Governors around the country continue to lay out priorities for the next legislative session. In the coming weeks, SSTI will review gubernatorial addresses and budget proposals related to economic development. This week, we highlight developments in Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has published a formal response to the final report of the Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories (CRENEL).
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a new Federal Funding Announcement (FFA) to award its first national manufacturing innovation institute (NMII). Proposers may solicit a new NMII on any advanced manufacturing technology focus area not already addressed by another institute or competition.
A bipartisan group of 17 governors signed the Governors’ Accord for a New Energy Future – a joint commitment to support the deployment of renewable, cleaner and more efficient energy technologies and other solutions to make the U.S. economy more productive and resilient as well as spur job creation in member states.
While the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Economic Development Administration (EDA) continues to take steps to implement the Federal Loan Guarantees for Innovative Technologies in Manufacturing (ITM) program, additional steps remain before they can issue loan guarantees according to a new report from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Immigrants play a significant role in American innovation, while women and minorities are underrepresented, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).
More than three-quarters of U.S. venture capital dollars went to companies in California, New York and Massachusetts in 2015, according to data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)/National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Moneytree Report. California companies received over 57 percent of all U.S. investment, about 0.5 percent down from the state’s peak in 2014. Both New York and Massachusetts received about 10 percent of U.S. dollars. Washington, the state with the fourth highest share, trailed far behind at 2.1 percent.
SSTI’s analysis of gubernatorial addresses, strategic plans and budget proposals continues this week with highlights from Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Governors are facing difficult fiscal situations in several of these states, often scaling back tech-based economic development efforts. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, however, is using a fiscal surplus to invest in higher education and regionally focused economic initiatives.
Alabama
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a solicitation to establish and sustain Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Nodes as part of I-Corps’ National Innovation Network that builds upon fundamental research to guide the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products, processes and services that benefit society. NSF will commit up to $8.5 million to support seven I-Corps Nodes to foster understanding on how to:
State economic development policies that focus on deep income tax cuts or tax breaks to lure companies from other states ignore fundamental data points about job creation, and as a result are more likely to fail, according to a recently released report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. While alluding to the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship and firm survival more broadly, the authors also argue that public investments should be targeted at helping build a skilled workforce and improve the
Despite a small decrease in venture capital deals last year, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metropolitan area remains the most active investment regions on a per capita basis, according to data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)/National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) MoneyTree Report. San Francisco led all other MSAs in both total dollars and per capita activity, with its $21 billion in 2015 investment averaging about $4,500 per metro resident.
In the last month, several international countries and Hong Kong have made significant monetary contributions to establish investment funds that will make strategic investments in their country’s startups. These investment funds have a two-fold focus. First, they want to help provide early stage capital to companies that have the potential to spur economic prosperity within their borders. Second, they want to help make their companies more appealing to foreign investors.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) announced that it will commit up to $20 million for the first round of the DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) – a matching fund that helps bring promising energy technologies developed at DOE-funded national laboratories to market. In addition to helping advance promising energy related technologies with commercial potential, the TFC is intended to strengthen partnerships between the national labs and private-sector companies that can deploy energy technologies to the marketplace.
Estimated FY16 funding levels are used for NSF comparisons, unless otherwise noted.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons, unless otherwise noted.
The president’s FY17 proposed budget would allocate $69.4 billion in discretionary funding (1.6 percent increase) for the Department of Education. Priority areas addressed in the budget proposal include increasing equity and excellence in education, providing additional support for teachers and school leaders, and expanding access, affordability, and completion in higher education.
Enacted FY16 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
FY16 enacted funding is used for NASA comparisons, unless otherwise noted.
Under the president’s FY17 budget request, NASA would receive $19 billion (1.6 percent decrease). For a number of programs, FY16 comparisons are unavailable because NASA’s FY16 operation plan has not been finalized. Priority items in the NASA budget include the development of technologies that make future space programs more affordable and capable, continued support for the Webb Telescope, and developments to catalyze growth in the American commercial space industry.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
The president’s FY17 budget proposal would provide $12.8 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Labor (DOL), a 4.9 percent increase from FY16. Priority items supported in the budget are apprenticeships, career navigation tools, and additional reforms recommended in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
Enacted FY16 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
Estimated FY16 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) would receive $29 billion in FY17 discretionary funding under the president’s budget request, a 1 percent increase.