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.
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.
The Employment and Training Administration has published the availability of up to $100 million for Trade and Economic Transition National Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs), with funding amounts of up to $8 million for each award.
In an executive order issued last month, President Trump wrote that the nation is facing a skills crisis. In response, and in order to develop “a national strategy to ensure that America’s students and workers have access to affordable, relevant, and innovative education and job training that will equip them to compete and win in the global economy,” the president established a National Council for the American Worker.
Each year, the National Science Foundation releases a report on Science and Engineering Indicators, a voluminous compilation of data and analysis that looks at metrics which are particularly relevant to the field of technology-based economic development.
Each year, the National Science Foundation releases a report on Science and Engineering Indicators, a voluminous compilation of data and analysis that looks at metrics which are particularly relevant to the field of technology-based economic development. Beginning in 2020, future versions of Indicators could look very different from their predecessors, according to a presentation by NSF program director Beethika Khan.
Over the last decade, accelerators have spread from a Silicon Valley phenomenon to communities across the country. Questions, however, remain on their impact on startups and whether they aid in creating a strong startup ecosystem. In How Do Accelerators Impact High-Technology Ventures?, Sandy Yu from UC-Berkeley found that the accelerator process helps resolve uncertainty around company quality sooner than what is experienced by non-accelerator companies.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released updated Science and Engineering (S&E) State Profiles – an online portal that provides state-level rankings and totals of S&E data for the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The portal also provides a data tool that allows users to compare up to seven states or download entire data sets. In the most recent update, NSF allows user to explore data for the years 2015 to 2017. S&T indicator by state include, but are not limited to:
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA, is announcing the I-FAST prize competition to develop and implement the Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology (I-FAST) program. NIFA will partner with NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) to provide entrepreneurship training to NIFA grantees under this pilot program. The goals are to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from NIFA supported academic research. Over six months, the selected teams will learn what it will take to achieve an economic impact with their particular innovation.
The 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival, being held Aug. 29-30 in Nashville and powered by Launch Tennessee, is one of the Southeast's largest gathering of entrepreneurs, innovators, VCs and ecosystem builders. Join your peers to hear from Fortune 500 leaders, startup founders, and top VC's from around the country. Agenda highlights include impact investing, opportunity zones, startup ecosystems done right and going to market right the first time.
North Carolina and Tennessee are implementing new initiatives to get students in their states the help they need to either complete degrees or training that will help improve workforce development in those states. North Carolina’s governor recently added a new line of grants dubbed “Finish Line” grants, to help students that are struggling with non-academic problems complete community college.
In last week’s Digest, SSTI looked at several macro venture capital (VC) trends, this week’s Useful Stats article focuses on regional trends as well as provides downloadable VC stats by state by quarter from Q1 of 2016 to Q2 of 2018. The data includes median VC deal size, VC deals, and VC dollars invested.
In last week’s Digest, SSTI looked at several macro venture capital (VC) trends, this week’s Useful Stats article focuses on regional trends as well as provides downloadable VC stats by state by quarter from Q1 of 2016 to Q2 of 2018. The data includes median VC deal size, VC deals, and VC dollars invested.
While the five West Coast states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington) continue to dominate the VC landscape with approximately $17 billion invested over 751 deals in Q2 of 2018, the New York City MSA has seen an increase in its share of VC deals (12.8 percent through Q2 of 2018) – up from 11.4 percent for 2017, according to the 2Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. These findings highlight the long-standing trend that the U.S. VC market remains concentrated on the coasts with approximately 71 percent of deals and nearly 88 percent of VC dollars going to the West Coast states, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the New England states. The map below from the 2Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor provides a regional breakdown of both deals and dollars.
After 20 years of a program that had supported innovation in the state of Kentucky, the governor said he wanted to consolidate the funding to support entrepreneurs and become more strategic in the state’s efforts.
After 20 years of a program that had supported innovation in the state of Kentucky, the governor said he wanted to consolidate the funding to support entrepreneurs and become more strategic in the state’s efforts. This month, the state unveiled a new program — Regional Innovation for Startups and Entrepreneurs (RISE), a strategy that unites each area’s most powerful economic drivers, prioritizes commercialization and promotes rapid scaling. The new strategy is designed to decrease duplication of efforts and get investments more directly to entrepreneurs, said Brian Mefford, the executive director of KY Innovation.
The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a new Lab Partnering Service (LPS) that provides an online, single access point platform for investors, innovators and institutions to identify, locate and obtain information on the department’s 17 national laboratories. The new tool is intended to provide industry with a more efficient way to harness technical expertise and intellectual property housed at DOE’s labs.
Help inform decisions on the direction of federal R&D's role in innovation! Please complete this 10-minute survey by July 25 to share your ideas of current and future practices affecting R&D direction and tech transfer options with the federal labs.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) can alleviate financing constraints and help support important activities such as operations, R&D, and expansion. Despite these perceived benefits, new research finds that the transition to public equity – and the financial windfalls that follow – prompt many of a company’s early innovators to depart the firm, which has impacts on both innovation internally and at other firms.
Last week, Google announced the launch of several efforts as part of its Grow with Google initiative – a five-year $1-billion plus plan to invest in nonprofits that specialize in training workers and helping new businesses get off the ground. Through this new plan, Google indicated it will work to close the world’s education and opportunity gaps.
Through its 2017 Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC 2017) initiative, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced $30 million in funding to assist locally-driven efforts to communities and regions severely impacted by the declining use of coal through activities and programs that support economic diversification, job creation, capital investment, workforce development, and re-employment opportunities.
One of the hottest topics at SSTI’s 2017 Annual Conference centered on helping communities build the investment system necessary for local entrepreneurs and startups to thrive. Led by several panels of experts, the conversations led to sharing many great ideas, thoughtful solutions, and tough realities. This week we continue our series of stories on how TBED organizations can help communities ensure a vibrant investment system. This second installment focuses on effective strategies and ideas for building your organization’s investment team.