SSTI Digest

Over the past few months, SSTI has followed proposals issued by governors in their budget requests, State of the State Addresses, Inaugural Speeches and other events. Now that many state legislatures have begun approving budgets, the Digest will check on the status of these proposals, and examine the state of technology-based economic development funding in the states. This week, we review actions in Arkansas, Mississippi and New York. ArkansasGov. Asa Hutchinson signed off on $8.5 million in FY16 funding for the operation of the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA) (SB 31). Beyond operations, $1.9 million was appropriated for ASTA's seed capital investments and another $18.7 million was allotted for the Arkansas Acceleration Fund. Up to $5 million of the Acceleration Fund dollars will be available for use by Innovation Arkansas. The Acceleration Fund received another $30 million through a separate operations budget (SB 111) for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. ASTA's MEP office, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions, will receive $2.6 million, including $941,110 in federal funds, $257,182 in state funds and $1.5 million from the…

California-based companies received about 56 percent of all U.S. venture capital dollars in 2014, the state's highest share of venture activity since the dot com boom of the early 2000s. Over the past 15 years, investment activity has steadily become more concentrated in California and a few other states. In 2009, about 67 percent of all deals and 74 percent of venture capital dollars flowed to the top five states. By 2014, those states' share of venture dollars grew to 80 percent, according to NVCA/Pricewaterhouse Coopers data. A recent Harvard Business Review article, however, suggests that startups are receiving first-round funding in more metropolitan areas than ever. The NVCA/PwC data indicate that California's dominance over the U.S. venture capital industry appears to be holding steady, but its high percentage of national venture capital dollars is due to larger deals rather than larger number of funded companies. Over the past 10 years, California's share of the nation's venture capital dollars has grown from about 47 percent to 56 percent. The state's share of deals, however, has remained fairly steady. In 2005, California's…

Over the past decade stem cell research has been touted as a game-changer in the life sciences and a potential fount of new biomedical innovations. As a result, several states have launched targeted programs to support stem cell research, despite the controversy that tends to surround the field. New research suggests that these programs have been effective at increasing the output of researchers in their respective states. State investments in California and Connecticut have helped researchers outperform their colleagues around the country, according to a recent paper published in Cell Stem Cell. Programs in New York and Maryland did not have quite the same impact, but helped research output in those states keep pace with other states. Authors Hillary B. Alberta, Albert Cheng, Emily L. Jackson, Matthew Pjecha and Aaron D. Levine examine the impact of stem cell programs in California, Connecticut, New York and Maryland, though the study also acknowledges efforts in Illinois and New Jersey. Over the past 10 years, each of these states has invested in basic and translational stem cell research for the stated purpose of advancing the science and creating jobs. The programs…

This week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released his proposed 2015-16 budget, including an extensive slate of economic development and innovation initiatives for the state. The governor unveiled his plans in a press conference outlining his 2015 Opportunity Agenda in lieu of this year’s State of the State address. Gov. Cuomo’s proposed economic strategy includes a $1.5 billion competition, based on the previous Buffalo Billion initiative, to help revitalize Upstate New York. The Upstate New York Economic Revitalization Competition would offer awards of $500 million to three of seven Upstate regions. The competition would leverage the partnerships created through the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) awards by calling on those groups to prepare regional investment plans that could qualify for the competition. The Western New York, Long Island and New York City REDCs would not be eligible. Submissions would be due in July and winners would be announced in the fall. Separately, all 10 REDCs would be able to participate in a fifth round of REDC awards. The governor’s budget would allocate $150 million to fund regional priority projects and…

New York Gov. Cuomo unveiled a $1 billion public-private broadband program to ensure every New Yorker has access to high-speed Internet by 2019. Utilizing capital funds from bank settlements, the state will commit $500 million to the New NY Broadband Program with the intent of incentivizing the private sector to invest the additional $500 million to expand high-speed broadband access in underserved and unserved areas. To receive funding, the proposed plan must meet three qualifications: The state’s investment must serve to stimulate competition in the broadband market where none or little exists; improving affordability and quality of service. Broadband providers must provide Internet speeds of at least 100 Mbps with funding priority given to those delivering the highest speeds at the lowest cost. In certain limited cases, providers may offer 25 Mbps speeds to the most remote unserved and underserved areas of the state if the project can be scaled to 100 or more Mbps in the future. Building on the successful Connect NY model, each Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) will submit a comprehensive plan to the state. In addition to connecting New York…

Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund (NYSIVC or The Fund), a $50 million fund that is expected to leverage at least $100 million in private capital to support early stage companies in high growth areas such as advanced materials, clean technology, life sciences/biotechnology, and information technology. Administered by Empire State Development (ESD), The Fund will be comprised of two segments: The Technology Commercialization Segment works to facilitate commercialization of university technologies through investments of up to $100,000, while The Seed and Early Stage Co-Investment Segment invests between $100,000 and $5 million directly in seed and early stage companies in strategic industries and locations. The Fund, as part of Gov. Cuomo’s broader economic development strategy, will be coordinated with New York’s other existing business resources and programs, such as: The START-UP NY program, which offers regional tax-free zones to grow businesses; Innovation Hot Spots, regional collaborations offering startups business support services; Regional Economic Development Councils,…

