SSTI Digest

As the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) prepares to enter its third decade, it is seeking public input on what that future should look like. NNI is drafting its 2021 strategic plan and has several big changes under consideration, including a reorganization and shifts in research and commercialization priorities. For instance, as nanotechnology matures and reaches broader applications, so too do questions around “responsible development,” including environmental, health and safety considerations, according to NNI.  Workforce and education needs grow as well as nanotechnology moves from lab to market. The request for public input is available from the Federal Register; additional background information regarding the strategic plan is accessible on the NNI website.  Responses are requested by Nov. 11, 2020.

While new business starts this year are outpacing last year’s rate, those numbers may not signal an increase in entrepreneurship as some press coverage is implying. Business formation statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau released yesterday showed a dramatic 77 percent increase in business applications for the third quarter of the year over the second, but a closer look at those applications reveals that many may not survive.

In the largest single gift in the history of Missouri higher education, $300 million has been donated to support Missouri S&T that will enable the university to establish a new school of innovation and entrepreneurship, among other things. The benefactors are St. Louis businessman Fred Kummer, a graduate of the school who credited the education he received there with his success, and his wife. The Kummers’ gift will be channeled into a new not-for-profit foundation that will support several new initiatives at Missouri S&T including: The Kummer School of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, a new school within the university that will combine business-related academic programs with new programs related to innovation and entrepreneurship at the bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. levels.  A new, independent, university-affiliated R&D entity that will include four new research centers focused on infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and environmental and resource sustainability. This new entity will serve as the university’s node for partnerships with industry, public and private…

"Finders," those who connect potential investors with issuers (e.g., startups seeking funding) within private markets, would not be required to register as brokers under recently proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) exemptions. Currently, individuals who work to connect investors and issuers — including simply providing issuers with a contact list and regardless of whether any advice is provided or whether the connection is made on behalf of one of the parties to any investment — may be required to register with the SEC as a broker. The proposed rule, announced Oct. 7, defines two tiers of "finders": Tier I being limited to “providing contact information of potential investors in connection with only a single capital raising transaction by a single issuer in a 12 month period” with no investor contact; Tier II is more expansive, allowing ‘finders’ to communicate with investors on behalf of issuers, provided that they do not give “advice as to the valuation or advisability of the investment.” Following the publication within the Federal Register on Oct. 13, the SEC will remain open to public comments regarding these potential exemptions for 30 days…

The depth of the recession is coming into clearer view with the recent release of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the second quarter of 2020. A press release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) shows that real GDP decreased by double digits in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.; ranging from a 42.2 percent drop in Hawaii and Nevada to a 20.4 percent drop in the District of Columbia. The release also details the industry contributions to state GDP declines in the second quarter. The accommodation and food services industry GDP decreased by 88.4 percent nationally, decreased in every state, and was the leading contributor to GDP loss in 17 states. The healthcare and social assistance industry decreased by 48.1 percent nationally, decreased in every state, and was the leading contributor to GDP loss in 18 states. As seen in the interactive map below, many states experienced minor quarterly declines in GDP over the five previous quarters. Starting in the first quarter of 2020, as the impacts of the pandemic were beginning to be felt, GDP declined by single digits in every state except Delaware (-11.4 percent), Louisiana (-11.9 percent), and Wyoming (-10.5…

With the general election less than one month away, SSTI has reviewed the 120 state ballot initiatives throughout the country for innovation-related issues. Education, gig workers, redistricting and issues surrounding elections and state budgets are scattered across the country and can affect the future of innovation through funding, talent and political will. Read below for coverage on the initiatives that could have an impact on different segments of the economy and the future of innovation. Education and research Question 1 on the Nevada ballot would remove the constitutional status of the Board of Regents governing higher education in the state if it wins voter approval. It would give the Legislature the power to govern, control and manage the state university system of higher education. Proposition 14 in California would issue $5.5 billion in general obligation bonds for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was created to fund stem cell research after voters approved Proposition 71 in 2004. Last year, CIRM suspended applications for new projects due to depleted funds, according to Ballotpedia. Issue 14 would dedicate $1.5…

As the pandemic turned workplaces upside down, women in particular have been negatively impacted. Women, especially women of color, are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed and the supports that working women relied on, namely school and child care, have been upended. As a result, more than a quarter of women are contemplating downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce, according to Women in the Workplace, the sixth in the series from McKinsey and LeanIn.Org, which calls the current situation “an emergency for corporate America.” And, a recent New York Times story this week detailed how alarm bells are also ringing for women in academia, who already faced obstacles in advancing their research and careers. The study’s findings of women considering leaving the workforce were reflected in data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data showed that women over the age of 20 left the labor force at four times the rate of men between August and September (using seasonally adjusted data). The McKinsey study also details how Black women already face more barriers to advancement than most other employees, and notes that today they…

The strength of personal relationships and social connections are the most important factors for accessing capital markets according to a recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Theresa Kuchler, Yan Li, Lin Peng, Johannes Stroebel, and Dexin Zhou — using a novel modeling system and index of “social connectedness” — conclude that physical, geographical proximity has long served as the primary proxy for measuring how the social connections among firms and investors across geographies affect access to capital markets and investment decisions. These findings may have far reaching impacts for businesses from any region—not just those closer to investment hubs—as well as for entrepreneurial support organizations and other stakeholders seeking to strengthen their local innovation communities.

As Manufacturing Day continues to be recognized throughout the month of October, the Census Bureau issued a press release highlighting the key economic contributions of the manufacturing sector. The release highlighted the increases in the value of shipments and employment in the manufacturing sector from 2017 to 2018, as well as the sector’s nearly 60 percent share of U.S. exports. But a recent report from Policy Matters Ohio and The Century Foundation set a more cautionary note. Analyzing data over a much longer period and focused on four states in the Great Lakes region, the report finds that manufacturing jobs had not yet recovered to pre-Great Recession levels even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and that the wage advantage of manufacturing has continued to erode compared to other sectors in the region.

Against the backdrop of a recent report from Citigroup Global Perspectives & Solutions that tags the cost of failing to address the racial gaps between Blacks and whites in the U.S. economy over the last 20 years at $16 trillion, the Industry and Inclusion initiative — a joint effort by the Urban Manufacturing Alliance and the Century Foundation — is working towards making Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) the centerpiece of workforce development strategy. Highlighting best practices for supporting people of color in accessing and building wealth through opportunities in manufacturing, the initiative offers a framework for all workforce development organizations to accelerate their efforts in closing racial equity gaps.

Earlier this week, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL) filed interim final rules related to the H-1B visa application process. The DHS rule is not yet available, but a press release indicates its purpose is to limit the definition of “specialty occupation” and to close “loopholes.” The rule will take effect 60 days after it is published. The primary effect of the DOL rule, effective as soon as it appears in the Federal Register, will be to bolster the calculations employers use to determine prevailing wages in their applications for the visas. The net effect of these changes will be an increased likelihood that companies will have to pay visa-based workers more than their American counterparts — thereby incentivizing companies to try harder to hire American workers. Acting deputy secretary of DHS Kenneth Cuccinelli says the net impact of these rules will be to cut H-1B applications by one-third. This would still leave the department significantly over-subscribed for the 85,000 annual visas. Processing of H-1B visas, along with several other visa categories, had been suspended until at least the end of the year under an…

At a time that is often referred to as “The Age of Technology,” the U.S. has no coherent strategy for maintaining its high standing as a world leader in science, technology and innovation, and has watched as China has overtaken the country on many indicators of prowess in R&D and innovation. That assertion is among among the findings of a new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one that shows the country at a tipping point and failing to embrace necessary actions to maintain its leadership in science and engineering. The Perils of Complacency: America at a Tipping Point in Science & Engineering is a five-year update to an earlier report (Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream) from the Academy and highlights significant developments and emphasizes actions that “remain in urgent need of attention from U.S. policy leaders.” The current report notes that the update was written “because the crucial message in our previous report about the vital importance of research has been reflected in China’s priorities but has not stimulated the much-needed action by the United States.” Many of the original…