Member News for September 10, 2026
USDA Rural Development recently announced that the Farmers Innovation Fund has been certified as a Rural Business Investment Company. This designation allows Farm Credit Sy
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State News for September 10, 2026
A recently enacted Louisiana law (Senate Bill 374/Act 499) allows the state’s colleges and universities to establish economic development districts without legislative approval.
Recent Research: What makes place-based economic development policies work?
Place-based economic development is back near the center of federal policy, from Opportunity Zones to the CHIPS and Science Act. That renewed attention comes with a familiar problem: decades of enterprise zones, tax incentives, infrastructure investments, and other geographically targeted programs have produced results that are hard to summarize cleanly. In a new NBER working paper, Matthew Freedman and David Neumark ask the better question: not simply whether or not these policies work, but under what conditions they might work, for whom, and why. Their review points to a practical conclusion: policy design matters and targeting a distressed community with development-focused financial incentives is rarely enough on its own.
A BBBRC grant builds momentum for a highly trained semiconductor workforce
For the civic leaders of Osceola County, the Great Recession of 2008 made clear that they could not base their economy so heavily on travel and tourism. By the time COVID-19 hit in 2020, they knew the steps they had taken to diversify their economy were the right ones. When the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) opportunity arose in 2021, the county and its partners were well-positioned to operationalize the benefits the grant presented to the region and create a trained workforce for a recently attracted semiconductor industry.
How did Osceola County get here? There are potential approaches to emulate by more areas of the county dependent on low-wage sectors like tourism or, for that matter, extraction-focused regions subject to “boom and bust.”
The impact of tax incentives on early-stage company investment varies
SBA proposes tighter SBIR/STTR performance standards for “mills”
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed updated commercialization performance standards for companies that win large numbers of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards. The proposal would apply to firms that received more than 25 Phase II awards across all participating agencies during the previous five completed fiscal years. To remain eligible for new Phase I or Direct-to-Phase-II awards, those firms would need to show that a minimum share of their total revenue comes from sources other than Phase I and Phase II SBIR/STTR funding. The threshold would be 33% non-SBIR/STTR revenue for the FY 2027 assessment and 50% beginning in FY 2028, measured over the previous three completed fiscal years. Phase III revenue and other government contracts would count as non-SBIR/STTR revenue. Firms that do not meet the benchmark would be ineligible to submit proposals for new Phase I or Direct-to-Phase-II awards for one year. SBA says the updated standards are scheduled to take effect Nov. 15, 2026, after review of public comments, which are due by October 31.
Survey shows that federal science funding is a top concern among physical scientists
With extensive cuts to federal research funding since January 20, 2025, one might wonder what impact this is having on scientists, both in the U.S. and abroad. Recently published results from a survey by AIP (American Institute of Physics) offer a snapshot of how more than 2,000 respondents from AIP’s member organizations view the impact of these changes.
New federal rules, both proposed and finalized, will impact small businesses
A recent flurry of new rules, both proposed and finalized, may interest small business owners or those who advise them.
A recent flurry of new rules, both proposed and finalized, may interest small business owners or those who advise them.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed two new rules. The first, Revised Size Standards Methodology, will update SBA’s methodology for determining which businesses qualify as “small.” The second, on Small Business Size Standards, would consolidate the number of industry-specific size standards and raise size standard thresholds.
State News for August 27, 2027
New USPTO report tallies the economic impact of IP-intensive industries
Intellectual property-intensive industries account for 44% of private-sector GDP, 66 million jobs, and $1.58 trillion in commodity exports, according to a new report released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office this month. The report sheds light on how IP is distributed among various industries.
What could a “new golden age” of science mean for research and commercialization?
SSTI’s recent TBED Community of Practice webinar took up a practical question raised by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy report, Science: A New Golden Age: if federal science policy shifts, what changes will universities, commercialization, and regional innovation organizations need to make?
SSTI’s recent TBED Community of Practice webinar took up a practical question raised by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy report, Science: A New Golden Age: if federal science policy shifts, what changes will universities, commercialization, and regional innovation organizations need to make?
The presentation outlined a research system that could look considerably different from the one that has developed since Vannevar Bush’s Science, the Endless Frontier.
Differences in industry concentrations of VDO and VC investments
Data reveal that policymakers should not equate strong Venture Development Organizations (VDOs) with private venture capital companies; the purpose of creating public policy to increase the availability of innovation-centered risk capital can be lost if one presumes VCs and VDOs are the same. While there are many similarities between individual VDOs and VC funds, important differences in industry concentration emerge when the two groups are compared in aggregate, which may result in different long-term economic impacts.
