The House and Senate have agreed to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019. As anticipated, the legislation addresses many small business and innovation policies. Changes relevant to tech-based economic development affect SBIR, advanced manufacturing, and partnerships with defense labs.
Nearly a month after the start of the new fiscal year, Massachusetts legislators have approved an FY 2019 budget. Science and innovation stakeholders may find it worth the wait. Included in the $42 billion budget are new funding for a precision manufacturing initiative that will fund multiple, local activities ($2.7 million) and $500,000 for registered apprenticeships.
SSTI board member Bruce Mehlman, a former George W. Bush administration official and founder of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, recently published a midterm election presentation that has been discussed by numerous DC publications. Mehlman included an analysis of the last 10 senatorial midterm elections (see slide 15). The results suggest that incumbent senators of a different party than the president are very likely to win reelection, even in states carried by the president.
Industry-led “innovation hubs,” additional funds for risk capital, and a proactive talent strategy are among the recommendations included in Ohio BOLD: A Blueprint for Accelerating the Innovation Economy, a new strategic plan conducted by Columbus-based TEConomy Partners on behalf of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation.
Industry-led “innovation hubs,” additional funds for risk capital, and a proactive talent strategy are among the recommendations included in Ohio BOLD: A Blueprint for Accelerating the Innovation Economy, a new strategic plan conducted by Columbus-based TEConomy Partners on behalf of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation. Developed as a way to inform a new gubernatorial administration of the Chamber’s priorities, the plan identifies opportunities around four platforms: next-gen manufacturing, future health, smart infrastructure, and data analytics.
New Jersey, long considered a state-leader in technology-based economic development prior to the Great Recession, has committed to reinvesting in its innovation economy. In addition to the legislature overwhelmingly approving a bill to reconvene the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology — the state’s primary technology-based economic development organization — Gov. Phil Murphy also announced several other initiatives to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced its intention to award up to seven contracts for entities to lead regional innovation cluster initiatives. While two of the awards are partially set-aside for qualified small business, the remaining five are being competed full and open, meaning any entity is eligible. Each contract will be for a base year and four option years, with a base-year price not-to-exceed $500,000. An overview webinar will be held by the Program Office on Aug. 8, 2018, beginning at 4:00- p.m.
The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced its intention to award up to seven contracts for entities to lead regional innovation cluster initiatives. While two of the awards are partially set-aside for qualified small business, the remaining five are being competed full and open, meaning any entity is eligible. Each contract will be for a base year and four option years, with a base-year price not-to-exceed $500,000. An overview webinar will be held by the Program Office on Aug. 8, 2018, beginning at 4:00- p.m. EDT, and a link to this webinar will be provided on the solicitation’s FedBizOpps page. Proposals are due Friday, Aug. 24.
NASA has indicated it is facing broad, workforce-related challenges that can have a negative impact on programs over the long run; over half of its workforce is more than 50 years old, for instance. One recent announcement from its Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) may be a small step to help address some of those challenges.
President Donald Trump signed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, a reauthorization of the Perkins Act, on Tuesday, giving states greater control over setting their own goals for career and technical education (CTE), a change from the current law that requires states to get program goals approved by the secretary of education.
After a record-long delay, President Donald Trump this week announced his intent to nominate a director for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — Kelvin Droegemeier, who is the current secretary of science and technology for the state of Oklahoma. The announcement has generated excitement within the science and tech community, and C.
After a record-long delay, President Donald Trump this week announced his intent to nominate a director for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — Kelvin Droegemeier, who is the current secretary of science and technology for the state of Oklahoma. The announcement has generated excitement within the science and tech community, and C. Michael Carolina, executive director of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) called Droegemeier the “perfect choice.”
The emerging blockchain industry has recently caught the attention of some state political leaders and economic development officials as a potential driver of economic growth as well as a potential solution to improve government services. To support economic growth, states are working on creating flexible regulatory sandboxes to allow blockchain-based startups to test their products.
Are you looking for ways to meet the challenges of today’s technology-based innovation economy? Explore the many sessions and speakers that will be featured during SSTI’s 2018 Annual Conference: Navigating the New Innovation Landscape, happening Dec. 3-5 in Salt Lake City. Our conference brochure is now available online and registration is open.
