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The U.S. House this week passed H.R. 2763, which would amend the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs in several significant ways. Most notably, the bill would extend by five years the “assistance for administrative… costs,” which is used for outreach initiatives and some business and market assistance initiatives across agencies.

The Federal Reserve System has announced a new initiative intended to invest in America’s workforce and improve outcomes for both employers and workers.

As more state legislatures are coming to the close of their sessions, more state budgets are being finalized.

Seventeen venture development organizations (VDOs) from across the country shared in the success from a baker’s dozen exits posted in Pitchbook during the third quarter of 2017.  Information tech companies lead the pack, but seven come from other sectors of the economy including life sciences, vehicle manufacturing, materials, polymers, robotics, and chemicals – demonstrating the important role VDOs may play in broadening innovation’s contributions to regional economies.

This week we begin a series on state legislation pertaining to the innovation economy that has been enacted this year around the country. This first installment of the States of Innovation 2017 series deals with clean and renewable energy.

Creative, digital, design and engineering occupations all have bright outlooks, along with architectural and green occupations, according to a recent report from Nesta, a global innovation foundation. Nesta took into account five major trends in mapping out how employment is likely to change in the future, and the implications for skills.

First observed in 2011, Manufacturing (MFG) Day started as a grassroots movement intended to draw the public’s attention to manufacturing and its career opportunities and has become an annual celebration meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. Since 2012, both public and industry participation in MFG Day activities have grown, as has its overall scope and goals.

With a July 1 start to the fiscal year in most states, several states that were at an impasse over their budget faced at least partial shutdowns. Last minute negotiations restarted services in both Maine and New Jersey, while Illinois, which has been operating without a budget since 2015, faces threats of a downgrade in their credit rating if a deal cannot be reached. This week we present our findings of innovation funding from seven states, including $2 million in funding for a new public-private economic development organization in Delaware, an increase in funding in Louisiana for the state’s scholarship program for higher ed, and cuts to higher ed funding in Missouri, which also saw a severe drop in its funding to the Missouri Technology Corporation. Efforts in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington are also detailed below.

Once again, more than three-quarters of U.S. venture capital (VC) dollars went to companies in California, New York and Massachusetts in 2016, according to data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)/CB Insights’ Moneytree Report Explorer. Approximately 53.3 percent of all VC capital went to California companies, down nearly 4.4 percent from the states peak in 2014 (57.7) and down 3.9 percent from 2015.

Do state policies focused on growing opportunity through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship work? Which approach has more success: encouraging technology commercialization and entrepreneurship or building and filling incubators and research parks?  To try to answer these questions, new empirical research looks at the effectiveness of sustained state investments in technology-based economic development activities on high-technology job growth.

Columbus-based State Auto Labs, the innovation arm of the State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, is collaborating with venture development organization Rev1 Ventures on a $25 million corporate venture fund to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the insurance industry. Through the partnership, Rev1 Ventures and State Auto Labs will help connect InsurTech and FinTech startups with resources such as capital, technologists, and industry experts.

While more Americans live in communities that are “prosperous” compared to “distressed,” large gaps persist across geographies, demographics, and educational attainment, according to a new report from the Economic Innovation Group (EIG).

Two states taking a fresh look at their economies convened task forces that recently released reports detailing efforts the states can make to improve their state’s economic futures. In Missouri, Gov. Eric Greitens asked an innovation task force to take stock of the state’s current standing and offer options to help businesses and innovators succeed.

In 2015, businesses spent 4.4 percent more on R&D performed in the U.S. than they did in 2014, reaching $356 billion total, the NSF reports. Of the total R&D expenditures in 2015, companies spent $22 billion (6 percent) on basic research, $56 billion (16 percent) on applied research, and $278 billion (78 percent) on development.

With a focus on improving health, driving economic growth, and expanding the country’s research capacity, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. Because of NIH’s central role in supporting science, technology, and innovation, a better understanding of the agency’s footprint may be helpful to the technology-based economic development practitioner community.

On September 20, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced $17 million in awards to the 2017 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program awards. SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council has worked with members to encourage Congress to support this program, which makes awards to support the creation and expansion of tech transformation networks (i6 Challenge) and early-stage seed capital funds (the Seed Fund Support). In total, EDA

The Innovation Advocacy Council (IAC), an initiative of SSTI to better communicate with and educate Congress on innovation issues, has named Ben Johnson its new chairperson. Johnson, BioSTL’s vice president of programs, will take over the position from Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance.

Recognizing that the former steel city was at tipping point in its development, Pittsburgh’s city leaders decided to tip the scale toward continued growth. Whether the city is able to rise to the level of a serious global competitor may hinge on the implementation of initiatives that will guide the city in capitalizing on their innovation, research and business assets, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. Pittsburgh leaders received a call to action as a result of a collaborative effort initiated by two city foundations and the Brookings Institution.

SSTI’s 2017 Annual Conference held last week in Washington, D.C., helped build bridges to the future through its gathering of more than 250 participants working to create a better future through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Congressman David Cicilline addressed the gathering and stressed the importance of the Regional Innovation Strategies program in his keynote address.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that is withdrawing a December 28, 2016, final rule concerning Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) investments in passive businesses – a small entity that does not engage in regular and continuous business activity.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the recipients of 27 Design and Development Launch Pilots as part of its INCLUDES initiative. The initiative is aimed at enhancing U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations through a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The 27 pilots feature public-private partnerships that will develop blueprints for broadening STEM participation and are funded through two-year, $300,000 grants.

For 32 years, the Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program of the National Science Foundation has provided long-term funding for university-industry-government collaborations focused on addressing specific, complex engineering challenges. The program can be an integral part of a state’s strategy to encourage stronger partnerships among universities and private industry.

Arizona schools are taking a different approach to developing the next generation of STEM workers and leaders with the Chief Science Officer position, now in 120 schools across the state. The students, from grades six to 12, are elected by their peers and participate in training events where they learn about STEM activities and careers and can advocate for STEM education in their schools.

Recognizing the growing need for a skilled workforce in the increasingly digital manufacturing sector, a new report from the public-private effort of DMDII and ManpowerGroup aims to capture the changing technology and business interactions, and the job roles that are having an impact on the sector. The year-long body of work attempts to answer, among other questions, how workforce roles and job structures flex to accelerate the succession of a transforming global economy.

The White House Office of Management and Budget released a memorandum on R&D priorities that directs agencies to prioritize basic science and lower costs in their FY 2019 budget requests. R&D investments should be made in military superiority, security, prosperity, energy dominance and health. The memo repeatedly encourages officials to identify, and divest of, research areas where industry is ready to make their own investments toward commercial development.