The list of technology-based economic development initiatives within the newly created Technology and Innovation Office of the New Mexico Economic Development Department covers the spectrum of critical policy aspects required for a strong state innovation economy: increasing R&D, business incubation, targeted emerging technologies and strong existing assets, startup capital, venture development, and innovation talent development and recruitment.

On June 3, SSTI will host a webinar exclusively for Innovation Advocacy Council members to receive an in-depth update on many of the confusing factors in play in the federal policy and budget environments—the key factors influencing the future of your state, regional and university TBED strategies. IAC partners at Van Scoyoc & Associates will be on hand to provide the latest news from the Hill and answer questions to help make sense of any new developments.

Tuesday, July 1 | 3:00 p.m. EST

Whether your region is just beginning to address market failures in risk capital availability and performance for innovation-centered companies or your current efforts could use a refreshing check-in among peers, please plan to join us for the kick-off of our Innovation Finance Community of Practice Series. 

Most countries have dramatically increased their investments in R&D over the past two decades, with OECD nation spending reaching a record high nearly $1,600 of gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) per person in 2023 (PPP[1] converted), approximately triple the value recorded in 2000. Although the U.S.

May 20, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET | Zoom 

SSTI’s recent webinar for its EDA-funded TBED Community of Practice work explored the emerging trend of creating centralized tech transfer offices (TTOs) serving multiple institutions. Centralized approaches are intended to more efficiently help develop and commercialize inventions from smaller or regional colleges and universities.

The AI market is projected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2023—a 25x increase in just 10 years, according to the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2025 Technology and Innovation report. The technology will be leap-frogging other “frontier tech markets,” including the Internet of Things, which currently dominates 36% of the market for emerging platform technologies. The super-charged AI market will impact up to 40% of global jobs, both positively and negatively.

The short answer to the question, “Is college still worth it?” is, “It depends.”

Attending higher education institutions may impart an array of societal and personal development benefits. Still, one factor of increasing import that raises the question of the worthiness of attaining a college education in a market-driven economy is the personal cost involved. The question becomes even more pertinent based on three trends: rising costs, decreasing employment opportunities for college graduates and a fair share of Americans having little or no confidence in higher education. 

The same April 23 executive order as mentioned above requires Labor, Commerce and Education to work together and prepare by the end of August, a plan “to reach and surpass 1 million new active apprentices.” Apprenticeships were a preferred skill development program during President Trump’s first term in office as well. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently released a report on the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program with data through December 31, 2024. As of the end of 2024, Treasury has disbursed nearly $4 billion of the $10 billion set aside for the program in the 2021 American Rescue Plan of Act. 

One of the top perennial concerns of America’s manufacturing and business communities relates to the workforce. The main issues may vary year to year; examples include too few workers available, skill mismatch, poor work habits or preparedness because of non-work issues such as basic education attainment, drug use, prison records or lack of work ethic.

A recently published InfoChart from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) presents an annotated walk through federal R&D obligations from FY 1951 through 2024, explaining key events influencing key moments in the surges and downswings along the nation’s path to supporting discovery, research, development and innovation. The data is presented in constant 2017 dollars.