SSTI Digest

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.

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.

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.

Don't miss this opportunity to impress the entire country with the work you're doing to improve local, state and regional economies through tech-based investments. To apply, send us a five page narrative describing your efforts to: Commercialize and Expand Research Capacity; Increase Access to Capital; Build a Culture of Entrepreneurship; and Improve the Competitiveness of Existing Industries. We will also recognize a promising initiative that has demonstrated innovativeness, creativity and a well-defined action plan. Winners will be honored during our 17th Annual Conference in Portland, OR. Applications due June 11! Learn more and apply at: http://www.sstiawards.org/.

As recently explored in an episode of This American Life, high-tech patent litigation has reached unprecedented proportions, with many research-oriented companies now joining the calls to restructure the patent system. This week, the White House released five executive orders and seven legislative recommendations to add transparency to the system and level the playing field for innovators. The executive orders require patents to name the real party-in-interest (as opposed to shell companies), call for stricter bounds on functional claims, limit the liability of end users, strengthen exclusion orders to ban the import of infringing products and begin a more extensive investigation of the current system. Read the White House announcement...

A report from authors Samantha Bradley, Christopher S. Hayter, and Albert N. Link explores the burgeoning role of proof-of-concept centers (PoCC) in supporting the country's innovation infrastructure. The report suggests that shifting dynamics in the global economy will continue to increase the importance of PoCCs in supporting regional innovation and national competitiveness.

The authors define PoCCs as providing a specific set of services that stimulate the commercialization of early-stage technologies by improving the transfer of knowledge from universities and development of technologies derived from public R&D funding that boost economic development. Services include providing seed funding, business development services, incubator space, market research, IP and licensing services, and providing connections to outside funding sources. By enabling inventors to evaluate the commercial potential of their research, prototypes can be tested and early-stage products can be developed and connected to investment from private capital sources.

The current federal FY13 budget under sequestration will reduce the funding level for state aid by $5.1 billion from FY12, according to the study by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank focusing on low- and middle-income labor and economic policy. When including sequestration and funding levels under the current continuing resolution, 25 states and the District of Columbia will have federal grant funding reduced in FY13 compared to FY12, with the five highest states being Louisiana, Indiana, Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The health and potential of a state's innovation ecosystem does not always directly correlate to current economic performance and overall job creation, despite media and policymakers' focus on such metrics. Although they vary across organizations and in scope, indices serve to assess states' assets and processes within their innovation ecosystems. Two recently published indices from the Milken Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recognize innovation as a driver of economic growth, and provide comprehensive assessments of innovation data from 2012.

The Milken Institute's State Technology and Science Index is the fifth version of index since its initial release in 2002. The authors used 79 indicators within the following five components of the index:

As developed nations slowly rebuild economies damaged by the Great Recession, many are looking to innovation and manufacturing to spur their economic revival. Similar to President Obama's proposed National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (See the March 14, 2011 issue of the Digest), several foreign government are developing networks of manufacturing research and development (R&D) centers to strengthen the ties between research and industrial needs. Recently, the European Union (EU) announced a €100 million ($131 million US) commitment to establish five pilot advanced manufacturing R&D centers within its member states. The EU joins Australia and the United Kingdom in the list of countries that have proposed focused, large-scale, national networks in recent years.

Australia

Governor Mike Pence has released details on Indiana's statewide public-private collaborative life sciences partnership. The estimated $360 million Indiana Biosciences Research Institute will receive $25 million for the biennium from the state of Indiana to cover startup costs, which will be augmented by another $25 million from industry and philanthropic sources (see the May 8 issue). Industry partners will guide the institute's research and commercialization priorities, which will focus initially on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and nutrition. Teams led by research “Indiana Fellows” will share resources at the institute and work onsite at industry and university labs with academic and university scientists. Read the announcement...

The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) U.S. Report by Babson College and Baruch College shows that the total early stage entrepreneurial activity in the country increased 13 percent, the highest rate since 1999 when GEM first began tracking entrepreneurship. Among the findings, GEM found that a diverse population of age, gender, and immigrant status exists in the entrepreneurship community. This infographic summarizes some of the key trends and conclusions on the entrepreneurial activity and community in the country. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also has released its Enterprising States report that assesses the entrepreneurial activity and strengths by state using a number of metrics.