Are you looking for ways to meet the challenges of today’s technology-based innovation economy? Explore the many sessions and speakers that will be featured during SSTI’s 2018 Annual Conference: Navigating the New Innovation Landscape, happening Dec. 3-5 in Salt Lake City. Our conference brochure is now available online and registration is open.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a draft of its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. The draft plan identifies three strategic goals to guide USPTO’s activities over the 4-year period. They include to: optimize patent quality and timeliness; to optimize trademark quality and timeliness; and, provide domestic/global leadership to improve intellectual property (IP) policy, enforcement, and protection worldwide.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a draft of its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. The draft plan identifies three strategic goals to guide USPTO’s activities over the 4-year period. They include to: optimize patent quality and timeliness; to optimize trademark quality and timeliness; and, provide domestic/global leadership to improve intellectual property (IP) policy, enforcement, and protection worldwide. For interested parties, USPTO is seeking comments regarding all aspects of the plan. Comments are due September 20.
The U.S. Census Bureau seeks comments on all aspects of the Business Research and Development Survey for the 2018-2022 releases. Collected in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the survey provides comprehensive data on Research and Development (R&D) costs and detailed expenses by type and industry. The U.S.
The U.S. Census Bureau seeks comments on all aspects of the Business Research and Development Survey for the 2018-2022 releases. Collected in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the survey provides comprehensive data on Research and Development (R&D) costs and detailed expenses by type and industry. The U.S. Census Bureau also announced that it would start collecting data about R&D on artificial intelligence and geographic detail of companies' R&D workforce in 2018. For those interested in providing feedback, comments are due by October 23.
Two recently released, federally funded reports from the Urban Institute and Workcred provide insights into the Trump administration’s efforts to develop competency-based apprenticeships and new workforce credentials. Over the past year, the Trump administration has positioned these two workforce development approaches as the central focus of its workforce development planning.
Two recently released, federally funded reports from the Urban Institute and Workcred provide insights into the Trump administration’s efforts to develop competency-based apprenticeships and new workforce credentials. Over the past year, the Trump administration has positioned these two workforce development approaches as the central focus of its workforce development planning.
Developed under a contract from the Department of Labor (DOL), the Urban Institute released the first set of recommendations for competency-based occupational apprenticeship frameworks. Separately, in partnership with National Institute of Standards and Technology Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP), Workcred – an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) affiliate – published a report to help strengthen the quality, value and effectiveness of manufacturing credentials in the United States.
The Massachusetts legislature ended its 2018 session with a slate of bills related to tech-based economic development. Legislation for general economic development, life sciences industry, and green communities created new authorizations and provided for more than $1 billion in bond funding authority, with a substantial portion allocation to innovation-related activities. From broadband access to SBIR support to workforce development, the bills created a host of new opportunities for TBED in the Bay State.
Twenty-four local economic development entities, Small Business Technology Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, incubators, accelerators, colleges and universities were granted $125,000 by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. The 24 grant recipients, including seven that are members of SSTI (boldfaced below), provide support to small businesses developing and commercializing high-risk technologies.
As part of an official kick-off for a yearlong Policy Academy, interdisciplinary teams from around the country met in Washington, D.C., last week to advance policies that strengthen their manufacturing sectors. The four state participants – Kentucky, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Utah – are comprised of leadership from governor’s offices, state economic development departments, Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, manufacturing trade associations, and other manufacturing centers.
As part of an official kick-off for a yearlong Policy Academy, interdisciplinary teams from around the country met in Washington, D.C., last week to advance policies that strengthen their manufacturing sectors. The four state participants – Kentucky, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Utah – are comprised of leadership from governor’s offices, state economic development departments, Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, manufacturing trade associations, and other manufacturing centers. In addition to facilitated working groups, the event featured speakers from Deloitte, The National Center for the Middle Market, NIST, MForesight, New America, and the National Governors’ Association.