Effective VDOs are important drivers of regional innovation and of pushing emerging tech businesses forward. VC, on the other hand, can play an extractive role, particularly in markets with scarce equity finance options.
Economic loss can be an opportunity for growth
When a major employer closes, jobs disappear, buildings sit empty, and communities are left wondering what comes next. A new white paper from the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) looks at how that disruption can become a starting point for economic reinvention.
When a major employer closes, jobs disappear, buildings sit empty, and communities are left wondering what comes next. A new white paper from the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) looks at how that disruption can become a starting point for economic reinvention.
NSF launches new indicators visualization tool
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), housed within the National Science Foundation (NSF), recently launched a new “Indicators Explorer” data visualization tool that allows users to quickly build line, bar, and column charts as well as various maps and other graphics from within the Indicators platform. The tool draws on 28 indicators across topics pertinent to S&E such as patents, research publications, R&D expenditures, and the STEM workforce. NSF expects to update the tool periodically with new indicators and data.
Place-based innovation comes of age: Federal regional innovation programs are reshaping America's technology economy
Strong regional ecosystems connect universities, entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, workforce organizations, and state and local governments. Rather than supporting just isolated institutions, federal agencies are now investing in collaborative regional networks capable of translating research into new companies, industries, and jobs. The intent is not for every region to become the next Silicon Valley, but to enable regions to compete by organizing around what they already do well.
Strong regional ecosystems connect universities, entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers, workforce organizations, and state and local governments. Rather than supporting just isolated institutions, federal agencies are now investing in collaborative regional networks capable of translating research into new companies, industries, and jobs. The intent is not for every region to become the next Silicon Valley, but to enable regions to compete by organizing around what they already do well.
State grant programs support manufacturers and improve their competitiveness
As those involved with the longstanding, internationally recognized program know, an air of uncertainty has enveloped NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) for the past two years. With the release of the new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for MEP Centers (see SSTI’s write‑up here), it appears that perhaps many of those troubles may be in the past. Even so, the uncertainty has prompted many manufacturers, small businesses, and MEP centers to explore alternate funding sources, partnerships, and forms of assistance beyond NIST.
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State News for August 6, 2026
NOFO to establish MEP centers in 13 states and Puerto Rico
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for 14 Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers. The funding will establish MEP centers in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Utah and Vermont.
Takeaways from the ACA angel capital report
As SSTI noted in its recent look at quarterly investment activity, gaining insight into angel investment is difficult because of the challenges of separating angel activity from seed and other early VC transactions. Fortunately, the Angel Capital Association (ACA) recently published a report that provides a deep dive into 2025 angel investment activity and provides more clarity on this important financial partner for regional innovation. The big picture takeaway from the ACA report is that, like VCs, angel groups are making larger investments in fewer companies.
Where are DOE's $5 billion of Genesis Mission projects?
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced 278 awards to 342 participating institutions to fund projects with the goal of accelerating a new era of AI-driven scientific breakthroughs in energy, discovery science, and national security.
Job Corner
OSTP plan calls for overhauling US approach to R&D, innovation
The White House report from Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios, Science: A New Golden Age, first announced in a July 22 Wall Street Journal article, iterates federal R&D policies and practices for FY 2028, outlines an almost industrial policy approach to federal investment, and provides a plan to move federal research programs toward a focus on individual scientists rather than university-based programs. It calls for more flexible, multidisciplinary, and multi-organizational, team-oriented research projects rather than centers housed within the nation’s research institutions.
$5+ billion in AI funding announced at Genesis Mission summit
The White House report from Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios, Science: A New Golden Age, first announced in a July 22 Wall Street Journal article, iterates federal R&D policies and practices for FY 2028, outlines an almost industrial policy approach to federal investment, and provides a plan to move federal research programs toward a focus on individual scientists rather than university-based programs. It calls for more flexible, multidisciplinary, and multi-organizational, team-oriented research projects rather than centers housed within the nation’s research institutions.
State budget wrap-up: Notable TBED and innovation funding in FY 2027
As revenues continue to tighten, many states entered fiscal year 2027 (FY 2027)—which began July 1 for most—with cautious or constrained spending priorities. With the exception of South Carolina, all states have now enacted their FY 2027 budgets. Most adopted maintenance‑level or reduced spending plans that limited new recurring expenditures, reduced one‑time appropriations, and reprioritized core services such as Medicaid and education.
As revenues continue to tighten, many states entered fiscal year 2027 (FY 2027)—which began July 1 for most—with cautious or constrained spending priorities. With the exception of South Carolina, all states have now enacted their FY 2027 budgets. Most adopted maintenance‑level or reduced spending plans that limited new recurring expenditures, reduced one‑time appropriations, and reprioritized core services such as Medicaid and education.