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Advancing equity in economic development requires more than good intentions – it calls for concrete actions and measurable outcomes.

In an email sent out this morning, EDA announced, “Given the high volume of applications, EDA is now only requiring the Lead Organization to register in EDGE.” EDGE is EDA’s new grants management platform. The email encourages applicants to “please focus on getting your application materials prepared and having the Lead Organization submit them in EDGE. Application acceptance will not be affected if consortium members are not registered in EDGE.

U.S. Department of the Treasury recently awarded $125 million to 43 nonprofits and community-based organizations, including SSTI member University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The money came via the American Rescue Plan Act- (ARPA-) funded (CRP) Capital Readiness Program. The CRP enables small businesses to access technical assistance through organizations that provide services to underserved businesses.

Health is one of the most pressing issues in the U.S. Now, thanks to National Science Foundation's Type I NSF Engine development awards, teams throughout the U.S. will be focusing on technology-based solutions to this issue. This week we highlight three SSTI members whose NSF Engine Awards concentrate on health.

A new report underscores the shifting position of the United States in the global R&D competition and the continuing rise of China. While two charts from the National Science Board’s The State of U.S. Science and Engineering summarize the changing nature of this international struggle, the underlying data on where the U.S. and China are investing their resources should really grab the attention of policymakers and one would hope motivate action by the U.S.

A report from ITIF warns that China is catching up with the U.S. in private R&D funding. If this trend continues, China could surpass the U.S.

The National Science Foundation announced 16 finalists for the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) competition, spanning a range of key technology areas and societal and economic challenges highlighted in the "CHIPS and Science Act." The NSF Engines will link up with local and regional partners to expand innovation nationwide and create collaborative and inclusive technology-driven innovation ecosystems.

The lead organizations for the 16 teams are:

Arizona State University

Current Innovation, NFP (IL)

FUZEHUB, Inc. (NY)

In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress passed the Land-Grant Agricultural and Mechanical College Act of 1862 (a.k.a. the Morrill Act of 1862). This legislation extended educational opportunities for many White working-class Americans. But it did little to extend education to Black people. The Morrill Act of 1890 passed 28 years later created new land grant institutions to address the issue of Black peoples’ access to higher education. But racial inequities between the two land-grant systems have persisted into the present day.

The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) released a report detailing the benefits, obstacles and importance of working with under-resourced communities to facilitate access to solar energy. The report, Solar with Justice, provides a detailed set of recommendations for successfully providing solar technology to low- and moderate-income areas.

The U.S. continues to be the global leader in total R&D expenditures, spending $483 billion (adjusted to 2010 purchasing parity dollars) in 2017 compared to China’s expenditures of $443 billion. However, according to a recent publication from the National Science Foundation, China surpassed the U.S. in expenditures on experimental development in 2014 and has since continued to increase its lead.

The Department of Defense (DOD) receives about $95 billion annually to support research and development efforts. But some members of Congress feared that requesting and allocating those funds took too long. It usually takes two years, which hinders response to evolving threats. The Senate addressed this issue in the Senate Report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, calling for the U.S.

Representatives from leading AI companies (Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI) gathered at the White House on July 21 for the announcement of their voluntary

The "CHIPS and Science Act" authorizes both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to implement programs to enable regional technology development and economic and job growth through NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) and EDA Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hubs) programs. To officially enable cooperation between the two agencies as they pursue these similar goals, NSF and EDA signed a memorandum of understanding MOU. The MOU allows for coordinating specific projects, programs, and facilities.

The White House has released a new report, Building the bioworkforce of the future: Expanding equitable pathways into biotechnology and biomanufacturing jobs. The five core recommendations in the report are intended to help propel continued investment in the bioeconomy and maintain the U.S.’ leadership in this sector.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced $44.4 million in 54 awards to help expand and diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. One third (more than $14.6 million) of these investments will develop business incubators, increase access to capital, and provide other services to advance entrepreneurship in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Every year, inadequate childcare causes the US economy to take a $122B hit, according to a study by an economist at the University of Pennsylvania. This economic hit affects everyone—workers, businesses, and taxpayers. Parents lose income when they miss work to take care of a child. Businesses suffer from lower productivity when employees are absent.

Last month, NIH came out with a policy statement that prohibits using generative AI to analyze or critique NIH grant applications and contract proposals.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs): the National Clean Investment Fund and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. The National Clean Investment fund provides $14 billion to provide accessible, affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide.

If a recent forecast from McKinsey & Company is correct, climate change isn’t the only rough ride ahead over the next decade for regional and national economies.

Over the past two decades, business has done most of the heavy lifting for research and development (R&D) funding. Calculated in the dollar value of 2012, business funding increased from $10.4 billion in 2000 to an estimated $36.0 billion in 2021.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) keeps track of these types of statistics, and the above data is from Business Sector Increases Funding for Basic Research, one of three InfoCharts released last month.

Over the last month, the Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institute of Standards and Technology 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is expanding a network of research centers across the country to translate university-based R&D into new, and hopefully, better advanced materials. In late June, NSF announced the distribution of $162 million to support the creation of nine more Materials Research Science & Engineering Centers (MRSECs), bringing the total number of centers to twenty. Each of the new centers will receive $18 million over six years.

The Senate appropriations committee advanced a set of FY 2024 funding bills this morning that largely continue level funding from FY 2023.

SSTI’s Annual Conference is in Atlanta this Sept. 6-8. The event will feature numerous opportunities to connect with your peers from across the country who are working to strengthen their regional innovation economies through roundtables focused on specific areas of practice and workshops on communications, building stronger organizations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The entire conference is available for a registration fee of just $390.