Groups in the greater Detroit and Pittsburgh regions recently released reports documenting the progress these metros have made over the past few years in building thriving technology economies. Detroit’s Automation Alley found that tech industry employment in the region grew by 15 percent in 2011, outpacing growth in all of the other 14 regions used as benchmarks in the study.
Together, New York and the Mid-Atlantic region were home to as much angel investment activity as California, according to the 2013 Year in Review edition of the HALO Report, published by Silicon Valley Bank and the Angel Resource Institute. Last year, California continued its reign as the top single region for angel activity, with 18.6 percent of U.S. deals and 19.6 percent of dollars. For the first time however, the combined activity of New York and the other Mid-Atlantic states reached levels similar to California, with 18.6 percent of deals and 19.7 percent of dollars.
A limited number of printed original copies of Innovation U 2.0 are available. The publication identifies the 12 best practice universities at generating economic impact from their intellectual capital. SSTI wants to share them with our community and will randomly select FIVE winners from our Facebook fans. Hurry! Winners will be announced on Facebook Friday, April 11. https://www.facebook.com/ssti.org
Maria Contreras-Sweet has been confirmed as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Larry Ferguson has been chosen as the vice chancellor for economic development and workforce solutions at Kentucky Community College and Technical System.
Pointing to the growth potential in jobs and health within the life sciences industry sector, Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed a $20 million cut in funding to the nine-year-old Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF), allowing the fund to honor existing commitments and proceed with the 2013-14 Proof of Concept grant program and Entrepreneur Mentoring grant program. The state’s budget director David Schumacher said the sheer volume of letters from biotech companies in support of saving the fund carried weight in the governor’s decision, reports The Olympian.
Massachusetts’ continuing success in the biopharmaceutical sector depends on finding new ways to fund startup and early stage research activities, according to a new strategic plan released by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio). The report cites recent data showing that life sciences venture capital has fallen by 50 percent over the past five years and many investors have turned to later stage investments.
A progress report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) provides a useful overview of the Obama administration’s ongoing STEM efforts and the roster of STEM initiatives included in the president’s FY15 budget request. Under the proposed budget, federal spending on STEM education would reach $2.9 billion in FY15, a 3.7 percent increase over FY14 funding as enacted.
Montana’s new business plan commissioned by Gov. Steve Bullock outlines five overarching themes, described as pillars, with specific goals, objectives and tasks for diversifying the state’s economy. Encouraging innovation and supporting emerging industries is the focus of one pillar, with recommendations for strengthening the role of universities, establishing funding streams for entrepreneurs, and developing a network of statewide business mentors. The Main Street Montana Project was lead by two top business leaders in the state to ensure private sector buy-in, according to the governor.
Registration is now open for the Excellence in TBED awards informational call. The purpose of the call is to share tips on writing a better proposal, explain the program in greater detail, and answer questions. Advice from past judges of the awards program also will be highlighted. Learn more and register at: http://www.sstiawards.org/.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has unveiled an economic development package intended to bolster the state’s role in the global tech economy through multi-year investments totaling an estimated $100 million.
Tennessee legislators overwhelmingly approved Gov. Bill Haslam's cornerstone proposal for addressing affordability and accessibility issues plaguing higher education while at the same time making a substantial commitment toward future workforce preparedness: free community/technical college tuition.
Aligning industry needs with workforce training has gained renewed focus in states and emerged as a national priority. This week, President Obama announced two grant programs totaling $600 million in existing funds that challenge academic institutions and businesses to design job training for the globalized economy and set industry-recognized standards. States are increasingly partnering with community colleges and industry to fill in-demand jobs, and with tight budgets, new efforts in Georgia and North Carolina also aim to enhance worker training by reallocating existing resources or restructuring programs.
Two proposals announced by Gov. Peter Shumlin would provide additional lending tools and incentives to attract and retain technology companies using revenue surpluses for the current fiscal year. The first proposal would establish the Vermont Enterprise Incentive Fund and authorize the governor to offer an incentive package not exceeding $4.5 million to businesses that have a substantial statewide or regional economic or employment impact. The second part adds $500,000 in state general funds to the $1 million in federal funds available to the Vermont Economic Development Authority’s Entrepreneurial Lending program.
Inconsistent federal support for clean energy research and infrastructure projects in recent years has hampered the blossoming of an industry that has long been touted as a key part of the new American economy. As a result, states and local governments have stepped into the fray with clean energy funds, green banks and other tools to finance the development of the clean energy economy. A paper from the Brookings Institution explores another underutilized tool available to local governments, the bond market.
The FY15 budget bill passed by Maryland lawmakers increases funding for three of the state’s high-tech tax credits and provides level funding for continued innovation-focused investments. Lawmakers also passed bills to fund endowed chairs, create zones to incentivize businesses, and establish a statewide internship program connecting students to small, technology businesses.
With Earth Day just around the corner, SSTI is taking a closer look at environmental science research spending in the states. Even as climate change emerged as a key political topic during the first decade of the millennium, spending on environmental research at American colleges and universities declined as a percentage of all R&D, according to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. Between 2003-12, environmental science expenditures fell from 5.3 percent of all R&D expenditures to 4.8 percent.
The Global Clinton Initiative (GCI) and five partner organizations announced a regional pilot program that will create a manufacturing supply chain network to support small- and midsized-manufacturers in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The goal of the pilot program is to create a scalable model that will ultimately provide a framework for a nationwide supply chain network and grow the country’s manufacturing base.
A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project cites that 20 percent of Americans do not have broadband access, while an additional 10 percent of Americans have broadband access via smartphones. The report suggests that age, educational attainment, and household income continue to be the defining factors for home broadband adoption.
Electric vehicles may be gaining momentum.
The winding down of the space shuttle program in Florida’s Space Coast by the Obama administration in 2010 spurred a transition in NASA’s areas of focus, including an increased emphasis on commercializing technologies and industry partnerships. NASA recently announced several new initiatives with tech firms, universities, and state agencies geared toward investing in cutting-edge research and technology and developing an educated workforce.
America is moving back to its cities. A majority of people on this planet live in metropolitan areas with one million people moving to cities and metros every five days. In the U.S., the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas account for two-thirds of the nation’s population and generate 75 percent of national GDP. This is more than a trend, according to Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley of the Brookings Institution … this is a revolution.
Foundations increasingly are tapping into the unique skills of institutions of higher education by partnering with them to support entrepreneurial growth within their surrounding communities. These foundations view institutions of higher education as the ideal partners to provide education and business services necessary for entrepreneurs to reach their potential. Several foundations recently have announced funding to support entrepreneurship development activities at universities including the Ratcliffe Foundation and the Allstate Foundation.
New legislation passed by the California legislature would expand the state’s Innovation Hub (iHub) program, which supports commercialization and entrepreneurship at a regional level. The program initially was launched in March 2010 through the state’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
While the conditions of the U.S. economy continue to hinder growth, stability and efficiency in the financial markets and a positive assessment of public institutions have helped improve the nation’s competitiveness and reverse a four-year downward trend. In World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2013-14, the U.S. moved into the number five spot, up from seventh last year, overtaking the Netherlands and Sweden. For the second year in a row, Switzerland, Singapore and Finland held onto their first, second and third rankings, respectively.
This week, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) hosted a debate between ITIF’s President Robert Atkinson and Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business in the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-author of Race Against the Machine. The lively debate revolved around the impact of technology innovation on the U.S.