SSTI Digest

The pace of business startups in the U.S. has exhibited a long-run decline that started in the early 1980s and has continued through 2010, according to a new report — Where Have All the Young Firms Gone? — from the Kauffman Foundation. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS), the report found several other long-run declines in the business activity of U.S. startups and young firms (defined here as firms aged five or less) between 1980 and 2010 including:

Registration is now open for the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) 14th Annual SBIR/STTR Conference in Louisville, KY, May 30-June 1. This year's event, titled "The Changing Face of SBIR/STTR," will provide insight into NIH funding opportunities and program changes.

Last week, the White House released a comprehensive national strategy to guide federal investments and collaborations with the private sector in the life sciences. The National Bioeconomy Blueprint identifies five strategic objectives that will inform administration efforts to boost the bioeconomy. Key among these objectives is the expansion of foundational, cross-disciplinary research, which will require improved funding mechanisms that are flexible enough to support many kinds of collaborations and that encourage high-risk/high-reward research. The publication also includes a list of current federal life science initiatives and how they relate to the strategic goals.

Established last year to help entrepreneurs develop business plans and launch companies, Tennessee's nine regional accelerators also will play a key role in the state's new five-year strategic plan through partnerships to create and expand angel capital networks and mentoring for new startups. The LaunchTN initiative was unveiled last week by Gov. Bill Haslam, who charged the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC) with implementing the plan and serving as the lead advocate for the state's innovation agenda.

TTDC's Board of Directors outlined four focus areas for the plan, including entrepreneurship, commercialization, capital, and outreach. The regional accelerators play a pivotal role in three of those areas, which include:

Proposals introduced in Florida and Ohio would have changed the funding model for universities that meet certain benchmarks to elevate their standing for research and innovation. Both proposals ultimately were rejected, however. In Ohio, the state's plan for enterprise universities is on hold, and in Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently vetoed a bill to establish preeminent universities.

With broad support in both chambers, The Florida Legislature passed HB 7129, the Academic and Research Excellence and National Preeminence Act. The measure would have allowed the University of Florida and Florida State University to set tuition at differentiated and market rates with the ability to set tuition rates higher for different types of programs. The goal was to elevate the university system's global standing for research and innovation.

The European Union (EU) launched the Technology Transfer Offices — Connecting Innovation and Research Centers and Laboratories in Europe (European TTO CIRCLE ), a network of tech transfer offices at Europe's 25 largest public research organizations. With the goal of increasing the market and societal impacts of publicly-funded research, the European TTO CIRCLE members already have adopted a set of several initiatives including:

A briefing on the planned Pilot Institute on Additive Manufacturing will be held May 16, 2012, in Arlington, Va. The pilot institute is envisioned as the initial step in building the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) proposed by President Obama earlier this year. The meeting will acquaint potential candidates with the NNMI Pilot Institute concept and the associated technology needs in the areas of additive manufacturing. Attendance at the May 16 event is not a prerequisite for submitting a proposal.

PCAST provides several recommendations that will continue the success of NNI and translate the benefits of investments in nanotechnology to the public. Individual recommendations are given in four categories of key importance: strategic planning, program management, metrics and EHS research. Specific recommendations for 2012 and beyond include, but are not limited to:

A steady increase in personal income and sales taxes has helped state tax revenue in most states to surpass previous peak levels seen at the start of the recession. All regions of the country saw gains in the fourth quarter of 2011, with the exception of the Far West. The Plains had the largest gain, at 12.5 percent, followed by the Great Lakes states at 8.9 percent. However, tax collections for local governments are not faring as well mostly due to the lagged impact of falling housing prices on property tax collections. Findings are from a recent Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government report that looks at the impact of taxes on state revenue and highlights trends affecting state revenue changes.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new program to advance the participation and leadership of professional women in clean energy. The U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment program will select a team of 20 distinguished ambassadors to serve as spokeswomen and mentors for women in clean energy and to participate in a symposium this fall. In addition, a new DOE awards program will recognize mid-career clean energy innovators, entrepreneurs and policy advocates with $10,000 cash prizes. Learn more...

U.S. community colleges are in dire need of an overhaul, according to a report issued by the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. Currently, fewer than half (46 percent) of all student who enter community college with the goal of earning a degree or certificate achieve that goal. About 60 percent of students entering community college after high school must take developmental education classes to prepare for college-level work. Also, community college students are frequently unable to make smooth transitions into four-year institutions or the job market after graduation.

The commission calls for a redesign of the system that would focus efforts on local employment needs, emphasize transparency and accountability and offer coherent pathways for students. The commission was convened by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) last summer, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, ACT and the Education Testing Service.

Only 11 percent of business executives believe the U.S. educational system prepares workers for today’s economy according to a recent survey by ConvergeUS — Preparing America’s 21^st Century Workforce: the Business Sector Weighs in on Educational Gaps & Common Core State Standards. In the report, ConvergeUS surveyed almost 300 business executives on their attitudes regarding the current state of the U.S. workforce. The most significant trend was the overall lack of confidence by business executives in the U.S. education system, approximately 33 percent of business executive believe that the U.S. does a poor job of preparing workers.

Educational policy changes were most often cited by respondents (66 percent) as necessary to make the U.S. more competitive in the world economy. Other areas important in need of policy changes to increase competitiveness include investments in research and development (56 percent of respondents) and corporate tax reform (54 percent). According to respondents, three objectives standout as the most important to a high school education: