SSTI Digest

Last fall, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) issued its report on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on under-represented and under-served communities. The report, which had been requested in 2021 by the U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, found a disparity in wage and employment among manufacturing workers by race and gender resulting from changes in trade policy. Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers, released in October of 2022, was compiled from a series of roundtable discussions between March 1 and April 1, 2022, an academic symposium on April 5-6, 2022, and a public hearing on April 19, 2022. Tai had called for the investigation to better identify and measure the potential distributional effects of U.S. trade and trade policy on U.S. workers, by skill, wage and salary level, gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income level, especially as they affect under-represented and under-served communities. Findings from the panels highlighted how manufacturing facilities offer opportunities for building wealth without requiring a college degree in many instances. One academic noted…

Five SSTI member organizations — Conductor, Nebraska Business Development Center, University of Louisville, University of South Alabama, and Verge — were awarded micro grants by SSTI to host policy meetings with state and local officials in their regions about the needs of innovation-driven entrepreneurs. The awards were made possible thanks to a project with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In total, the seven meetings held by these groups connected dozens of entrepreneurs and support organizations with federal, state and local elected officials, program administrators and staff. Conductor hosted the “Small Business Policy Luncheon” on Sept. 27, 2022, at the Arnold Innovation Center in Conway, Arkansas. Congressman French Hill was the keynote speaker at the event, which attracted entrepreneurs, university and chamber of commerce staff and members of the state and local government. Hill spoke on Arkansas’ entrepreneurial climate, while Conductor discussed why entrepreneurship matters and how poor policy can adversely affect growth. Nebraska Business Development Center hosted the “Innovation Policy Forum” on Sept. 21, 2022, at the Nebraska Innovation Campus…

Microbusinesses (businesses with 1-9 domestic employees) spent $7.5 billion in both domestic and foreign R&D expenditures or costs in 2020, of which $6.7 billion was in the U.S. Of this total, $5.6 billion was performed by microbusinesses themselves, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) and data from the Annual Business Survey (ABS). The $5.6 billion performed by U.S. microbusinesses in 2020 shows over a $1 billion increase in domestic R&D performed by microbusinesses themselves as compared to 2018. The survey found that microbusiness R&D was highly concentrated in a few industries, with selected nonmanufacturing industries accounting for $5 billion alone. Just three NAICS  industries accounted for more than two thirds (69%) of all microbusiness R&D performance: architectural, engineering, and related services (NAICS 5413); computer systems design and related services (NAICS 5415); and scientific research and development services (NAICS 5417). The R&D performed by microbusinesses in 2020 is broken into three categories: basic, applied and development. Development or experimental development…

A previous Digest article gave a broad overview of the most recent survey of Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) for FY 2021 (the most recent data available), including a breakdown of what field of studies receive the most R&D funding. The survey showed that the federal government funds the bulk of higher-ed R&D, and looking at each of its agencies can shed light on investment priorities. Within the federal government, Health and Human Services (HHS) funded the most higher-ed R&D activities by far (approximately $27.5 billion), followed by the Department of Defense (DoD; $7.4 billion) and National Science Foundation (NSF; $5.4 billion). A bulk of HHS funding went toward the life sciences ($24.2 billion), with engineering following behind at approximately $1 billion. DoD primarily funded engineering ($3.7 billion), followed by life sciences ($1.4 billion). To put HHS’ $24.2 billion financing of higher-ed life sciences R&D into perspective, the higher-ed R&D financed by all other federal agencies in every field adds up to $21.6 billion — $2.6 billion less than HHS’ financing of life sciences alone, and $5.9 billion less than HHS’ total.…

Total deal counts across angel, seed and VC deals for Q4 2022 were the lowest of the year at 2,935 deals, a decrease of 670 deals as compared to Q3 2022, according to Q4 data from PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q4 2022. Despite low deal counts for Q4, 2022 is still on track to come in close behind 2021, which marked the highest deal count since the data began being collected in 2012. A strong total deal count alongside a high deal value reflects a successful year for venture capital, even amid economic strain caused by high interest rates, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and lingering COVID-19 impacts.  PitchBook reports the total deal count for 2022 to be 15,852 across angel, seed, and VC (with another 2,138 that PitchBook estimates to have occurred but have not yet been formally identified) with a total deal value of $283.3 billion.These totals are approaching those of 2021, which had a deal count of 18,521 and a deal value of $344.7 billion.  Of the 2,935 observed deals (i.e., deals that have been discovered by, or reported to, PitchBook) in Q4, 1,060 of them were angel/seed, 919 early VC, 772 later VC and 184 venture growth deals. Although…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund released a file and map summarizing core economic data for each census tract. Policymakers and practitioners should be aware of these changes for both what the data reveal about local economic trends and the impact the changes could have on future program eligibility. Importantly, tract-level economic distress is integral to CDFI certification and business eligibility for portions of Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), as well as being a common reference for federal programs that prioritize distressed regions. The new data makes numerous changes from the 2018 update, including nearly 23,000 new census tract IDs and more than 11,000 tracts with a different economic distress status. The CDFI Fund update identifies 40,529 census tracts as eligible investment areas. These tracts are designated due to meeting one or more of the following conditions: a poverty rate of 20% or above, an unemployment rate 1.5 times the national average, a median family income of 80% or below the regional median or has a high level of population loss (for details on the…

