SSTI Digest

Governors and policymakers working toward economic development reform are in a unique position to propose critical changes that would not have been feasible in the past and gain broad support for transforming economic development agencies to better meet the needs of businesses, according to a new white paper from the National Governors Association (NGA). NGA has identified three major challenges states are facing and three foundational strategies to increase effectiveness of state economic development agencies.

Challenges include the rise of global competition, structural inefficiencies in state economic development agencies and strained budgets for years to come. Alongside these challenges, state commerce departments are not designed well for the young and fast-growing businesses that are fueling most of the new job growth, NGA finds. Collaboration, private sector involvement and instituting a qualitative evaluation system are noted as promising strategies for increasing effectiveness of economic development agencies. Read the paper...

As U.S. politicians turn their eyes towards this year's election season, governments around the world continue to focus their efforts on increasing national global competitiveness. Over the past couple months, Australia, China and New Zealand have announced government initiatives to spur innovation, revitalize domestic manufacturing and support R&D.

Australia The Australian government announced a new report, Smarter Manufacturing for a Smarter Australia, proposing a public-private partnership to establish a shared vision for the future of the country's manufacturing sector. Compiled by non-government members of the Prime Minister's Taskforce on Manufacturing, it identities a five point agenda to build the global competitiveness of its manufacturing base including:

SSTI will be holding a congressional briefing from 1:00-2:30 p.m. on September 12 in Washington, DC, featuring seven of its members. The briefing, "Lessons from the Field on a Path to Sustained Economic Growth and Job Creation," will provide an overview of state, regional and university tech-based economic development efforts and highlight work being done by Ben Franklin Technology Partners, BioSTL, Center for Innovative Technology, Georgia Research Alliance, JumpStart, Michigan Economic Development Corp, and NorTech. Being held at 122 Cannon House Office Building, the briefing is part of SSTI's expanded education activities launched last October. If you're interested in attending this free event, please contact Shawn Daugherty via email at sdaugherty@sheridangroupdc.com or at 202.628.7770.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first proposed rule that will help make equity-based crowdfunding a reality. The proposed rule (Rule 506) will allow for the general solicitation and general advertising of securities. At this point, however, the rule will only apply to accredited investors — an individual with income of more than $200,000 per year or a net worth of over $1 million dollars, excluding the value of the investor's primary residence. To ensure this, the businesses issuing the securities must take reasonable steps to verify that the purchasers of the securities are accredited. The SEC did not comment on when advertisement of securities offerings to non-accredited investors will be permissible.

New efforts to step up technology transfer at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the University of Tennessee (UT) have resulted in a record number of invention disclosures over the last year. In both cases, much of the achievement is attributed to faulty involvement, including new outreach efforts by the universities and more aggressive and ambitious goals set for the institutions.

In New Mexico, UNM's technology transfer office, the Science and Technology Corp., reported a record number of new technologies disclosed by faculty, including a 50 percent increase in biomedical or life science breakthroughs, reports the Albuquerque Journal. Aggressive efforts to recruit entrepreneurs to develop and market the technology led to 46 marketing licenses acquired by investors in 2012 and seven new startups were formed based on UNM inventions, the article states.

Come early or stay late and bring the whole family with you to SSTI's 16th Annual Conference, October 29-30. Atlanta has the biggest aquarium, the coolest Coca Cola Museum, and some of the best golf in the U.S. Outdoor activities that celebrate nature, like the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Piedmont Park abound, as does high culture — from art museums to great shopping. You could spend a month in Atlanta without doing the same thing twice.

While there are options all over the city, many are just steps away the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center's front door. Conference attendees receive a special room rate of $159 until October 8, or while supply lasts. To get the most out of your time in Atlanta, these outstanding rates will be honored five days before and after the conference.

The great rates don't stop there. Below is an array of special discounts and inexpensive options for many of Atlanta's top attractions:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it is accepting applications for the establishment of Innovation Corps (I-Corps) teams and sites. These programs are intended to provide additional funding and other services to help researchers commercialize NSF-funded scientific discoveries at institutions of higher education.

I-Corps team awards provide mentoring and additional funding to promising, NSF-funded researchers at institutions of higher education to accelerate innovation, attract subsequent third-party funding and increase the commercialization of scientific discoveries. NSF intends to commit $12.5 million to support up to 250 I-Corps teams in 2013. Proposals for I-Corps teams are due December 17, 2012. Read the I-Corps teams funding announcement.

Borrowing from an industry sector phrase used to describe a complete view of investment impact, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) unveiled its new Triple Bottom Line tool to help economic development practitioners and investors assess, compare and communicate the potential impact of projects. EDA says the triple bottom line approach can help better align economic development investments with other community priorities to maximize impact.

The tool uses a process called multi-criteria decision analysis to generate a score for three triple bottom line goals: economic vitality, natural resource stewardship and community well-being. Each goal is comprised of performance areas, which in turn consist of measures to help deliver those outcomes. A summary report generates both project information and project scores. The tool also will generate a due diligence report providing a list of items identified as completed, due to be completed, or warranting further attention.

To better serve all parts of the state by connecting experienced mentors with startup companies, the Kentucky Innovation Network has a new name and logo, a tighter focus, and expanded services. Established in 2002 as the Innovation and Commercialization Center program, the Kentucky Innovation Network will offer services to entrepreneurs from 13 locations across the state, and as part of the re-branding effort, three smaller centers will be upgraded to full-service centers. The centers offer services such as business mentoring, assistance to growth strategy and access to funding and capital networks. Officials say the new name complements an increased emphasis on promoting the network's statewide, multi-office capabilities and resources. Read more...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state has started accepting applications for the $25 million "Connect NY" program to promote and expand broadband Internet access. The grants will be awarded to public-private partnerships comprised of internet service providers, local governments and economic-development organizations. Grants are made available through the Regional Economic Development Councils and Empire State Development with the dual intent to spur investment by service providers in communities and help boost economic development in underserved rural upstate and urban areas of the state by stimulating local business growth. Read the press release...

University licensing and commercialization activity remained steady in 2011, with modest increases in most areas of technology transfer activity, according to the most recent edition of the Association of University Technology Managers' (AUTM) U.S. Licensing Activity Survey. AUTM released a preview of its 2011 survey results this week, with a full report to follow later this year.

Deals with existing small companies increased 24 percent and the number of licenses executed grew by 14 percent, ranking among the few data points that showed significant increases over 2011. The number of new commercial products created with university technologies fell by 10 percent to 591.

Participating universities and colleges (including affiliated hospitals and research centers) reported 671 startup companies were formed based on their institution's research in 2011, up 3 percent from the previous year. Of those startups, 487 listed the institution's home state as their primary place of business.

In comparison to most of its peer states, Colorado's workforce excels in educational attainment and entrepreneurship, according to the first Colorado Innovation Index. The index, published by the Colorado Innovation Network, evaluates Colorado's economy in relation to seven benchmark states, including Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Utah. Only Massachusetts had a higher percentage of Bachelor's degree holders in its workforce, and only Massachusetts and New York had a higher percentage of graduate degree holders. The report includes data on the state's talent, research, capital and entrepreneurship resources. Download the index...