Because universities are increasingly seen as hubs for regional economic development, many institutions are reorganizing their business engagement efforts to eliminate the barriers between universities and the innovation community. Recently, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Michigan Medical School and the University of Texas at Arlington all announced plans to streamline and redesign their innovation services, aiming to increase their contribution to regional job and business creation.

On October 25, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted unanimously to propose rules under the JOBS Act that would permit companies to offer and sell securities to non-accredited investors through crowdfunding intermediary portals (crowdfunding portals). The SEC released a fact sheet that highlights several of the proposed rules for startups and investors who want to engage in crowdfunding that include:

Only six states have statewide measures on the ballot in 2013, which is 28 percent fewer than the average number of measures on the ballot in an odd-numbered year, as noted by Ballotpedia's executive editor. Tech-based economic development measures will be decided in at least two states — Missouri and Maine. Although not a statewide measure, Jackson County, MO, voters will be asked to approve a sales tax of one-half of 1 percent for 20 years to fund medical research and discovery across Kansas City.

People often remember stories, and telling stories can be an effective way to communicate success. But, as researchers have found, there is a craft to organizational storytelling whereby the story must work in conjunction with both logical-rational elements and the emotive and motivational features of the people involved. This lesson is an important one for small businesses and startups seeking to gain traction and staying power with their audience or customer. It also resonates for TBED practitioners who often struggle with clear and concise messaging in promoting economic growth.

State government agencies spent $1.4 billion on research in FY11, an 11.3 percent increase over the previous year, according to a release from the National Science Foundation. Much of the increase was concentrated in the top five states, New York, Ohio, Florida, California and Pennsylvania, which together represent about 51 percent of total U.S. state R&D spending.

A new statewide network will coordinate the regional economic development activities of Indiana University, according to an announcement released by the university this week. The Innovate Indiana Network will complement the work done by the Innovate Indiana initiative and the university's Council for Regional Engagement and Economic Development (CREED). The network will include representatives from 16 schools, offices and centers across the state that offer services that could potentially benefit regional economies.

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce highlights university programs across the country working to facilitate student and faculty entrepreneurship as part of a larger federal effort to improve tech transfer activities and external partnerships. Information was collected from the leaders of 131 research universities to understand what universities are doing programmatically and strategically to nurture innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship.

Growth in the number of patent assertions facing startup companies is hampering U.S. venture capital, according to a new survey of venture capitalists (VC) and venture-backed companies from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Robin Feldman, director of the Institute for Innovation Law at University of California Hastings. Eighty percent of VC respondents note that the number of patent assertions filed against portfolio companies have increased over the past five years, with half indicating these assertions were a major deterrent to investment.

A measure to increase the sales tax in Jackson County, MO, to fund medical research across Kansas City and St. Louis was rejected by greater than a 5-to-1 ratio, reports the Kansas City Star.

This week, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a wide-ranging roundup of new and ongoing efforts to leverage availability of large, accessible data sets to spur innovation. While many of these efforts were focused on supporting research on the potential of big data, several agency efforts are using the model of open data app competitions to fuel private-sector business creation.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has made a series of announcements over the past few weeks aimed at improving the high-tech skill set of the state's workers and students. A new STEM strategic plan released yesterday would refine Massachusetts' efforts to expand the pipeline of young, skilled science and technology workers and improve the quality of STEM education.

Fresh off a nationwide listening tour and against the backdrop of 1776, a global hub for startups in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker unveiled the department's strategic vision and priorities focused on three key areas: trade, innovation and data. Pritzker said her department will make sure businesses have a strong voice when it comes to strengthening the digital economy by working to protect intellectual property, ensuring robust cybersecurity infrastructure and championing free and open Internet.

Follow-on funding, access to technology, talent and resources all can be barriers to commercialization and successfully spinning off sustainable companies. Always seeking a quicker, more viable path to market for technologies and products, university-based programs and public-private partnerships try to tackle these hurdles, which often times are region-specific. Such is the case in Long Island, NY, where a recent partnership between a nonprofit organization and venture capital firm is working to address access to capital concerns.

Save the date!
Hosted by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, SSTI's 18th Annual Conference will be held in Chicago at the Westin Chicago River North Hotel on September 14-16, 2014.

Chicago provides an excellent backdrop for SSTI's 18th Annual Conference. Illinois has a vibrant technology community that is using innovative approaches to bring together state and local partnerships to positively impact the economy.

RoseAnn Rosenthal, president and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partnership of Southeastern Pennsylvania, was presented with the Iris Newman Award from the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs.

Rob Wiltbank recently became the CEO of Galois. Prior to Galois, Wiltbank was a professor at Willamette University's Atkinson Graduate School of Management.

Efforts to make university funding dependent on performance outputs have done little to increase degree completion rates, according to researchers from the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE). A WISCAPE study finds that state initaitives to make university funding dependent on number of degree completions, student retention, job placement and other factors have had little to no effect on associate or baccalaureate degree completions.

In conjunction with its annual Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Kauffman Foundation has released a report tracking per capita startup rates in 40 select U.S. metropolitan areas since 2006. The analysis reveals that startup rates have improved in metro areas, but remain well below pre-recession levels. Data also indicates that larger metros, those with populations greater than one million, have both endured and recovered from the recession slightly better than their less populous counterparts.

Innosphere and the Colorado Enterprise Fund are joining forces to launch the Colorado Catalyst Fund, a $20 million community development venture capital fund. The model for the fund was drawn from existing community development venture funds established predominately on the East and West Coast, and will be the first of its kind in the state. The fund will be managed by the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, which has formed or advised more than 40 of the 70 existing funds across the country.

An improved fiscal picture emerged for many states in 2013 with several states recently reporting year-end surpluses. Revenue growth and modified tax policies largely contributed to the rebound. Some analysts warn this trend could be short lived, however.

Manufacturers often struggle with overcoming hurdles to growth, such as implementing new technologies and processes that will streamline operations. A new web-based platform launched in New York aims to address these challenges by connecting small- and medium-sized manufacturing businesses with statewide technology resources and expertise, including industry experts from the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership, universities and private sector businesses.

Last week the White House hosted a Google Hangout on the American Maker Movement and highlighted some dynamic programs that are turning the Maker Movement into a legitimate economic development tool for regions across the country.

Providing students with industry-relevant education and skills is the idea behind the Youth CareerConnect grant program, which will provide $100 million to implement curriculum for high schools to strengthen the talent pipeline. In partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Labor will award 25-40 grants for individual or multistate projects using revenues from the H-1B visa program. The goals are to integrate both career and academic learning, provide work-based learning opportunities, better engage employers, and elevate industry training.

U.S. spending on higher education research and development (R&D) declined in FY12 (after adjustments for inflation) for the first time in almost 40 years, according to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The decrease marks the end of a period of modest growth since 2009 in which R&D expenditures increased at an average of five percent each year. While data on higher education R&D spending by state is not yet available for FY12, NSF has released state data through FY11, including expenditures by funding source

The federal, cross-agency Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) has proven so invaluable to developing STEM expertise across the country that the word "experimental" should be removed from its name, according to a comprehensive new report from the National Academies. The academies, however, recommend that the program be restructured to create a more rigorous competitive process for research projects and improve project evaluation. Download the report...

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced a new competition to reward communities demonstrating best practices in attracting and expanding manufacturing. EDA will offer the competition as part of its Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP), which helps support comprehensive, integrated efforts to boost manufacturing and jobs. EDA plans to publish a Federal Register notice on Tuesday, December 10, seeking applications for regions to be designated one of up to 12 manufacturing communities.