SSTI Digest

We are excited to announce that SSTI’s annual conference is back and in-person, Nov. 1-3, in Little Rock, Arkansas. More than ever, now is the time to reconnect with those in the field and make new connections as we revitalize our plans for the innovation economy. Whether you are resetting your agenda, expanding your initiatives, evaluating your success, or searching for new paths to emerge stronger from the pandemic, we will have ideas, sessions and resources for you to explore at SSTI’s 2021 Annual Conference: Focusing on the Future. Mark your calendars, register early and as always, reach out to anyone of us here at SSTI with ideas or questions as we build out the conference agenda. And check back at ssticonference.org frequently for updates.  

Outlining the need for a new national effort to build regional innovation economies, a panel of experts gave testimony to the Research and Technology subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, chaired by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). The panel focused on how regions have developed their innovation economies and how those experiences could be replicated across the country with federal support. SSTI President and CEO Dan Berglund's testimony drew from SSTI members’ experience and his more than 35 years in the field to make the case that a robust federal response was required with a national strategy and federal funding to support state and local organizations as they develop regional innovation economies. The hearing comes as the U.S. Senate approved a regional technology hubs program, as part of the Endless Frontiers Act, which passed the Senate with bipartisan support this week (see related story). Calling out successful examples of thriving regional innovation economies such as Georgia, St. Louis and Pennsylvania, Berglund highlighted the need to build on their efforts and the shared characteristics of successful efforts that could guide a…

The Georgia Research Alliance has announced a new five-year initiative to fight sickle cell disease that will include creation of a GRA Eminent Scholar chair at the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). The Calvin Smyre GRA Eminent Scholar Chair, named for Rep. Calvin Smyre, currently the longest-serving member of the Georgia General Assembly, will be endowed with public and private funds and is the cornerstone of the new GRA initiative, which proposes funding lab equipment and additional researchers at both MSM and Emory, as well as resources to move discoveries from the university labs to clinics and markets. In a press release accompanying the announcement, Emory University President Gregory Fenves noted that the university research expertise developed in Georgia over the past several decades has prepared the state to attract more funding for advancing understanding of the disease and developing new treatments. GRA has worked for more than 30 years to expand research and entrepreneurship capacity at public and private universities and grow the state’s economy by driving more investment in the state, working…

This week, the Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a legislative package that includes the Endless Frontier Act. The tech-based economic development community should be excited about many initiatives authorized in the bill, including $10 billion for regional technology hubs, $100 billion in new R&D-related activities, and an expansion of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. The bill also provides $50 billion in appropriations for semiconductor research, and includes multiple R&D policy bills. SSTI worked with Sen. Chuck Schumer, the legislation’s lead sponsor, and other Senate offices to strengthen the proposals, The Senate action is just the first step in the legislative process, as the House is beginning to work through its own proposals. Regional Technology Hubs The Senate bill would authorize the Department of Commerce to designate at least three new “regional technology hubs” in each of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) six regions. These hubs would be proposed by consortia including state and local governments, institutions of higher education, labor and industry representatives, venture development…

The May jobs report that was released last Friday contained better news than the disappointing numbers from April, with May figures showing 559,000 jobs added and unemployment declining by 0.3 percentage point to 5.8 percent. But the jobs picture remains complicated. This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were 9.3 million vacant job openings across the country in April, a series high from its start in 2000. With employers reporting that they are facing unprecedented challenges trying to find workers to fill jobs, efforts on several fronts are aimed at returning workers to jobs, and helping them find the skills they need to fill in-demand openings. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched a new initiative this month mobilizing industry and government to address worker shortages, noting that such shortages are holding back job creators. Another collaborative effort between Social Finance (a national impact finance and advisory nonprofit) and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Philadelphia also premiered last week and released Workforce Realigned: How New Partnerships Are Advancing Economic…

A new report from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) highlights the impact of business and entrepreneurship courses at Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), which have long served as bastions of cultural identity at many American Indian and Alaskan Native reservations and important economic drivers in these prominently rural areas. MBDA finds statistically significant evidence that TCUs with stronger business and entrepreneurship curriculum typically serve the most rural areas, and that these areas have higher levels of self-employment, median earnings, and higher rates of bachelor’s degree attainment than areas served by TCUs without strong business and entrepreneurship curriculum. MBDA claims these outcomes arise from experiential, hands-on business and entrepreneurship learning opportunities based on the unique characteristics and needs of local tribal communities where these TCUs are located. Although additional data is needed to develop more sophisticated models for measuring these impacts, this preliminary evaluation provides support for further developing business and entrepreneurship curriculum at the nation’s TCUs.