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the fourth round of regional economic development grants to support tailored approaches to job creation in different areas of the state. The $709.2 million in awards are part of the state’s ongoing Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative begun in 2011. Regional strategies have long been a key component of state development policy, enabling policymakers to encourage institutional partnerships with a focus on the specific needs of local economies. New York’s approach supports individual projects proposed by regional councils. Other models have been proposed in Indiana and Kentucky. The New York Regional Council initiative added a few new components in its fourth round. Originally, the ten councils had been tasked with finding and proposing projects that were ready for investment while following a five-year strategic plan, coordinating regional economic development efforts, leveraging both public and private resources, eliminating local obstacles to growth and checking performance over time (see 2011 article on the launch). During the first three rounds, more than $2 billion has been invested by the…

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of the Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, a 100-member public-private partnership between public research universities, private sector companies, and other research partners to develop next generation of materials and processes used in the manufacturing of wide band gap semiconductors. According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, the state will commit up to $135 million to help establish the new consortium and private sector partners will commit the remaining $365 million over five years. The partnership also is supported by the START-UP NY tax free initiative. Housed at the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, the site will act as a global “open-innovation” user-shared facility that provides partners with access to cutting-edge equipment and provide a collaborative research environment. Partners will focus their research on silicon carbide and other technologies that have the potential to enable devices to get smaller, faster and more efficient than silicon semiconductors. The partnership will be led by General Electric (GE), which promised to invest $100 million over…

This article is part of SSTI's series on trends in state technology-based economic development legislation in 2014. Read our other entries covering legislative action on patent reform, capital & tax credits, technology commercialization & infrastructure, workforce & STEM and manufacturing & clusters. With an eye toward long-term payoffs associated with investments in research, lawmakers dedicated funds and strengthened ties with industry partners. Some states made significant investments in facilities and R&D to grow cancer research capabilities, while others looked to universities to establish new avenues for discovery or attract star researchers. In Washington, the life sciences community banded together to save a nine year-old grant fund that invests in R&D and helps the state remain competitive. Two states, Florida and Oregon, passed bills that dedicate funds to elevate their state’s status in cancer care and research. In Florida, lawmakers earmarked $80 million in the FY15 budget for a cancer research initiative announced earlier in the year by Gov. Rick Scott.  Of the amount, $60 million is slated for existing…

This article is part of SSTI's series on trends in state technology-based economic development legislation in 2014. Read our other entries covering legislative action on patent reform, research capacity, capital & tax credits, workforce & STEM and manufacturing & clusters. State legislators in many parts of the country took action this year to fund the construction of research infrastructure and provide financial support for commercialization. In Kansas, New York, Georgia, Maine and Wyoming, legislators funded the construction of laboratories and other innovative spaces at public universities to boost the high-tech economy. In Colorado, Maryland and a number of universities, new initiatives were rolled out to support public-private research collaborations and the commercialization of cutting-edge technology. Building the infrastructure for researchKansas’ Wichita State University received $2 million in funding for the Innovation Campus at Wichita State earlier this year. The launch of the campus is the first step in the university’s long-term plan to construct a five-building campus dedicated to the commercialization of university…

This article is part of SSTI's series on trends in state technology-based economic development legislation in 2014. Read our other entries covering legislative action on patent reform, research capacity, capital & tax credits, technology commercialization & infrastructure and  workforce & STEM. The recent uptick in U.S. manufacturing activity, along with the attention generated by additive manufacturing and the Makers movement, has led to an increase in state initiatives to help cash in on this growth. In recent months, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Arizona have all taken steps to build stronger manufacturing sectors through research collaborations, grants and tax credits. Leaders in Colorado and New Jersey have pursued their own cluster-specific efforts to build stronger high-tech industries. Among New York’s many TBED-focused efforts in the past year, the state has established a 20 percent property tax credit and eliminated the income tax for manufacturers. The FY15 budget also provides $680 million for the Buffalo Billion initiative. The funding fulfills Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2012 commitment to provide $1 billion to the…

Many of the proposals put forth by Gov. Andrew Cuomo for growing New York’s innovation economy were fulfilled or received ongoing support in the enacted FY15 budget. This includes a final installment of $680 million to complete the Buffalo Billion initiative, new rounds of funding for the Regional Economic Development Councils, SUNY and CUNY challenge grants, and tax breaks for manufacturers. Lawmakers also approved funding for a new genomic medicine network and STEM scholarship program. Highlights of funding for new initiatives within the enacted budget are outlined below: $55.75 million for the New York Genomic Medicine Network to support a partnership between the University at Buffalo (UB) and the New York Genome Center. The partnership seeks to advance medical science using Buffalo’s Center for Computational Research to enable genetic discoveries. A dollar-for-dollar match is required from the Genome Center. The budget also authorizes $50 million of the Buffalo Billion initiative for UB. Read more… $8 million for a new STEM Scholarship program that will provide full tuition scholarships to any SUNY or CUNY college or university for students in…