SSTI Digest

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and recession, most states experienced growth in annual Higher Education Research & Development (HERD) expenditures between 2019 and 2020. Given higher education’s role in generating knowledge that catalyzes innovative new technologies developed by high-growth startups, R&D conducted at institutions of higher education is one of the most important metrics for evaluating an area’s innovation economy. This edition of Useful Stats examines data from NSF’s recently updated 2020 HERD survey, specifically examining one- and 10-year changes in HERD spending by state.

PitchBook and NVCA have published an initial look at the Venture Monitor Q4 2021, and the data already suggest an astounding level of activity in 2021. As of Dec. 31, PitchBook had identified $330 billion invested across more than 15,000 deals, substantial increases over the $167 billion invested across 12,000 deals in 2020. The increases were driven by venture capital stage investments (as opposed to seed and angel investments), which accounted for 80 percent of the additional deals. Firms raising new venture funds also did very well in 2021, with 730 funds raising $128 billion — up from $87 billion in 2020. These data are preliminary and will be updated when PitchBook and NVCA publish the formal Venture Monitor for 2021, which SSTI will then cover in detail (including by sharing state-level investment activity).

Celebrating its 25 years in operation, the National Robotics Engineering Center’s (NREC) success is revealed in an economic study commissioned by Carnegie Mellon University “to inform the future development of boundary-pushing institutions.” Established decades ago as “a new model of academic-industry partnership,” the NREC study, conducted by Fourth Economy Consulting, reveals how the robotics institution changed the economy of the neighborhood, region and robotics industry in Pittsburgh. While not written as a traditional economic impact study, some of the key effects revealed in the study include: $545 million dollars in total funding raised by NREC; 80 new companies created in the field of robotics; 64 percent of NREC employees stayed in the Pittsburgh region and three in five robotics, artificial intelligence, and tech sectors have direct ties to the National Robotics Center; Educational programming including training 250-350 teachers annually that allows the next generations of Pittsburgh’s workers to understand what robotics is and the importance of technology. The full study, Robots in the Backyard, is available here.  

In January, the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education released an updated 2021 classification list for universities. In this update, nine more universities have achieved the “Doctoral/Very High Research Activity” or “R1” category, the highest possible rank among research universities. Six additional universities were also added to the list following a six-week review period. To achieve the “R1” classification, a university must meet the following requirements: award at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees in the update year; spend at least $5 million in total research (as reported through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research & Development Survey (HERD)); and, score high in a Research Activity Index calculation. The Carnegie Classification list is updated every three years and provides a framework for administrators, policymakers, and researchers and impacts decisions on grant-making and federal and state funding for institutions. Overall, about 3,900 institutions were recognized in the 2021 classifications, down from 4,300 in 2018 and 4,600 in 2015. According to a press release from Indiana University — the…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the establishment of a new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that will support projects in areas including clean hydrogen, carbon capture, grid-scale energy storage, small modular reactors, and more. The recently-signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $21.5 billion in funding for the office’s administration and projects through 2026. In a press release making the announcement, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said the new office will “move clean energy technologies out of the lab and into local and regional economies across the country, proving the value of technologies that can deliver for communities, businesses, and markets.” The office’s programs will also include investments in demonstration projects in rural areas and economically hard-hit communities, part of the administration's Justice40 initiative aimed at delivering 40 percent of clean energy investment benefits to disadvantaged communities and those that are experiencing the first and worst impacts of climate change. 

