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The Department of Energy announced the "America's Next Top Energy Innovator" Challenge — a new initiative intended to give startup companies and entrepreneurs the opportunity to obtain an option agreement to license one or more of the 15,000 energy-related technologies developed by the National Laboratories. Participating entrepreneurs will pay a $1,000 upfront fee for portfolios of up to three patents — a savings of $10,000 to $50,000 on average in upfront fees.

House and Senate appropriators have released details of the almost $40 billion in spending reductions that were agreed upon over the weekend in order to avoid a federal government shutdown. The six-month continuing resolution (CR) would set FY11 spending levels at $1.049 trillion, $78.5 billion less than President Obama's FY11 budget request (see the February 16, 2011 Special Federal Budget Issue) and $39.9 billion less than the FY10 spending bill as enacted.

Federal Grants are almost twice as effective as tax credits in spurring clean energy innovation, according to Reassessing Renewable Energy Subsidies — a recent report by the Bipartisan Policy Center. From 2005 to 2008, the federal government incurred a liability of almost $10.3 billion due to tax credits given to wind projects totaling almost 19 gigawatts of new generation capacity. However, researchers calculated that direct grants issued at the time of commission could have achieved similar gigawatt production at a cost of only $5 billion.

On April 19, 2011, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) held a webinar on the upcoming i6 Green competition. The competition will support regional economic development projects with a focus on energy-related industries and efforts that expand local networks. Unlike the first i6 Challenge, applicants do not have to represent new initiatives. The complete webinar, with slides, is available online at:

Canada's innovation economy is at a critical junction, one that will require policymakers to choose what they want out of their science and technology (S&T) investments, according to a new study. The Toronto Region Research Alliance recently published a report that provides an analysis of S&T strategies in 10 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Israel, the Netherlands, India, various African initiatives, Germany and Finland.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu announced that DOE intends to commit up to $130 million to support advanced research projects on rare earth alternatives and breakthroughs in biofuels, thermal storage, grid controls and solar power electronics. The five new program areas supported through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy's (ARPA-E) fourth round of funding include:

Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a measure expanding the scope of the state's 21st Century Jobs Fund allowing more industries involved in research and advanced technology to compete for funds through the program. Although many tech-focused industries such as life sciences and alternative energy companies can already apply for funding under the program, the new legislation expands eligibility to include an even wider range of companies — information technology and agricultural processing.

State business climate indices are a common tool in economic development policymaking and marketing. These indices allow analysts to bundle sets of business-friendly policies, quantitative metrics and subjective rankings into a single index to compare one state's business environment to another's. A recent paper by Jed Kolko, David Neumark and Marisol Cuellar Mejia suggests that many of the factors that are sometimes included in business climate indices have little or no predictive power.

New Jersey's Economic Development Authority announced the Edison Innovation Green Growth Fund (EIGGF), a new loan program with a performance grant component to grow the state's energy efficiency and Class 1 renewable energy technology companies. The fund offers five-year fixed term loans of up to $1 million to eligible companies that have begun generating commercial revenues and are seeking matching funds (1:1 by the time of loan closing).

The Obama administration announced a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) for a new $33 million public-private initiative focused on supporting and accelerating the growth of regional innovation clusters (RICs) that exhibit high-growth development potential — the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The Obama administration intends for these investments to serve as catalysts for leveraging private capital (e.g., foundations, financial institutions, corporations and other partners) in the selected regions.

To more closely align Georgia's efforts to market and promote strategic industries to existing and potential companies, Georgia's Centers of Innovation (COI) program will be integrated with the programs of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA). The move follows the legislature's decision to transfer funding for GRA's strategic economic development initiatives from the Board of Regents' Research Consortium program to the Department of Economic Development Innovation and Technology Division.

Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Innovation Council launched a new initiative to facilitate business and research collaboration and to provide services to the state's high-tech entrepreneurs. The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) will be connected to Startup Illinois, the first Startup Region to be introduced by the national Startup America Partnership. Read the announcement...

