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With OZ expansion looming, research shows program has little net jobs impact

Thursday, March 26, 2026

When the Opportunity Zone program was authorized by Congress in 2017, there was high hope that it would give a significant boost to the employment rates of those living in the poorest areas of our cities. Unfortunately, a new research paper adds to the growing findings of the program’s shortcomings and disappointing outcomes, just as the next race to establish new OZ designations is set to begin.    

When the Opportunity Zone program was authorized by Congress in 2017, there was high hope that it would give a significant boost to the employment rates of those living in the poorest areas of our cities. Unfortunately, a new research paper adds to the growing findings of the program’s shortcomings and disappointing outcomes, just as the next race to establish new OZ designations is set to begin.   

Innovation Advocacy Council visits the Hill on your behalf

Thursday, March 26, 2026
“We few, we happy few” shouldn’t have been so bloody few if Shakespeare’s Henry V were honest 400+ years ago. Flash forward, and a merry band of brothers and sisters represented the TBED community well as they visited DC’s Capitol Hill this week to remind Congressional offices of the importance of several federal programs for funding strategic regional innovation initiatives. And it was nothing like Henry V’s Battle of Agincourt. In truth, regional innovation is and always has been a nonpartisan issue, but there are other pressures afoot to capture Congress’s attention and purse strings. 

Data centers may be inevitable, but state and local resistance is growing

Thursday, March 26, 2026
People in the U.S. may be in favor of the using internet, social media, and artificial intelligence, but they are increasingly skeptical of and concerned about the data centers that make all these things possible. Common themes of their skepticism were recently expressed by data center opponents in Michigan who “fear lost farmland and destroyed habitat, noise pollution from thousands of humming servers, strain on the electric grid and higher bills as utilities spend mightily on infrastructure to power the facilities, and strain on rivers and aquifers amid data centers’ use of water to cool servers.” Michiganders are not alone. 

TBED 101: Technology readiness and market funding gaps point to need for TBED support

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Note: Every profession has jargon. Practitioners of technology-based economic development know the field may have more than its fair share of confusing words and acronyms as it bridges numerous scientific and engineering disciplines, business and financial acumen, and public-private initiatives at all levels of government supporting regional innovation. This occasional series from the SSTI team provides introductions or reminders of some of the key concepts used across the practice. ~ Mark Skinner, SSTI President & CEO  

Recent Research: Cross-industry knowledge flows support high-tech entrepreneurship

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

New research confirms what TBED practitioners already understand: there’s no single formula for building successful innovation-driven systems. That’s one of the reasons SSTI advises policy makers to focus on the strengths and needs of your region’s innovation system rather than how much your neighbors are spending. The study’s findings about the role of knowledge spillovers, however, offer useful insight into the characteristics that matter most for improving outcomes in your region.  

Recent Research: Is innovation district success the enemy of resilience?

Thursday, January 29, 2026
Innovation districts have become a central tool in contemporary economic development, promoted for their ability to revitalize underused urban areas, attract high-growth firms, and strengthen regional competitiveness. Influenced by early work from Bruce Katz and colleagues at the Brookings Institution, many districts were intentionally located in formerly industrial or disinvested neighborhoods and initially delivered clear economic gains.

Pew finds partisanship growing in American support for science

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

In the 30 years SSTI has been in existence and the 85 years of concerted federal focus on scientific discover and innovation, the priority of public-private R&D investment has been overwhelmingly nonpartisan. A recent report from the Pew Research Center confirms the cold-war, global competitiveness arguments for U.S science and technology still hold sway across political parties, but fissures in who should pay and who should work on science and tech efforts are beginning to grow. 

Disruption is echoing in empty university halls

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Vacant storefronts and empty downtown office buildings aren’t the only ways the pandemic-accelerated, technology-stimulated move to remote work has negatively impacted community cohesiveness, commitment to place, and economic opportunity resulting from aggregation. According to a newly released analysis of university campuses, the disconnection and under-utilization problem extends deeper into regions than many may realize. 

