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SSTI Note: Benchmarking innovation-driven entrepreneurship and the impacts of other science, technology and venture development activity in your state or region is more important than ever in the post-pandemic economy. Understanding the gains made prior to the onset of the coronavirus – and the inevitable setbacks resulting from its economic shocks – will be important for helping to build support and momentum for your initiatives going forward.

While few will be able to escape the resulting hardships of the current economic downturn, America’s most economically vulnerable communities — those where household finances were already unstable and work scarce — will be hit hardest by the recession currently underway.

School buses across the country are helping school children as they finish a decidedly unconventional academic year but they aren’t transporting students, they are acting as mobile Wi-Fi units bringing connectivity capability to students who lack broadband service. As the coronavirus pandemic closed schools across the country, many in rural or low-income areas without internet access were left scrambling as classes went online. Equipping buses with Wi-Fi to help accommodate the online learning is a short-term solution to a much bigger problem.

A recent economic-impact study by Summit Consulting and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research analyzed the overall effect of projects undertaken by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) on the U.S.

SBA began offering a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on April 27, and SBA’s data indicate this round is better distributed across businesses and the states than the first. As of May 8, round two has approved $189 billion across nearly 2.6 million loans, 55 percent more than in all of round one. The average loan size in round two is $73,488, which is a significant drop from the first round’s average of $206,022.

The U.S. Cluster Mapping Portal has received a data refresh with updated cluster profiles and performance benchmarks for all U.S. regions. This free tool is useful for understanding regional composition of traded sectors and strengths, which could be especially beneficial in these challenging times as businesses attempt to restore their supply chains. The U.S.

As college students close out highly disrupted spring semesters, higher education institutions across the country are trying to determine what the fall semester will entail, which has proven to be tricky at best. On campus or online instruction, hybrid plans and increased protections for students’ wellbeing are all topics administrators are grappling with in the midst of the pandemic. Meanwhile, prospective students are up in the air regarding their plans, as well, with a recent report revealing that domestic undergraduate enrollment for four-year institutions could decline 20 percent.

As the economic fallout continues from the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown, states are still uncertain as to what their financial situations might be as they attempt to craft their new spending plans for a quickly approaching new fiscal year, which for most states start July 1. Last month, New Jersey state leaders took a unique approach to the situation by extending the current fiscal year from June 30 to September 30. The extension addresses a number of issues.

Frontline workers in Michigan who don’t have a degree may find a tuition-free pathway to college or a technical certificate, in the same manner as the G.I. Bill following World War II, while others states are also pursuing options for increased educational opportunities for workers who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is now accepting applications from eligible grantees for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) supplemental funds (EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance) intended to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

In early March, we shared that organizations who use a web address ending in .ORG should be aware that a management change could result in registration fees for domain names doubling.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is implementing a rule that relaxes restrictions on crowdfunding through next February, according to a Federal Register notice published today. The net result of the temporary rule is to accelerate the timeline for a company to access capital through crowdfunding, at the expense of some public access and investor information.

In this week’s edition of Useful Stats, we take a look at NIH’s SBIR/STTR program by state, including the success rate of applications, the share SBIR awards make up of NIH funding to for-profit companies by state, and the total number of awards by state. It should be noted that SSTI was able to prepare this information because of the excellent transparency of information that NIH offers on its website, a model that should be replicated by other federal agencies.

Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published new guidance for how state and local governments can use the $150 billion in relief funds provided by the CARES Act. The guidance provides some flexibility to recipients to address “second-order effects” of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most recently-passed federal legislation to address COVID-19 included funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to accelerate testing. The provision, added by Sens.

New projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of key economic variables reveal an expected sharp contraction in the economy in the second quarter with the unemployment rate projected to average 15 percent during the second and third quarters of 2020 and remaining as high as 9.5 percent by the end of 2021. CBO projects GDP will decline by about 12 percent during the second quarter.

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced last week that new funding is available to help technology-based companies impacted by COVID-19.

With the unprecedented devastation being caused by COVID-19, SSTI has assembled a resource page for organizations, small businesses, universities and others. The page contains links to federal, state, and other programs providing guidance on the both the latest stimulus package and other sources of aid.

After finally beginning to find their footing following the Great Recession of 2008 and having built up their state rainy day funds, states are now finding that it’s not just raining — they are facing a tsunami. With their two main sources of revenue, the income tax and sales tax, both seriously impacted by the historic levels of unemployment claims and shuttered businesses, states are just beginning to try to manage a budgetary storm that could have lasting impacts on their economies.

Although uncertainty and fear about the state’s fiscal situation continue to grow, New York’s 2021 budget stands strong in its commitment to deliver a green economy and resilient communities, preserve natural ecosystems and ensure access to clean drinking water. The State of New York has recently approved its budget for the fiscal year of 2021, which includes investments focusing on environmental resilience, conservation, green energy, and carbon-free transportation.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom announced a £1.25 billion ($1.6 billion) initiative to support the country’s startups. One program within the initiative provides £500 million in the form of loans up to £5 million that are matched by private funders to companies that have raised at least £250,000 in the last five years. The remaining £750 million will be managed by Innovate UK and provide loans and grants to R&D-focused companies. The U.K.

SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council has sent letters to congressional leadership outlining emergency actions needed to support tech- and innovation-driven businesses and recovery-focused programs to leverage American ingenuity for economic stimulus. The letters call for expanding SBA’s technical assistance to startups, leveraging EDA’s Build to Scale program, catalyzing new programs for equity investment and commercialization, and incorporating innovation into any infrastructure initiative.

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The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor for Q1 of 2020 shows just a few signs of investment activity slowing down. The high and low ends of the VC spectrum appear particularly robust, with the number of angel (653) and mega (62) deal counts both almost exactly on track to match 2019’s figures.

SBA released data on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) this week for all approved loan activity through April 13 and told banks Wednesday night that the program is nearly out of funds. The data show more than 1 million loans worth more than $247 million approved across all states and territories.