Although it led the global digital revolution, the United States is faltering now when it comes to digital skills possessed by the workforce. That is one of the findings of a recent report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), which goes on to say that such developments bode poorly for long-term U.S. competitiveness if such trends aren’t reversed. In Assessing the State of Digital Skills in the U.S. Economy, Stephen Ezell, ITIF vice president of global innovation policy, writes that a facility with digital skills becomes more imperative for individuals wishing to make productive, value-adding contributions in their occupations. Moreover, the broader quality of a workforce’s digital skills base is important to the economy as it becomes a key determinant of enterprises’ and industries’ competitiveness and innovation capacity.  Ezell holds that government policies can be important in supporting funding for programs that teach and incentivize investment in digital skills. In addition to outlining best practices in teaching such skills, Ezell highlights policy recommendations that could help the workforce gain those skills, including…

This edition of SSTI’s Useful Stats begins a series of articles examining recently updated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for 2020, identifying changes in GDP per capita during the first year of the economic impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic, and setting the stage for future articles diving deeper into the impacts of the pandemic on local economies. Specifically, this analysis focuses on the annual percent change from 2019 to 2020 in county-level GDP per capita (calculated as total county GDP divided by total county population) using comprehensive geographical data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and population data from the Census Bureau.

Societal stereotypes that depict girls as being less interested in computer science and engineering may be hindering girls from participating in those fields later in life, according to a recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors found that young children and adolescents endorsed gender-interest stereotypes, which negatively predict girls’ interest in pursuing computer science and engineering and sense of belonging in these fields. In their study of stereotypes, authors Allison Master, Andrew N. Meltzoff and Sapna Cheryan found that children as young as six and adolescents across multiple racial/ethnic and gender intersections endorse stereotypes that girls are less interested than boys in computer science and engineering. And the more that individual girls believed that, the lower their own interest and sense of belonging in those fields was, according to the study. While the prevalence of negative stereotypes about women’s and girls’ abilities have been shown to contribute to gender disparities in computer science and engineering, this study looked at a different stereotype — that they have lower interest in those…

Yesterday, Treasury released the first clarifications for its State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) guidance. These frequently asked questions (FAQs) are intended to help states understand the program rules as they prepare their applications by the Feb. 11, 2022 deadline. The primary clarifications to rules affecting investment programs relate to how Treasury will define a “venture capital fund” and that states will most likely not be able to use SSBCI funds to become limited partners in funds that have already closed. Several high-priority issues, including how states will define a company location and the timing of “socially disadvantaged” business determinations, remain unaddressed.

Business research and development (R&D) intensity — private sector R&D expenditures as a percentage of total gross domestic product (GDP) — is an indicator of how interested businesses are in creating new products and processes. This edition of Useful Stats expands upon previous SSTI analyses of business R&D and applies the more standardized measure of “R&D intensity” to provide additional context on the private sector’s activities within states.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the phase I winners of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. Each of the 60 awardees receive $500,000 to support their region and cluster — and begin the process of competing for one of the 20-30 phase II awards that can be up to $100 million each. According to an EDA fact sheet, finalists are located in 42 states and Puerto Rico and include 15 indigenous communities. EDA also reports that the clusters receiving the most awards are: “agriculture and natural resources;” “information technology;” “energy and resilience;” “advanced manufacturing;” and, “biotechnology and biomanufacturing.” SSTI reviewed the approved concept proposals and identified 755 different organizations (with seven organizations listed with two finalists), for an average coalition size of almost 13 organizations per phase I award. Congratulations to the SSTI members among the phase I awardee leads — Empire State Development, Georgia Tech, Invest Nebraska, New Orleans BioInnovation Center, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and Virginia Tech — as well as to the numerous members included among the…

An SSTI analysis of business R&D employment data from the National Science Foundation’s recently updated 2019 Business Enterprise R&D (BERD) Survey finds that nationally in 2019, R&D employment at private businesses accounted for 8.6 percent of total employment. The states where the business R&D employment shares of total employment were the greatest in 2019 were Washington (20.9 percent); Massachusetts (19.3 percent); California (17.7 percent); New Hampshire (14.7 percent); and Michigan (12.7 percent). The analysis builds on our previous examination of business R&D expenditures and focuses on R&D employment at private businesses and the level of total business R&D expenditures per R&D employee by state in 2019.