TBED Works: "Sticky" student innovators provide opportunity for longer relationships, larger outcomes

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Campus entrepreneurship programs can lead to decades-long collaborations between academia and industry. Students may learn how to do their very first pitch deck. Or make a poster presentation. Or stand in front of a group of investors. And then go on to found a successful company (or two, or three) and create jobs for people in the area.

Webinar Library

Webinars are a great way to stay up to date on the newest developments. They offer timely information from experts and have the flexibility of being viewed at your convenience without the expense of travel. SSTI's Webinar Library puts SSTI webinars at your fingertips — when you want them.

Events hosted by SSTI's Tech-based Economic Development Community of Practice are available to the general public at no cost. Most SSTI webinars are available for free to members and for purchase by others. 

 

SSTI Members

To sustain  our work to support state and regional innovation initiatives across the country, SSTI relies on the generosity of those members of the community who share our vision of serving as a center for advancing best practices across the field. We greatly appreciate their support. We also invite others equally committed to using smart programs to combine the four pillars of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship to advance their own regional economies to join the list of leading organizations below.  

NIH R&D budget is healthy in FY 2026 budget

Thursday, January 29, 2026

The Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health receive an increase of $301 million in budget authority for a new total of $47.216 billion in FY 2026, a figure that stands in sharp contradiction to the severe cuts recommended in the Administration’s request. Additionally, ARPA-H is to receive $1.5 billion. 

The Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health receive an increase of $301 million in budget authority for a new total of $47.216 billion in FY 2026, a figure that stands in sharp contradiction to the severe cuts recommended in the Administration’s request. Additionally, ARPA-H is to receive $1.5 billion.

Recent Research: AI-exposed occupations and the changing job market for college graduates

Thursday, January 29, 2026

The breakthrough launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 sparked widespread questions about artificial intelligence and the future of work. How would generative AI reshape jobs and industries? Would certain roles become obsolete? How should education and training programs prepare workers for an AI-integrated workplace? To understand AI’s actual labor market impact, researchers examined unemployment patterns and hiring trends in AI-exposed occupations between 2022 and 2024 in a new study.

The breakthrough launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 sparked widespread questions about artificial intelligence and the future of work. How would generative AI reshape jobs and industries? Would certain roles become obsolete? How should education and training programs prepare workers for an AI-integrated workplace? To understand AI’s actual labor market impact, researchers examined unemployment patterns and hiring trends in AI-exposed occupations between 2022 and 2024 in a new study. Their findings suggest that labor market shifts in those fields began earlier than ChatGPT’s high-profile arrival might suggest.

TBED Works: NCBiotech supports early-stage startups that ultimately shine

Thursday, January 29, 2026
Most startups begin rich in vision but poor in financial support. Some founders have been known to go to great lengths to advance what they know to be worthwhile project. Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio), established in 2001, survived its earliest days with the help of bake sales held by families whose children had muscular dystrophy and believed in the startup's potential to develop treatments for the condition. When Lindy Biosciences was founded in 2017, its founder was not financially compensated for her time. However, after early assistance from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech), both companies now have  market values measured in billions of dollars.

Earmarks dominate HUD community development budget again in FY 2026

Thursday, January 29, 2026
Of the nearly $7 billion in the FY 2026 appropriations bill working its way through Congress for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 51.7% is slated for “economic development initiatives (EDIs)” designated by members of Congress outside of any competitive process or assessment of need. The Community Development Block Grant program captures most of the rest of the funding at $3.3 billion. Separately, the Native American/Indian community block grant program is to receive $100 million.

Federal FY 2026 transportation budget cuts some R&D, saves entrepreneurial support

Thursday, January 29, 2026
With report language in the final budget package for FY 2026, Congress continues to thwart some of the administration’s efforts to shrink government operations and spending by fiat. In the Department of Transportation’s section, projects cannot be terminated without following established federal financial assistance regulations and established agency protocols. DOT must also inform Congress of how it will address the substantial backlog of projects, particularly of “awarded but not obligated competitive grant and community project funding.” This includes previously passed congressionally directed spending projects (earmarks) that the agency has not awarded, which is certainly one way to antagonize appropriators. Additionally, any “reprogramming requests must be submitted to the Committees on Appropriations no later than June 30, 2026.”