Government investment in R&D within the health, defense, and energy sectors can provide both immediate and long-term benefits in the form of employment, income, and federal and state tax revenue. A new report released by Breakthrough Energy explores these benefits, while also studying the effects that an increase in public R&D spending could have throughout the nation.
As the shock of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic settled and the extent of the economic impact began to become clearer, states are developing creative and long-term plans and programs to breathe life back into their economies. States initially focused federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act towards the urgent public health needs of responding to the unfolding crisis and to mitigating the impacts of mandatory business closures.
As the shock of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic settled and the extent of the economic impact began to become clearer, states are developing creative and long-term plans and programs to breathe life back into their economies. States initially focused federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act towards the urgent public health needs of responding to the unfolding crisis and to mitigating the impacts of mandatory business closures. Commerce has gradually resumed, yet unemployment remains high, job creation slow, and states face continued revenue shortfalls months after the outbreak. States are increasingly using novel and impactful ways to leverage CARES Act funding to speed the recovery, and to fortify their economies in a persistent environment of uncertainty over the virus.
Every year, manufacturers from around the nation gather on the first Friday in October to open their shop doors to students, prospective employees, teachers, and community leaders. Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) is meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers and showcases the many career opportunities that exist in today’s modern manufacturing space. Last year, more than 325,000 people participated in MFG Day and over 3,000 events were held nationwide.
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund recently announced the recipients of more than $204 million in FY 2020 funding. Much of the agency’s funding is used to support banking and lending services, but several SSTI members were among the 357 awardees. Launch NY received a financial assistance award and Invest Nebraska and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund received technical assistance awards.
At a time that is often referred to as “The Age of Technology,” the U.S. has no coherent strategy for maintaining its high standing as a world leader in science, technology and innovation, and has watched as China has overtaken the country on many indicators of prowess in R&D and innovation.
As of this writing, control of Congress remains officially undecided, although the end result will likely be status quo: Republican control of the Senate and Democratic control of the House. While the discourse and activity around major legislation may not change, there will be changes to the committees that most strongly impact science and small business legislation. The new members will not be determined until the next session, but multiple departures from these committees are already known.
Senate
After a historic election night, the winners of the gubernatorial elections in 11 states appear to have been chosen. Barring a dramatic swing in votes, all of the nine incumbent governors have been reelected to a second or third term. In Montana, Rep. Greg Gianforte (R) has flipped control of the governor’s seat, and in Utah, Spencer Cox (R) has defeated Chris Peterson (D). Many of the incumbent governors held strong approval ratings going into election night and won their voters’ approval for another term as the country tries to inch out of the pandemic and recover economically.
While official results are still being certified, unofficial counts reveal a mixed bag on a slew of state ballot initiatives that could have an impact on innovation, education, state budgets and elections. Some gained favor with voters, like a battle over gig workers and how they are classified, which landed on the side of Uber and Lyft.
I suspect the whole country woke up Wednesday morning and looked at the half that voted for the other candidate and said, “What were you thinking?!?” Rather than attempting to address the question of what people were thinking, let me attempt to address where we are and what we need to do.
I suspect the whole country woke up Wednesday morning and looked at the half that voted for the other candidate and said, “What were you thinking?!?” Rather than attempting to address the question of what people were thinking, let me attempt to address where we are and what we need to do.
The 2016 election of Donald Trump, the rise of Trumpism, the pandemic and George Floyd’s killing have laid bare fundamental crises that face America. The challenge that presumptive President-elect Joe Biden has is how to address the stark divisions we have in the country. The election results are just representative of the divisions we’re facing.
In fiscal year 2021, the nationwide success rate of applicants for National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I awards decreased slightly from FY 2020. This continued a downward trend over recent years. The success rate for NIH SBIR/STTR Phase I was nearly 13 percent (647 of 5,132 approved) in FY 2021, a decrease from nearly 14 percent (636 of 4,684 approved) in FY 2020 and from nearly 16 percent for all proposals submitted over the past decade.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M.
Entrepreneurs learned more about small business funding opportunities from federal agencies with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs during America’s Seed Fund Week last week. The $4 billion funding program, which is currently up for reauthorization, is celebrating 40 years of providing funding to small businesses each year in a variety of technology areas.
This week, Congress approved a new version of legislation to incentivize semiconductor manufacturing facilities, create a Regional Technology Hubs program, and reauthorize many science-related agencies. The Senate passed the bill on the 27th, and the House passed the legislation a day later.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is breaking with tradition this week and for the first time released application data before it formally accepts applications for the NSF Engines program, which will provide up to $160 million of funding for up to 10+ years to establish each regional-scale innovation ecosystem Engine.
Amid a public market slowdown, inflation concerns and tightening monetary environment, the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q2 2022 indicates that most investors continued their COVID-era levels of activity through the second quarter of the year.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced nine additional states whose SSBCI plans have been approved: Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Vermont. This is in addition to the five states approved earlier this year: Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan and West Virginia.
Canadian provinces are overrepresented in North America’s most competitive states in the innovation economy with Ontario ranked third, British Columbia ranked fourth and Quebec ranked ninth, according to a competitiveness index from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Massachusetts, California, Ontario and Maryland were named overall leaders in subnational innovation competitiveness.
A recent paper published at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (FRBA) highlighted that unlike prior recessions where men experienced unemployment at higher rates, COVID-19 had a much greater effect on women. Women constituted nearly 60 percent of net job loss despite making up 47 percent of pre-pandemic employment.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) announced its intention to release a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office within the year. This FOA, titled “Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs” or “H2Hubs” will outline funding phases to promote the expansion of clean hydrogen energy and aid in the development of at least four clean hydrogen hubs throughout the U.S.
Manufacturing, healthcare services, information technology, building and construction, and transportation, distribution and logistics are the top five industries by number of applications submitted to the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Challenge, according to EDA.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) last week announced a new funding opportunity that includes two programs designed to strengthen equitable economic development strategies across the country. One program will add staff resource to local organizations focused on improving economic resilience and competitiveness in distressed regions across the country, while the second will provide technical assistance to enable organizations serving underserved populations and communities to participate in economic development planning and projects.
President Biden announced his intent to nominate Arati Prabhakar to serve as the next director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and once confirmed she would also become his chief science advisor.
During the SBIR/STTR Spring Innovation Conference, the U.S. Small Business Administration hosted a keynote session titled, “SBIR at 40 – What’s Next?” Panelists, moderated by SBA’s Erick Page-Littleford, discussed the impact that the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have had over their 40 years of existence, and what the future may hold.
A recent study found that the use of industrial robots (UIR) can reduce a country’s overall ecological footprint while simultaneously promoting economic growth. This is through timesaving, green employment, and energy upgrading effects that increase as the level of economic development and human capital within the country increases.
Between 2017 and 2021, 23 percent of proposals submitted to NASA for Phase I SBIR/STTR funding were approved (1,887 awards from 8,360 proposals). The acceptance rate for Phase II proposals, which are generally encouraged or discouraged based on Phase I outcomes, was 58 percent (791 of 1,359 approved).