SSTI Digest

The United States has been the top destination for those looking to study abroad for decades. Before the onset of the pandemic, over a million students flocked from abroad to attend U.S.-based universities. Now, having dropped by 15% at the onset of the pandemic, international student enrollment is beginning to recover. Despite this recovery, the U.S. is losing market share to countries like Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom resulting in negative economic consequences. This article explores in detail the domestic and international trends of international students, as well as the economic impacts of these students on the U.S. economy. Domestic trends in international student enrollment The U.S. has been the top choice for international students due to its numerous high-quality colleges, universities, and abundant employment opportunities post-graduation. However, various policies enacted at the pandemic’s onset worked to restrict international students rather than encourage them. Many of these policies were later reversed, but the damages remained. During the 2020-21 academic year, international student enrollment plummeted by 15%, according to…

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is accepting applications for the second year of its Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. The program will fund up to $500 million in grants over five years to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems that improve transportation efficiency and safety. This SMART Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will accept applications for Stage 1 Planning and Prototyping grants. During Stage 1, the SMART program seeks to fund innovation aimed at solving real-world transportation problems and focused on building data and technology capacity and experience for State, local, and Tribal governments. The program also recognizes that many public sector transportation agencies face challenges finding the resources and personnel to leverage new technologies, so the program builds in the time and support to enable successful deployment. The funding opportunity is open to public sector entities seeking to carry out transportation projects that demonstrate at least one of the following technology areas: Coordinated automation Connected…

The EDA’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) can be an important tool for supporting tech-based economic development initiatives. In the newest addition to SSTI’s Federal Funding Video Library, Matt Knutson, program analyst with EDA, provides an overview of how organizations can use this funding opportunity. Whether you’re seeking to understand the application process or explore how the RLF program aligns with your region’s TBED strategy, this video offers valuable insights and guidance. Video: EDA Revolving Loan Fund For those looking to engage further with EDA, representatives from the Atlanta Regional Office will be present at our upcoming conference. During our Federal Funding Forum, they will be available to discuss the RLF and other Public Works and Economic Adjustment programs, allowing you to gain insights and ask questions directly to the experts. Explore the entire series by visiting our Federal Funding Video Library. Created as part of the TBED Community of Practice, this series is designed to help you understand federal programs and funding sources that can support your region’s TBED strategies, such as Build to Scale and the STEM Talent Challenge.…

Advancing equity in economic development requires more than good intentions – it calls for concrete actions and measurable outcomes. In response to this need, the National Economic Research and Resilience Center (NERRC), part of Argonne National Laboratory, has developed the Access, Process, and Outcome (APO) framework. This evaluation tool is designed to help practitioners operationalize inclusive economic development strategies that are responsive to local context.   The authors acknowledge an important first step in advancing equity is establishing a shared understanding of what “equity” means. They propose a uniform definition of equity as “the fair or just treatment of all individuals or groups.” In comparing “equality” and “equity,” they note that while equality “focuses on ensuring everyone gets the same resource or treatment regardless of need” whereas equity is “a more active concept, trying to understand and deliver to people what they need…[it] goes beyond equality factors…to build toward outcomes for society as a whole.” Aligning on a common language can bring about more effective communication and collaboration among practitioners and funders,…

In an email sent out this morning, EDA announced, “Given the high volume of applications, EDA is now only requiring the Lead Organization to register in EDGE.” EDGE is EDA’s new grants management platform. The email encourages applicants to “please focus on getting your application materials prepared and having the Lead Organization submit them in EDGE. Application acceptance will not be affected if consortium members are not registered in EDGE. If you have already submitted an application or if your application already includes consortium members, no further action is needed.”  

U.S. Department of the Treasury recently awarded $125 million to 43 nonprofits and community-based organizations, including SSTI member University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The money came via the American Rescue Plan Act- (ARPA-) funded (CRP) Capital Readiness Program. The CRP enables small businesses to access technical assistance through organizations that provide services to underserved businesses. The current award distribution builds upon the $300 million already announced or deployed through the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Community Navigator Program and the Treasury Department's State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Administered by the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), the CRP is also the most significant initiative in the over 50-year history of that agency, according to a fact sheet from the White House. The 43 winning organizations – a mix of nonprofit and community-based organizations, private sector entities, and institutions of higher education – are forming partnerships to assist and train underserved entrepreneurs seeking resources, tools, and support to start or scale their businesses in high-growth, high-…

