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Regional Innovation in Action: Federal support is helping to accelerate an emerging industry

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition (the Coalition) received a $41.4 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge in September 2022 to implement a comprehensive strategy for expanding the use of mass timber sourced and manufactured in Oregon in the construction market.

Voters in several states to consider big tax issues in November 

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
The cost of living is one of the dominant themes likely influencing voter decisions in this fall’s election, so it may come as little surprise for readers to learn that various states are depending on the ballot to answer some tough questions. Voters' answers to these questions could shape state tax policy and budgets for years to come.

State News for October 7, 2026

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

During a fireside chat at the North America Climate Summit on Sept. 22, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson announced that their states have reached an agreement with Quebec to link their carbon markets, eventually allowing the participating signatories to buy, sell, and trade carbon credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Data Centers: Bipartisan concern & gubernatorial positions

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Once viewed primarily as an economic development issue, data center growth has emerged as a major policy platform in this year's gubernatorial contests, with candidates from both parties advancing policies that place varying limits and regulations on data center development. And as the November elections approach, candidates continue revise their data center positions.

Election 2026: Selecting new governors and redefining the federal-state relationship

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

This year's gubernatorial elections will do more than determine who occupies governors' offices across the country. They will help shape how states, administrations, and voters navigate a shifting federal landscape and pursue policies designed to advance state priorities, address emerging challenges, and redefine state-federal relationships. 

This year's gubernatorial elections will do more than determine who occupies governors' offices across the country. They will help shape how states, administrations, and voters navigate a shifting federal landscape and pursue policies designed to advance state priorities, address emerging challenges, and redefine state-federal relationships.

To build a new industry from scratch, a company first must prove it has a marketable product

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

What do turfgrass and grapes have in common? Both are high-volume, high-value crops. And, as field trials by the Pacific Kelp Company are proving, both could also benefit from the nutrients in liquefied kelp extract, a biostimulant product that also could help boost the sales of Alaska kelp with adoption of broader applications. 

A BBBRC grant builds momentum for a highly trained semiconductor workforce

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
For the civic leaders of Osceola County, the Great Recession of 2008 made clear that they could not base their economy so heavily on travel and tourism. By the time COVID-19 hit in 2020, they knew the steps they had taken to diversify their economy were the right ones. When the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) opportunity arose in 2021, the county and its partners were well-positioned to operationalize the benefits the grant presented to the region and create a trained workforce for a recently attracted semiconductor industry. How did Osceola County get here? There are potential approaches to emulate by more areas of the county dependent on low-wage sectors like tourism or, for that matter, extraction-focused regions subject to “boom and bust.” 

The impact of tax incentives on early-stage company investment varies

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
One persistent question in economic development policy is how incentives impact private sector investment decisions. Recent and ongoing research from Murillo Campello and Guilherme Junqueira of the University of Florida, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research working paper series, explores the impact of the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) program on venture capital risk-taking. The researchers found that the availability of QSBS tax benefits strongly influences venture capital investment behavior, specifically in traditionally structured venture capital funds. They also found no similar behavior among angel or corporate investors, an insight that may hold important program design and policy lessons for the TBED community. 

Recent Research: What makes place-based economic development policies work?

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Place-based economic development is back near the center of federal policy, from Opportunity Zones to the CHIPS and Science Act. That renewed attention comes with a familiar problem: decades of enterprise zones, tax incentives, infrastructure investments, and other geographically targeted programs have produced results that are hard to summarize cleanly. In a new NBER working paper, Matthew Freedman and David Neumark ask the better question: not simply whether or not these policies work, but under what conditions they might work, for whom, and why. Their review points to a practical conclusion: policy design matters and targeting a distressed community with development-focused financial incentives is rarely enough on its own.

SBA proposes tighter SBIR/STTR performance standards for “mills”

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed updated commercialization performance standards for companies that win large numbers of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards. The proposal would apply to firms that received more than 25 Phase II awards across all participating agencies during the previous five completed fiscal years. To remain eligible for new Phase I or Direct-to-Phase-II awards, those firms would need to show that a minimum share of their total revenue comes from sources other than Phase I and Phase II SBIR/STTR funding. The threshold would be 33% non-SBIR/STTR revenue for the FY 2027 assessment and 50% beginning in FY 2028, measured over the previous three completed fiscal years. Phase III revenue and other government contracts would count as non-SBIR/STTR revenue. Firms that do not meet the benchmark would be ineligible to submit proposals for new Phase I or Direct-to-Phase-II awards for one year. SBA says the updated standards are scheduled to take effect Nov. 15, 2026, after review of public comments, which are due by October 31.

Survey shows that federal science funding is a top concern among physical scientists

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
With extensive cuts to federal research funding since January 20, 2025, one might wonder what impact this is having on scientists, both in the U.S. and abroad. Recently published results from a survey by  AIP (American Institute of Physics) offer a snapshot of how more than 2,000 respondents from AIP’s member organizations view the impact of these changes.

Webinar Library

Webinars are a great way to stay up to date on the newest developments. They offer timely information from experts and have the flexibility of being viewed at your convenience without the expense of travel. SSTI's Webinar Library puts SSTI webinars at your fingertips — when you want them.

Events hosted by SSTI's Tech-based Economic Development Community of Practice are available to the general public at no cost. Most SSTI webinars are available for free to members and for purchase by others. 

 

Federal Funding Video Library

A wide variety of federal programs can support tech-based economic development (TBED) strategies and initiatives -- even many programs that do not explicitly state that science, technology, innovation, or entrepreneurship are priority uses of funds. 

To help organizations identify sources of funding that could be useful, SSTI has created this video series as part of the TBED Community of Practice.

Video Index

View the videos below to learn more about each program and how it could be useful to your region's needs.

TBED Community of Practice

With support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), SSTI launched a Tech-Based Economic Development (TBED) Community of Practice (CoP), active from 2022 to 2026.

This initiative grew the capacity of EDA grantees to achieve greater impacts for their regional innovation economies.

SSTI’s TBED CoP work emphasized: