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Governors and policymakers working toward economic development reform are in a unique position to propose critical changes that would not have been feasible in the past and gain broad support for transforming economic development agencies to better meet the needs of businesses, according to a new white paper from the National Governors Association (NGA). NGA has identified three major challenges states are facing and three foundational strategies to increase effectiveness of state economic development agencies.

As U.S. politicians turn their eyes towards this year's election season, governments around the world continue to focus their efforts on increasing national global competitiveness. Over the past couple months, Australia, China and New Zealand have announced government initiatives to spur innovation, revitalize domestic manufacturing and support R&D.

The Obama administration announced the winners of the third round of the i6 Challenge, a national competition to support proof of concept centers at universities and research consortiums across the country.

The Department of Labor announced over $175 million in new funding for community colleges to grow and enhance their manufacturing education and training programs through partnerships with local employers. Part of the $500 million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) initiative, the grants are intended to promote skills development and employment opportunities in advanced manufacturing.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded nearly $50 million to grantees for the development and use of robots that cooperatively work with people to enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety.

During a lively discussion session — Recent Federal Efforts: What's Happened, What's Working and What Should Change — SSTI will bring together the members of the economic development community to review what the federal government has done, how it has worked for the tech-based economic development community, and what changes should be made to improve the federal programs.

llinois Gov. Pat Quinn has announced the details of a $10.3 million planned partnership to develop "STEM Learning Exchanges" across the state. Eight organizations will be awarded contracts to work with regional, educational and business networks to aggregate curricular resources, assessment tools, professional development systems, work-based learning opportunities and problem-based learning challenges. Funding for the initiative will be drawn from $2.3 million in federal Race to the Top funds, with another $8 million leveraged from private partnerships.

On September 17, 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented seven provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) including:

To reflect an evolving mission that expands the scope of genomics research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a major reorganization that will establish four new divisions to constitute the National Genome Research Institute's Extramural Research Program. The multi-divisional structure will help the institute pursue its enhanced mission for using genomics to advance medical science and improve human health, which has become a greater focus from its original mission to unravel the Human Genome, according to NIH.

Responding to Gov. Nathan Deal's Complete College Georgia initiative launched last year, all of the state's institutions in the University System and Technical College System have submitted plans for how they will meet the governor's goal of adding 250,000 post-secondary graduates to the state by 2020. For Georgia's research universities, graduating more students translates to more workers prepared to enter careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

U.S. economic policy will require a renewed focus on production and globally traded sectors in order to restore U.S. competitiveness, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Furthering the argument laid out in the recently published book Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage and in last year's report "The Case for a National Manufacturing Strategy", ITIF's Stephen J. Ezell and Robert D. Atkinson present 50 recommendations for federal reform to restore the U.S.' competitive edge.

The Department of Commerce announced the winners of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge, the Economic Development Administration-led competition seeking to help cities and regions develop a comprehensive economic development strategy. Greensboro, North Carolina, Hartford, Connecticut, and Las Vegas, Nevada each were awarded $1 million to assist in the refinement and implementation of their respective plans.

The Illinois Science & Energy Innovation Foundation, a $72.5 million investment fund approved by the state's General Assembly last year, debuted this week. While 70 percent of the fund will be used to educate consumers about smart grid technology, another $22.5 million, provided by utility companies, will support grants, loans and contracts to groups working on smart grid technologies, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Whether to attract federal grants, keep up with demand to graduate more highly skilled students, or advance the capabilities for research and exploration, universities are pushing for state funding to invest in science buildings and other infrastructure needed to expand research capacity and improve competitiveness. In New Jersey, a measure to approve $750 million in higher education borrowing to build and renovate campus facilities will go to the voters in November.

The U.S. economy is poised to create up to five million new manufacturing jobs by 2020 due to increasing demand for U.S. exports, according to new research from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Since 2006, U.S. exports have risen by 30 percent — far outpacing the growth in gross domestic product (GDP). BCG senior partner, Harold L. Sirkin, projects that the demand for U.S. exports will continue to grow, leading to an American Manufacturing renaissance between 2015 and 2020.

Unless Congress and the White House take action by the end of the year, across-the-board spending reductions will go into effect for all federal agencies as a result of provisions in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The budget sequestration would reduce defense discretionary funding by 9.4 percent and non-defense funding by 8.2 percent from the 2011 baseline.

Voters in 37 states will decide on more than 170 ballot measures this year, many of which are related to tech-based economic development (TBED). Tax measures seem to be dominating ballots this year, with questions relating to both decreases and increases for sales, property and income taxes. Several states are counting on voters to agree to temporary increases to help fill budget deficits and ensure steady funding for education.

On November 6, in addition to the presidential election, eleven state and two territorial gubernatorial contests will be decided. Seven of these races (Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) include a sitting governor running for re-election, while the remaining six (American Samoa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington) are open races.

There are only six days left before early registration ends on Monday, October 8. Register today and save at least $100 per registration. This year we are offering two full days of conference activities including 16 breakout sessions, four session tracks, three workshops and two networking receptions. Find out more at: ssticonference.org.

Though innovation and entrepreneurship was notably absent from Wednesday's presidential debate on domestic policy, presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have acknowledged the importance of technological innovation in stimulating the economy and bolstering U.S. competitive capabilities in the global economy.

The White House announced the Make it in America Challenge, a $40 million multi-agency initiative to help regions across the country provide the critical infrastructure, strategic planning, capacity building, technical assistance and workforce development resources necessary to foster insourcing by U.S. firms. Led by the Economic Development Administration, an interagency panel will make up to 16 awards to projects that encourage businesses to bring production back to or expand their operations in the United States.

A culmination of twelve months of data measuring the Illinois innovation economy finds improved economic growth in four sectors: dynamism, capital, talent, and business climate. Positive indicators include record growth in university startups and a significant increase in invention disclosures and patents awarded to Illinois universities. Additionally, venture capital funding reached a ten-year high of $1.4 billion in 2012.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

New energy plans unveiled by governors in Connecticut and Mississippi promise to capitalize on current strengths, build capacity for future projects, and encourage public-private partnerships to scale up clean energy projects and create jobs by attracting more R&D investment to the states. Connecticut's draft strategy proposes economic incentives to drive down costs of new technology and maximize the use of clean energy finance banks — an approach that is heralded as a model for other states in a recent policy report.

Register by Monday, Oct. 15 to Save $100! SSTI has extended early registration for our 16th Annual Conference in Atlanta until Monday, October 15! Register now to save at least $100 per registration! Join the more than 250 people who already have signed up for the conference!

Join us for the biggest and best conference yet. This year we are offering two full days of conference activities including 16 breakout sessions, four session tracks, three workshops and two networking receptions.