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The National Science Foundation (NSF) launched Community College Innovation Challenge – a Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)-focused competition for teams comprised of up to five community college students, a faculty mentor, and a community/industry partner. Teams should propose innovative STEM-based solutions for real world problems within one of the five themes: big data; infrastructure security; sustainability; broadening participation in STEM; and, improving STEM education.

“People ages 20 to 34 created 22.7 percent of all new companies in last year [2013], down from 34.8 percent in 1996,” according to an article from Walter Hamilton of the LA Times. In the article, Hamilton contends that the “image of the U.S.

As American spending on research relative to GDP dwindles, the system that generated America’s economic prosperity over the past century has begun to fall apart, according to a new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy calls the disintegration of the country’s national innovation system the key threat to American prosperity.

Federal funding for basic research performed at universities and colleges decreased 0.3% between FY11 and FY12, according to a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Infobrief. In FY12, basic research at universities and colleges accounted for 11.4% of total R&D obligations, and is estimated to increase to 11.8 percent of total R&D obligations in FY13, and to 12.5 percent in FY14.

Building stronger connections between universities and businesses in key industries could help generate new jobs, startups and technologies, according to an S&T roadmap released by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC). ISTC notes that the division between the state’s research universities and companies has limited Illinois’ competitiveness, despite its high overall level of innovative activity.

External validation through an Excellence in TBED award certifies the superior quality of your initiative, lending independent credentials to your program as stakeholders and funders consider future investments. SSTI’s open call for applications for the 2014 awards program is April 16. Share with us the important work you are doing to support regional economies through efforts to: expand and commercialize research, increase access to capital, build entrepreneurial capacity, and improve the competitiveness of existing industries. We’ll also recognize a newer initiative for a creative approach in design or implementation.

After the last American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) obligations ran out in FY10, federal obligations for science and engineering at U.S. universities and colleges fell by 11 percent, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF).  Between FY2010-11, federal agency obligations fell by $31.4 billion in current dollars, though excluding ARRA funds, obligations actually rose by $1.2 billion. R&D obligations fell 10.6 percent, a decline that had its largest impact on funding for R&D-related equipment, facilities and land.

In his FY15 budget, President Obama proposed a sweeping, multi-agency push for new research and improved infrastructure to combat the effects of global climate change. Though the budget has not found much support in Congress, the administration has begun moving forward with other parts of the climate strategy, launching a Climate Data Initiative to make potentially valuable climate data available to entrepreneurs developing climate-related products. NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are launching an innovation challenge to encourage software and app developers to make use of the new open data resources.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has unveiled an economic development package intended to bolster the state’s role in the global tech economy through multi-year investments totaling an estimated $100 million.

Tennessee legislators overwhelmingly approved Gov. Bill Haslam's cornerstone proposal for addressing affordability and accessibility issues plaguing higher education while at the same time making a substantial commitment toward future workforce preparedness: free community/technical college tuition.

Aligning industry needs with workforce training has gained renewed focus in states and emerged as a national priority. This week, President Obama announced two grant programs totaling $600 million in existing funds that challenge academic institutions and businesses to design job training for the globalized economy and set industry-recognized standards. States are increasingly partnering with community colleges and industry to fill in-demand jobs, and with tight budgets, new efforts in Georgia and North Carolina also aim to enhance worker training by reallocating existing resources or restructuring programs.

Two proposals announced by Gov. Peter Shumlin would provide additional lending tools and incentives to attract and retain technology companies using revenue surpluses for the current fiscal year. The first proposal would establish the Vermont Enterprise Incentive Fund and authorize the governor to offer an incentive package not exceeding $4.5 million to businesses that have a substantial statewide or regional economic or employment impact. The second part adds $500,000 in state general funds to the $1 million in federal funds available to the Vermont Economic Development Authority’s Entrepreneurial Lending program.

Inconsistent federal support for clean energy research and infrastructure projects in recent years has hampered the blossoming of an industry that has long been touted as a key part of the new American economy. As a result, states and local governments have stepped into the fray with clean energy funds, green banks and other tools to finance the development of the clean energy economy. A paper from the Brookings Institution explores another underutilized tool available to local governments, the bond market.

The FY15 budget bill passed by Maryland lawmakers increases funding for three of the state’s high-tech tax credits and provides level funding for continued innovation-focused investments. Lawmakers also passed bills to fund endowed chairs, create zones to incentivize businesses, and establish a statewide internship program connecting students to small, technology businesses.

With Earth Day just around the corner, SSTI is taking a closer look at environmental science research spending in the states.  Even as climate change emerged as a key political topic during the first decade of the millennium, spending on environmental research at American colleges and universities declined as a percentage of all R&D, according to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. Between 2003-12, environmental science expenditures fell from 5.3 percent of all R&D expenditures to 4.8 percent.