SSTI Digest

On June 26, 2023, the U.S. government announced allocations from the $42.45 Billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. These funds, allocated to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories, are intended to close the digital divide in the U.S., as funding will be used to deploy or upgrade broadband networks to ensure that everyone in the U.S. has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service. The announcement included the amount that each recipient is due to receive. These amounts were based on a map from the FCC, which had been challenged by many potential recipients and revised accordingly. Nineteen states will receive at least $ 1 billion, according to an NTIA announcement. Texas received $3.3 billion, more than any other state; nineteen other states, including Alaska and Michigan, received between $1 and $2 billion. Seven recipients, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, received between $100 million and $160 million. States, D.C., and territories (“eligible entities”) will receive their formal notice of allocation on June 30, 2023. They will have 180 days from the date of that formal…

Today, the Supreme Court ended Affirmative Action on college campuses. The syllabus (headnote) to the decision stated: “Because Harvard's and UNC's admissions programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points, those admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause.” With this ruling, the Supreme Court upends a status quo that has existed for 45 years. Impacts, from undergraduates to STEM faculty Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce’s (CEW) report, Race, Elite College Admissions, and the Courts: The Pursuit of Racial Equality in Education Retreats to K–12 Schools, prepared before the decision was released states, “As a result of the expected ruling, selective higher education institutions almost certainly will become less diverse, reducing the rates of degree attainment among students from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.” In academia, there is a fear that there could be a dampening effect on those trying to diversify…

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has signed into law a bill that establishes a green jobs corps program. This program will identify a talent development strategy for communities to address the impacts of climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The bill includes several provisions to accomplish those goals and a plan to market and recruit these jobs to individuals, especially from underrepresented populations. The bill’s goal is to ensure the development of CT's green technology industry and workforce by implementing green job work-based learning, certification, and degree programs that target green industries facing workforce shortages. These programs will be offered at career schools and institutions of higher education.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced a funding opportunity and application process for large semiconductor supply chain projects that include materials and manufacturing equipment facility projects with capital investments equal to or exceeding $300 million. Alongside the funding opportunity for larger supply chain projects, the Department also released a “Vision for Success" outlining strategic objectives for investments in the semiconductor supply chain. The goals in the vision paper include: (1) strengthening supply chain resilience, including by reducing chokepoint risks flowing from the geographic concentration of critical semiconductor inputs; (2) advancing U.S. technology leadership, including by incentivizing major U.S. manufacturing equipment and materials suppliers to increase their footprints in the United States and attracting non-U.S. suppliers of the world's most advanced equipment, materials, and subsystems to establish large-scale footprints here; and (3) supporting vibrant U.S. fab clusters, including ensuring an ecosystem of reliable suppliers supports each CHIPS-funded cluster. Application Processes and Timelines…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury released new proposed regulations this week that, together with draft guidance published in March, define how semiconductor companies can take advantage of the advanced manufacturing investment tax credit created as part of the CHIPS & Science Act. This credit is equal to 25% of the capitalized costs of tangible property used to manufacture semiconductors or semiconductor manufacturing equipment placed in service after 2022, and the credit is refundable, meaning that companies posting a loss can still receive its full value. In evaluating the cost of the legislation, the Congressional Budget Office expected more than $24 billion in claims for the credit. The latest proposed guidance defines elective payment procedures, which are intended to help companies receive the credit’s financial benefits more quickly. Comments on the rule are due by August 14.

The House and Senate are working toward FY 2024 appropriations, but not even a negotiated agreement has kept the chambers moving in the same direction. Today, the Senate appropriations committee directed its subcommittees to produce bills that align with the slight reduction in non-defense spending agreed to in the debt ceiling agreement reached earlier this month. However, after House Freedom Caucus members revolted over the agreement, the House appropriations committee decided to direct its subcommittees to produce bills  that cut another $119 billion from the level agreed to as part of the debt ceiling deal.

The Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program (Recompete Pilot Program)—authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act— will invest $200 million toward interventions that spur economic activity in geographically diverse and persistently distressed communities nationwide. The program will support economic revitalization in distressed communities across the country. Specifically, this program targets areas where prime-age (25-54 years) employment significantly trails the national average and is intended to close the gap through flexible, bottom-up strategy development and implementation investments. Applicants should demonstrate how benefits from the program are shared equitably across all affected populations. EDA will deploy funding through two-phases. Phase 1 investments can be used for strategy development activities, while Phase 2 investments can support a wide range of implementation activities across workforce development, business and entrepreneur development, infrastructure, and additional planning, predevelopment, or technical assistance. In Phase 1, EDA anticipates approximately $6-12 million in Strategy Development grants. In Phase 2, applicants can apply for…

On May 30, 2023, FCC released a broadband map that had been updated to reflect states' challenges to the availability data for more than 4 million locations throughout the U.S. Seventy-five percent of those challenges had been resolved in the new map. The new map reflected a net increase of more than one million new serviceable locations that had not appeared on the previous map.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) have all made recent announcements on new funding provided either through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or the CHIPS and Science Act. DoE is accepting applications for an $80 million program focused on benefiting small and medium-sized manufacturing firms. USDA and MEP announced more than 170 awards to expand innovative uses of wood and to address supply chain issues. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) received $80 million in grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to benefit small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms (SMMs). The grant funding is for accelerating the use of DOE recommendations. Through DOE's Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) and Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership (CHP TAP) programs, qualifying SMMs can receive a free assessment leading to lower operating costs and reduced pollution emissions. The Industrial Assessment Center Implementation Grant Program will provide up to $300,000 per entity to help them use recommendations from assessments conducted between 2018 and 2023. SMMs…

In a recent installment of SSTI’s federal funding video series, SSTI program director Jerry Coughter conducted a two-part interview with Amanda Kosty, management and program analyst with the Economic Development Administration’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Their discussion focused on the Build to Scale (B2S) program’s two competition tracks: the Venture Challenge and the Capital Challenge. These interviews offer a comprehensive overview of each funding track and its alignment with technology-based economic development (TBED) strategies. They also provide valuable advice on crafting competitive applications, emphasizing understanding and directly addressing the specific challenges your community faces as part of your proposal.

As states continue to grapple with the effects of low unemployment and a tight labor market, lawmakers and workforce development organizations also continue to explore how to increase labor participation among nontraditional or marginalized workers – including several states which relaxed child labor laws during this year’s legislative sessions – to address areas or sectors that are experiencing workforce shortages. While bringing more children into the labor market may ease some market stress, it is not an optimal solution, and other strategies can be employed to alleviate the labor crunch. Over the past few years, states have proposed and implemented policies and initiatives that are designed to better align businesses and workforce needs with public or higher education, increased the opportunities and incentives for apprenticeship programs, and established programs to assist the formerly incarcerated back into the labor force as a means to lessen recidivism rates and fill jobs. In the past year, lawmakers have built upon those programs while introducing some new initiatives that seek to incentivize older (or mature) workers to either delay retirement or for…

On June 14, 2023, NSF announced 34 semifinalists for the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) competition. The NSF Engines will be led by universities, nonprofits, businesses, and other organizations from across U.S. states and territories. Each NSF Engine could receive up to $160 million over 10 years; actual amounts will be subject to a given NSF Engine's status and overall progress, as assessed annually. Congratulations to the SSTI members that are finalists—including FuzeHub, Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University, Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative (Innosphere) and Virginia Tech—and the many members participating as partners across the awards. During the next stage, NSF will interview each team to assess their proposed leadership's ability to rapidly mobilize in the first two years; their competitive advantages; and budget and resources for their planned research and development, translation, and workforce development efforts. Those selected to move to the final round in July will be interviewed in person to assess risks and committed resources, as well as the team's ability to…