 7,485 new jobs in client firms and an additional 12,715 indirect jobs as a result of these clients' activities, for a total of 20,200 jobs. The activities of BFTP increased the Gross State Product by $6.6 billion. The client companies directly returned $358 million in additional state taxes and a further $144 million in state taxes was received from related client services. In total, $502 million in state tax revenue was received, which represents a 3.6:1 tax return to the state on $137.7 million in state investments during the five year period.