Working with public and private-sector partners across the U.S., the EDA invested approximately $289.1 million in 815 locally-driven economic development projects in FY 2017, according to its most recent annual report. The report provides examples of the projects it funds in each state, to help show the breadth and diversity of the programs and projects it funds.
Working with public and private-sector partners across the U.S., the EDA invested approximately $289.1 million in 815 locally-driven economic development projects in FY 2017, according to its most recent annual report. The report provides examples of the projects it funds in each state, to help show the breadth and diversity of the programs and projects it funds. It also provides an interactive map detailing the summary and case studies of investments for any given state or territory.
The boost in federal R&D funds as a result of the 2009 stimulus package had a significant impact on local economic development, according to a new working paper from researchers at the University of Michigan.
The boost in federal R&D funds as a result of the 2009 stimulus package had a significant impact on local economic development, according to a new working paper from researchers at the University of Michigan. In “Local Fiscal Multiplier on R&D and Science Spending: Evidence from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” (ARRA), authors Yulia Chhabra, Margaret Levenstein, and Jason Owen-Smith look at changes in county-level employment in response to increased federal spending on R&D as a result of ARRA. The authors estimate causal effects of the ARRA R&D funding on local economic development, and find that, all else equal, every $1 million in new R&D spending due to the stimulus in a county led to 27 new jobs, with 25 of those being in the private sector. The authors estimate that the cost per each job-year was about $15,000, which is less than the reported costs of other types of federal stimulus programs.
A new Pew Research Center survey shows strong support among Americans for government investments in medical research, engineering and technology, and basic scientific research, echoing previous reports from 2014 and 2009. That support crosses political parties, although liberal Democrats show a greater percentage of support (92 percent) compared to conservative Republicans (61 percent).
The Minnesota Department of Deployment and Economic Development (DEED) has launched a new loan program for entrepreneurs with high-tech products or services. The loans are similar in size to microfinance options increasingly available to new bricks-and-mortar establishments, but flexible payment options and innovation-focused criteria are intended to make Minnesota Innovation Loans for Entrepreneurs (MILE) uniquely appropriate for tech-based economic development.
Investment in 3,912 venture-backed companies reached $57.5 billion invested across 3,997 deals in the first half of 2018, according to the 2Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. With six months remaining in 2018, the $57.5 billion invested by venture capital (VC) firms already exceeds the full-year total for six of the past 10 years.
Investment in 3,912 venture-backed companies reached $57.5 billion invested across 3,997 deals in the first half of 2018, according to the 2Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. With six months remaining in 2018, the $57.5 billion invested by venture capital (VC) firms already exceeds the full-year total for six of the past 10 years. If the current pace of dollars invested continues, 2018 will surpass 2017 as the highest amount of capital deployed by VCs in a year since the dot com era (early 2000s). Q1 and Q2 of 2018 also report as the highest quarters for VC dollars invested since the start of 2011.
On July 31, OMB Director Mike Mulvaney distributed a memo outlining eight priority R&D subjects and five practices for leveraging R&D resources more effectively.
After considerable growth in the number of startups raising a first round of venture capital financing between 2009 and 2014, there has been a geographically widespread contraction, according to new research from Ian Hathaway at the Center of American Entrepreneurship, a D.C. based advocacy group. In America’s Rising Startup Communities, Hathaway explores the geography of first venture capital financing across U.S.
After considerable growth in the number of startups raising a first round of venture capital financing between 2009 and 2014, there has been a geographically widespread contraction, according to new research from Ian Hathaway at the Center of American Entrepreneurship, a D.C. based advocacy group. In America’s Rising Startup Communities, Hathaway explores the geography of first venture capital financing across U.S. metropolitan areas over the last eight years, finding that just 10 metro areas account for more than two-thirds of all first financings. From 2009 to 2017, the number of startups receiving a first financing increased by 84 percent, and more than one-third of regions saw an increase in deals.
Approximately 30.2 percent of NIH-funded research studies produce false positive results that make those studies not replicable by other researchers, according to a recent study from researchers at Queensland University of Technology (AU). The authors of the study contend that the reproducibility crisis is driven by “publish or perish” incentives to increase the quantity of their papers at the cost of quality.