The U.S. Department of State established a new office intended to develop and coordinate critical and emerging technology foreign policy, including biotechnology, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technologies.  The Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology began operations Jan. 3. The office will offer policy expertise in technology, diplomatic leadership, and strategic direction for the department. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken established the office as part of a modernization agenda to address the emerging technologies reshaping the world that are an integral part of the conduct of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy.

This edition of Useful Stats takes a high-level look at the United States’ change in Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP, which is GDP adjusted for inflation) on a per capita basis for each of its counties, boroughs, parishes, etc. (hereon referred to as “counties”). Looking at RGDP per capita allows for an inflation adjusted, population standardized metric for comparing counties over time. This article explores the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ (BEA) most recent data release for all industries. RDGP per capita is calculated using BEA’s county-level population data, which uses Census Bureau midyear population estimates. This data can be found at the end of this article. 1-Year Change, 2020-2021 The two most recent years of data, 2020 and 2021, reflect a great deal of economic growth, with the total United States Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) growing by over $1.1 trillion, or around 6%. In terms of RGDP per capita — RGDP divided by population — of the 3,118 analyzed U.S. counties, 2,373 experienced a year-over-year growth and 738 experienced a decrease.[1] On average, counties’ RGDP per capita increased by approximately 3%, with changes as high as +80% (Coke,…

A recent State of Skills report by the Burning Glass Institute, the Business-Higher Education Forum, and Wiley identifies four emerging technical skill sets as the fastest growing in the country: artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), cloud computing, product management, and social media. The authors use these four skill sets to illustrate how businesses, education providers, and learners can best prepare for a changing and increasingly technology-driven labor market.  The report describes how the demand for new skills, despite historic trends, is no longer isolated to the tech sector or new occupations and is an opportunity to draw in talent from a larger pool of candidates. Given the current challenges with meeting employers’ technical talent needs, the authors emphasize the importance of developing talent pipeline strategies that include training for new skills and prioritize continuous learning and skill transition opportunities. Through a recent partnership with Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass) and the National Center for O*NET Development (an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor), O*NET has updated its approach to…

SSTI is excited to announce staffing changes that are helping us build on our mission to strengthen initiatives to create a better future through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the past few months, SSTI has added five new staff members — Casey Nemecek, Jerry Coughter, Jonathan Dillon, Lisa Clayton and Sobia Saied — strengthened our student interns/assistants program, and promoted Mark Skinner to executive vice president and Jason Rittenberg to vice president. Recent SSTI staff additions: Casey Nemecek, program director Casey Nemecek is a Program Director for SSTI’s Technology-based Economic Development (TBED) Community of Practice, which is supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). Ms. Nemecek’s previous work focused on program design and building partnerships to bring education and industry into alignment. Most recently, she supported workforce development efforts in Indiana through the promotion and implementation of registered youth apprenticeship programs. Casey holds a B.A. from Vassar College and a M.P.A. from Indiana University O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs.   Jerry…

In larger VC firms with more assets under management (AUM), women at all levels received pay in line with what men received, with the median total cash for female general partners above that of the men. However, women at smaller AUM firms received significantly less total cash compensation than men, particularly at the managing general partner level, according to a survey on professional compensation in venture capital firms conducted by First Republic Bank recently and J. Thelander Consulting, Inc.   Over half of survey participants said their firms have policies and programs in place to promote diversity in recruiting and career development.

The National Association of State Budget Officers’ (NASBO) Fall 2022 Fiscal Survey of States, released last month, reflects a more positive fiscal environment than last year and found that FY 2022 general fund spending grew a record breaking 18.3%, slightly higher than previous estimates, although when adjusted for inflation, spending grew at a rate of 9.6%. Alongside rising general fund expenditures, general fund revenue grew 14.5% to $1.17 trillion in FY 2022 (slightly lower than FY 2021’s 16.6% increase). Rainy day funds reached record highs, growing an additional 10.43% in FY 2022, from $121.8 to $134.5 billion, building off of FY 2021’s 58% increase over the prior year. The data used in NASBO’s Fiscal Survey of States was compiled through surveys of executive state budget officers between August and November 2022. As noted by NASBO, with some exceptions, FY 2021 data represents actual figures, FY 2022 preliminary actual (not all states have certified their 2022 actuals, or may still be relying on enacted budgets), and FY 2023 reflect a given states’ enacted budget. Comparing FY 2022 data to FY 2021 data reveals that on average, states increased general…