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Industry-led “innovation hubs,” additional funds for risk capital, and a proactive talent strategy are among the recommendations included in Ohio BOLD: A Blueprint for Accelerating the Innovation Economy, a new strategic plan conducted by Columbus-based TEConomy Partners on behalf of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation.

For the first time, the Chinese venture capital (VC) market has surpassed the U.S. VC market in total dollars invested in Q2 of 2018, according to Crunchbase. Driven by mega rounds and strong corporate VC, Chinese startups were able to raise more VC money in Q2’18 than their American counterparts. The strong Q2 for Chinese’s firms was driven by a very strong April.

After 20 years of a program that had supported innovation in the state of Kentucky, the governor said he wanted to consolidate the funding to support entrepreneurs and become more strategic in the state’s efforts.

The 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival, being held Aug. 29-30 in Nashville and powered by Launch Tennessee, is one of the Southeast's largest gathering of entrepreneurs, innovators, VCs and ecosystem builders. Join your peers to hear from Fortune 500 leaders, startup founders, and top VC's from around the country. Agenda highlights include impact investing, opportunity zones, startup ecosystems done right and going to market right the first time.

North Carolina and Tennessee are implementing new initiatives to get students in their states the help they need to either complete degrees or training that will help improve workforce development in those states. North Carolina’s governor recently added a new line of grants dubbed “Finish Line” grants, to help students that are struggling with non-academic problems complete community college.

The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a new Lab Partnering Service (LPS) that provides an online, single access point platform for investors, innovators and institutions to identify, locate and obtain information on the department’s 17 national laboratories. The new tool is intended to provide industry with a more efficient way to harness technical expertise and intellectual property housed at DOE’s labs.

Help inform decisions on the direction of federal R&D's role in innovation! Please complete this 10-minute survey by July 25 to share your ideas of current and future practices affecting R&D direction and tech transfer options with the federal labs.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA, is announcing the I-FAST prize competition to develop and implement the Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology (I-FAST) program. NIFA will partner with NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) to provide entrepreneurship training to NIFA grantees under this pilot program. The goals are to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from NIFA supported academic research. Over six months, the selected teams will learn what it will take to achieve an economic impact with their particular innovation.

EDA’s Regional Innovation Strategies program — which makes i6 challenge and seed fund support awards — has released its notice of funding opportunity for FY 2018. Applications are due August 29. SSTI hosted a free webinar featuring EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship on June 14.*

The boost in federal R&D funds as a result of the 2009 stimulus package had a significant impact on local economic development, according to a new working paper from researchers at the University of Michigan.

Working with public and private-sector partners across the U.S., the EDA invested approximately $289.1 million in 815 locally-driven economic development projects in FY 2017, according to its most recent annual report. The report provides examples of the projects it funds in each state, to help show the breadth and diversity of the programs and projects it funds.

A new Pew Research Center survey shows strong support among Americans for government investments in medical research, engineering and technology, and basic scientific research, echoing previous reports from 2014 and 2009. That support crosses political parties, although liberal Democrats show a greater percentage of support (92 percent) compared to conservative Republicans (61 percent).

The Minnesota Department of Deployment and Economic Development (DEED) has launched a new loan program for entrepreneurs with high-tech products or services. The loans are similar in size to microfinance options increasingly available to new bricks-and-mortar establishments, but flexible payment options and innovation-focused criteria are intended to make Minnesota Innovation Loans for Entrepreneurs (MILE) uniquely appropriate for tech-based economic development.

With final passage and signage pending at the time of publication, the federal budget for FY 2018 provides relatively strong support for innovation economies. The Regional Innovation Strategies program is funded at $21 million, MEP at $140 million and the National Science Foundation at $7.8 billion, increases for all organizations. Other notable innovation programs receiving at least level funding are SBA’s cluster and accelerator programs, DOE’s ARPA-E, NASA science and the National Institutes of Health.

Real personal income — a measure of purchasing power that connects income to costs — has grown within states at an average rate of 1.5 percent per person since 2012, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The average American’s experienced income growth, however, appears to vary wildly depending on location.

The White House Office of Management and Budget released Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century, a plan for reorganizing federal agencies. On topics related to innovation, the wide-ranging plan would make changes to education, workforce, economic development, small business and more. Some of the suggestions could advance with administrative actions only, while many will require congressional support.

While many state startup capital ecosystems have a healthy density of early-stage startups, few states have developed strong late-stage ecosystems, according to a new report from PitchBook – 2Q 2018 PitchBook Analyst Note: VC Ecosystems. PitchBook researchers contend that one potential factor leading to these underdeveloped late-stage ecosystems is the limited number/size of exits coming from those ecosystems.

In an effort to move technologies into the commercial sector more quickly, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has introduced a one-stop shopping experience called Express Licensing. Interested innovators and entrepreneurs can visit a website featuring AFRL-developed technologies that are available for license and learn about pre-negotiated terms and pricing, eliminating the need for lengthy contract negotiations.

As economic development efforts try to keep up with changing demographics, many states, regions, metros, and other local governments face difficulties trying to cultivate, attract and retain a 21^st century workforce. Three recent reports look at the strategic steps that states and regions must play to create strong workforce development organizations.

The conclusion from the working paper, The Effects of Scientists and Engineers on Productivity and Earnings at the Establishment Where They Work, by Erling Barth, James C. Davis, Richard B. Freeman, and Andrew J. Wang, is pretty clear for manufacturers and policy advocates for improving U.S.

Economic development was the most prevalent policy issue across mayoral speeches in 2018, according to State of the Cities 2018 from the National League of Cities (NLC).

Part 1 of this series on SAFEs (simple agreements for future equity) focused on the investment vehicle and its pros and cons, and can be found here.

A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that while postsecondary education enrollment has increased overall between 1955 and 2015, it has increased and decreased during this long-term period of increase, reflecting changes in the economy. In particular, the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 influenced significant changes in American postsecondary education enrollment, according to the report.  The number of students enrolled in college in the U.S.

American Made Solar Challenge is seeking teams of creative individuals and entrepreneurs to compete for prize money and strategic support in accelerating ideas and solutions. In a three-part series of contests, $3 million will be awarded in cash prizes and up to $525,000 in vouchers, which can be used at national laboratories and other voucher facilities to develop, test and validate ideas in the energy marketplace.

A new report from the Department of Energy (DOE) highlights examples of major scientific accomplishments emerging from 40 years of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) research support, including how these discoveries have helped fulfill DOE’s mission and have led to new technologies and industries that contribute to American innovation and prosperity.