Federally funded R&D is a pillar of the U.S. innovation economy, and understanding how that funding is disbursed among the various performers within a state can help regional innovation leaders in developing, designing and implementing investment strategies, programs, and policies. This edition of Useful Stats builds on a previous SSTI analysis of NSF’s recently-updated data on federal R&D funding obligations in 2019, and examines how that funding is distributed within states among industry, universities and colleges, federal agencies, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), other nonprofits, and state and local governments. Nationally in 2019, the majority of the $138.2 billion in federal R&D funds went to industry performers (31.4 percent), followed by federal agencies (27.8 percent), universities and colleges (24 percent), FFRDCs (10.4 percent), other nonprofits (6 percent), and state and local governments (0.4 percent). However, the mix of R&D performers within individual states is much more variable as seen in the interactive chart below. On the state level, universities and colleges were the top recipients of federal R…

The White House released President Joe Biden’s full budget proposal last week. As previewed in the “skinny” budget, the administration is supporting substantial increases for R&D, workforce and broadband. Support for federal programs that support entrepreneurship and the transformation of research, however, are more mixed. Within this context, here are the top things to know about the budget proposal that weren’t already covered in our reporting of the “skinny” budget. 1. Build to Scale would receive $45 million The budget proposes $45 million for the Build to Scale program at EDA, an increase of $7 million over FY 2021. EDA as a whole would see $383 million (+ $77 million) in programmatic funding, including $84 million for assistance to coal communities (+ $50 million). 2. SBA’s innovation programs increased to $30 million The budget preview proposed a combined $30 million for SBA’s Regional Innovation Clusters (RIC), FAST program, and the Growth Accelerators Fund Competition (GAFC). The full budget now reveals that these programs would each receive $10 million, which is an increase of $4 million for RIC, + $6 million for FAST, and an…

Building on top of the notion that diversity of industry is central to a region’s entrepreneurial success, recent research has noted that the personalities of people living throughout a region also play an important role in local knowledge spillover and the economic diversity of the area. The report, Entrepreneurship in Cities by Sam Tavassoli, Martin Obschonka, and David B. Audretsch, examines the relationship between a city’s entrepreneurial success and its ability to provide a favorable and connected environment for its residents through urban density and local psychological openness. The authors cite the continued influence of urban planning researcher Jane Jacobs, who found that diversity and urban density provided a favorable structural city environment for innovation and economic growth. However, the report notes that the majority of entrepreneurially-minded scholars have built on Jacobs’ research by focusing only on the diversity of industries and firms within a city, leaving behind the human element that Jacobs’ cited as an important contributor to a region’s success. To better understand the relationship between city environments, their residents, and…

Eric Lander was confirmed by the Senate as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He will serve as the president’s science adviser and, for the first time, the position will also hold a seat in the Cabinet. Lander, 64, was president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and was a co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under former President Barack Obama. In the opening remarks of his nomination hearing, Lander vowed to “make full inclusion and equitable outcomes a high priority” and said he would world to “work to put in place a plan to increase the numbers of women and underrepresented people in the science and technology professions by 50 percent.”

As vaccination rates increase across the country and infections fall, the role of science in combatting the COVID-19 virus is front and center. Last week, we brought you stories about SSTI members’ efforts to help small businesses. In today’s story, we share additional feedback from our members that worked to find ways to fight the virus and others who pivoted to help their students continue to learn in a challenging environment. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Emory University’s non-profit drug development company, DRIVE, quickly repurposed a broad-spectrum antiviral drug it had been developing against influenza and equine encephalitis. In 2018, GRA’s venture development program had invested in DRIVE’s pursuit of drug compounds to fight RNA viruses (of which SARS-CoV-2 is one) — and later, the testing of a therapeutic at Georgia State University. The drug that was launched at Emory reduces the virus that causes COVID-19 to undetectable levels. Molnupiravir is being developed further by Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a closely held biotechnology company, which licensed the drug from DRIVE last year. The drug can be provided as a pill in an outpatient…

This week the Small Business Administration (SBA) released several funding opportunities to support and promote equitable and inclusive economic recovery for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The new Community Navigator Pilot Program will award $100 million to support regional “hub and spoke” networks in providing technical assistance, training, direct financial assistance, and other services to underserved small businesses. The Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) and the SBIR Catalyst Prize Competition (SBIR Catalyst) will provide a total of $5.25 million in funding for impactful and inclusive approaches for supporting entrepreneurs in conducting R&D. Established by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Community Navigator Pilot Program will leverage the coordinating power of network “hubs” and the direct outreach and stakeholder engagement “spokes” to deliver services to underserved businesses, especially those owned by women, veterans and socially disadvantaged individuals. Award amounts will vary depending on the size of proposed networks and the markets they are able to serve, with total funding ranging from $1 million to $5 million per network.…