Health is one of the most pressing issues in the U.S. Now, thanks to National Science Foundation's Type I NSF Engine development awards, teams throughout the U.S. will be focusing on technology-based solutions to this issue. This week we highlight three SSTI members whose NSF Engine Awards concentrate on health. These include Emory University’s project to advance health equity and diagnostic technologies (SSTI member Georgia Tech is also on this team), The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement’s (a health policy center administratively housed within SSTI member The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) project to promote fair health and economic outcomes in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and Washington University-St. Louis’ project to advance neuroscience technologies to improve cognitive wellness. A tri-state challenge The lower Mississippi Delta is one of the most left behind areas in the U.S. Parts of the Delta located in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana have the highest poverty levels and worst health statistics of any region. The Covid pandemic intensified the region's health care and food access challenges, and the region has seen less…

The National Science Foundation announced 16 finalists for the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) competition, spanning a range of key technology areas and societal and economic challenges highlighted in the "CHIPS and Science Act." The NSF Engines will link up with local and regional partners to expand innovation nationwide and create collaborative and inclusive technology-driven innovation ecosystems. The lead organizations for the 16 teams are: Arizona State University Current Innovation, NFP (IL) FUZEHUB, Inc. (NY) ICAMR, Inc. (FL) Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation Louisiana State University Michigan State University New Mexico Trade Alliance North Dakota State University, Fargo Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative, Inc. (CO) (NY) SUNY at Binghamton The Industrial Commons (NC) University of Chicago University of Minnesota-Twin Cities University of Texas at El Paso Wake Forest University School of Medicine (NC) NSF anticipates announcing the NSF Engines awards this winter, with each awardee initially…

              The U.S. Economic Development Administration’s leader, Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo, will be delivering a keynote address during Coming together for your region’s economic future: SSTI’s 2023 Annual Conference. Under her leadership, EDA has experienced a dramatic expansion in its initiatives, including the launch of Tech Hubs, Recompete, Build Back Better Regional Challenge, and the Good Jobs Challenge. Castillo’s keynote will explain how EDA’s components work together to address all elements of a thriving economy, help participants better understand the role the agency plays in building regional innovation economies, and share her vision for EDA’s future. SSTI’s 2023 Annual Conference features roundtables, workshops, and plenaries that cover the entire field of tech-based economic development (TBED)—one of the new EDA investment priorities added by EDA during this administration. Much of the conference is produced through SSTI’s TBED Community of Practice, which is supported by EDA. To register for the conference,…

SSTI has released a new data tool that defines investment activity, one indicator of the vibrancy of a region’s innovation economy, in each of 18 technology areas. Comprising two interactive visuals and a downloadable data file, this tool includes the number of investment-backed companies, investment deals, and amount of capital invested by state, year (2013-June 2023), and investment stage (e.g., seed, angel, venture) for technology verticals that were selected to align with many of the key technology areas defined in the CHIPS and Science Act and included in the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Tech Hubs program. Image of the state-level investment data visualization. Viewers can select the metric that the data tool’s visualizations will use to represent investment activity—number of angel, seed, early-, or late-stage investment deals, number of companies receiving investment, or amount of capital invested. Deal count may be the best single indicator, as it shows a breadth of activity without being subject to skewing from a single large investment. By clicking through to the final tier of the visualizations or by accessing the data file…

With a GDP of over $23 trillion in 2021, the United States has the world's largest economy, according to the latest available data from the World Bank. Yet, the U.S. falls behind such countries as Israel and Korea when it comes to how much is spent on research and development (R&D) in proportion to GDP. For example, Israel and Korea spend 5.56% and 4.93% of their GDP on R&D compared to the U.S.’ 3.46%. GDP is the sum of a region’s economic output, measuring economic productivity and innovation capacity. R&D is the process of generating new knowledge to create a novel product, service, or method. This article uses national expenditures on R&D calculated as a percentage of GDP to provide a standardized metric of R&D intensity. Later, a breakdown of the performing sectors of R&D is provided. Exploring these metrics allows for establishing a benchmark of competitiveness. This article uses data from the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Data includes GDP, gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) as a percentage of GDP, and GERD by performing sector from 1960-2022 when available. …

A report from ITIF warns that China is catching up with the U.S. in private R&D funding. If this trend continues, China could surpass the U.S. in innovation in nine critical advanced technology sectors: aerospace and defense, electronic and electrical equipment, general industrials, industrial engineering, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, software and computer services, technology and hardware equipment, alternative energy, and automobiles and parts. Looking at the numbers from 2021, when U.S.-headquartered firms spent twice as much on R&D as the global average in these sectors combined, the nation could be confident in its leadership position in innovation. However, when the authors compared the performance of firms in each country with the global average after adjusting for the size of each country’s economy, they found that China is increasing its R&D spending at an accelerated rate and could catch up to the U.S. by 2034. The authors created location quotients (LQs) that reflect the differences in wages between the U.S. and China. These adjusted numbers show that China is already close to the global average of R&D spending in relation to GDP…