The budget approved by lawmakers for FY12 includes $15 million in research grant money for three Kansas universities to expand programs in emerging industry sectors as proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback and allocates $10.5 million annually for an initiative to enhance engineering education and increase the number of qualified engineers in the state.

Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal to support innovation, research and product development in Nebraska's small businesses and institutions of higher education was passed with unanimous support in the legislature. Lawmakers also approved an angel tax credit for investments in high-tech companies and a measure to create an internship program matching college students with businesses as part of the governor's Talent and Innovation Agenda (see the Jan. 19, 2011 issue of the Digest).

To ensure funding is available in future years for students who complete a more rigorous high school curriculum focused on math and science, the legislature set aside $400 million for performance-based scholarships in the capital budget. The FY12 operating budget also includes $6 million in first-year funding for the program, which will be available to high school students graduating in 2011.

The Slovenian parliament recently approved the Resolution on the Research and Innovation Strategy of Slovenia 2011-2020, a comprehensive strategy to establish "a contemporary research and innovation system that will ensure a higher quality of life within the country." According to the UNESCO Science Report, Slovenia is drastically ahead of their counterparts in Southeastern Europe.

Getting venture capitalists to invest their limited dollars in a particular business is difficult. Entrepreneurs must aggressively pursue potential investors and use every means at their disposal to pitch their business as a future revenue generator. A recent academic article attempts to explain the role that patenting and investment by the entrepreneur's family and friends play in this interplay between investor and investee.

Speaking at the U.S. Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Southwest Region Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Albuquerque, N.M., U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John Fernandez today unveiled a new website to connect Venture Development Organizations (VDO) in America's regions and accelerate economic development efforts that promote growth and job creation. The Regional Innovation Acceleration Network (RIAN) will bring VDOs together to share best practices and leverage resources that will strengthen regional economic ecosystems.

Lawmakers added another five years to the life of a bioscience program established in 2008 to encourage bioscience research and speed technology commercialization (see the May 14, 2008 issue of the Digest). Gov. John Hickenlooper this week signed into law HB 1283 extending the state's Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant program through July 2018.

SSTI has an effective new learning tool for TBED policymakers and practitioners seeking guidance in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies. Through exclusive interviews with Excellence in TBED Award recipients, find out first-hand how these award winning initiatives successfully responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region.

In 2011, the nation's city finance officers report that the fiscal condition of cities has continued to weaken and placed pressure on cities to cut spending on personnel, infrastructure investments and key services, according to a new research brief, City Fiscal Conditions Survey: 2011, from the National League of Cities (NLC). The results were taken from a survey of over 270 city finance officers from across the United States.

The Obama administration, congress and the private sector must implement a comprehensive policy package to unleash startups and empower small businesses, according to a newly released report, Taking Action, Building Confidence, from the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. The report outlines a three-phase approach to accelerate short-term job growth, while rebuilding long-term U.S. competitiveness:

The Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) is soliciting advice on how to best stimulate job creation through investments in biological research and development. In a new Request for Information (RFI), OSTP asks for input on national challenges related to biotechnology research, eduction, entrepreneurship and partnerships. Submissions, which are due by December 6, 2011, will help shape the administration's bioeconomy strategy.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a five-year strategic plan for the agency, focused on education and research impact. Under the goals set in the report, NSF would weigh intellectual merit and the broader impacts of research more heavily when evaluating research proposals. The agency also would increase its use of resources, such as the STAR METRICS project, which provide a clearer assessment of the impact of science investments. Read the plan...

Over the last three years, 87 percent of companies have grown their product portfolio through incremental innovations, according to an Ernst & Young report — Competing for Growth Approximately 75 percent of new products developed are intended for consumers in the established markets of the developed world. Respondents, however, envision the new global shifting its focus away from these established markets towards the emerging markets. Seventy percent of respondents indicated that their companies are becoming more global due to the recession.