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On the one-year anniversary of the entrepreneur-focused Startup America Initiative, President Obama issued a new legislative agenda to boost the creation and growth of startup companies. The proposals include tax breaks for small business payrolls and expenses, an expansion of the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program and the elimination of country-specific caps on immigrant visas.

The U.S. must increase the access to three elements help small businesses thrive and restore U.S. competiveness, according to a new report from the Center for Public Policy Innovation (CPPI) — Restoring U.S. Competitiveness: Creating Jobs and Unleashing the Potential of Small Businesses through Technology and Innovation. The key elements include: Access to Capital — Gaining access to capital is an obstacle for all small businesses. However, the U.S.

John Morris, who has led Tech 20/20's Center for Entrepreneurial Growth, has become the president and CEO. He succeeds Mike Cuddy who retired. The Tech Council of Maryland named Art Jacoby as its interim CEO.

This week at the second annual White House Science Fair, President Obama announced a new $80 million Department of Education competition to support STEM teacher preparation programs. The investment will support innovative programs, such as those that allow prospective teachers to simultaneously earn a STEM degree and a teaching certificate. Another $22 million from philanthropic and private sources, including the Carnegie Foundation, Google and Dell, will complement the administration's STEM effort.

Seventy-five percent of states (38 states) received grades of "C" or lower for their science education curriculum and instructions, according to a new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. In contrast, only seven states received an "A-" or an "A." California and the District of Columbia were the only "As." Indiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Virginia received "A-s" for their excellent state science standards.

In 2008, federal agencies obligated $28.4 billion to 1,316 academic institutions for science and engineering activities, according to data from the National Science Foundation. Although this represents a 0.9% increase in current dollars over 2007 levels, it represents a 1.4% decrease in inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars. The Johns Hopkins University (including its Applied Physics Laboratory) continued to be the leading academic recipient of federal S&E obligations, followed by the University of Washington and the campuses of the University of Michigan.

The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) launched a Global Technology Portal (GTP) — a web-based resource to facilitate networking, partnership and licensing deals among corporations and universities. The portal will allow universities and corporations to match available technologies with emerging market needs. AUTM also hopes that the portal the portal will help to quicken the pace of product development by making it much easier for corporations to identify potential university partners. Only AUTM members may post and update their information on the portal.

Norm Chagnon has been named deputy chief of the Office of Technology Investments (OTI) at the Ohio Department of Development. Chagnon will lead and direct the OTI, which is responsible for the State of Ohio's Edison Technology Centers and Edison Technology Incubators Program, the Ohio Third Frontier, the Technology Investment Tax Credit Program, the Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and the Ohio Venture Capital Authority.

On Tuesday, President Obama announced details of a new initiative to support rural innovation. The Rural Jobs Accelerator will award $15 million for projects that promote innovation-fueled regional job creation in rural parts of the country with funding from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Economic Development Administration, the Delta Regional Authority and the Appalachian Regional Commission. USDA's Rural Community Development Initiative will support the program and offer technical assistance and training funds to qualified intermediary agencies.

The Obama Administration announced the launch of BusinessUSA, an online platform to help small businesses and exporters of all sizes find information about available federal programs. The website combines information and services from 10 different government agencies through one consolidated website and coordinates telephone support through a single 1-800 number. Visit the website...

"While U.S. manufacturing performs well compared to the rest of the U.S. economy, it performs poorly compared to manufacturing in other high-wage countries," according to Why Does Manufacturing Matter? Which Manufacturing Matters? — a new report from the Brookings Institute. For U.S.

SSTI Board Member and University of Akron President Luis Proenza has been appointed to serve on the Board of Science, Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) at the National Academies. David Monkman has resigned as the president and CEO of the National Business Incubation Association.

The U.S. Department of Treasury recently announced the selection of 70 organizations from around the country to receive a total of $3.6 billion in New Markets Tax Credits awards. The awards may be used to provide individual and corporate taxpayers with a credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in community development entities. Read the complete list of awardees...

Countries that put significant resources into supporting clean tech innovation are rewarded with more emerging and commercialized clean tech companies, according to Coming Clean: The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012 — a new report from the Clean Tech Group, LCC. The U.S. placed fifth out of 38 countries, with the top score for several indicators including research and development funding, general innovation drivers (i.e., Entrepreneurial culture and "general innovation inputs") and strong emerging clean tech innovation.

U.S. venture firms invested $4.9 billion in clean tech companies last year, nearly the same as in 2010, according to a year-end report from Ernst & Young. Approximately 57 percent of all clean tech investment was directed toward California companies. The overall cleantech market was bolstered by five IPOs and 79 M&As. Read the release...

Thirteen federal agencies, led by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), will provide up to $15 million in funding and other resources to assist in job creation and economic growth in rural areas. The Rural Jobs and Accelerator Challenge is intended to leverage local assets and foster connections to industry in up to 20 rural regions across the country. Approximately $750,000 may be made available per award. Applications are required to provide matching funds and apply for funding from both the EDA and USDA.

Over 181,900 international patents were filed in 2011, up 10.7 percent from 2010, according estimated data from the World International Patent Organization (WIPO). China, Japan and the U.S. accounted for 82% of the total growth, the highest since 2005. Estimated data was collected from the WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treat (PCT) system.

A contribution of $4.2 million CAN ($4.2 million USD) by FedDev Ontario will be used to place 320 recent graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields with businesses in a competitive six-month internship and mentorship program. The idea is to provide graduates with real world opportunities to develop business skills and experience. The grads will be matched with small- and medium-sized enterprises in southern Ontario. Read the press release

Discovering the ideal conditions for entrepreneurs to succeed is a topic widely researched in today's economy. Most researchers will agree that having access to capital, a culture conducive for risk, and skilled workers are key components. A new report from the Technology CEO Council (TCC) adds that powerful and affordable new technologies, and companies that harness them, are at a greater advantage than ever before when it comes to driving job creation. The report points to new research from Catherine L.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a request for information (RFI) on the Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements. OMB intends to use these comments in its development of a whitepaper, to be published later this year, which may propose specific revisions to increase efficiency and effectiveness of federal grant programs by eliminating unnecessary and duplicative requirements.

President Obama announced the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, a propped $1 billion initiative to build a network comprised of up to fifteen Institutes for manufacturing innovation across the country. The proposed fifteen member institutes will serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help make U.S. manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment.

The House of Representatives passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act by a vote of 390-23.

Though California remains the leading state for U.S. angel investment, 79 percent of angel deals and 70 percent of angel dollars were invested outside of the state in 2011, according to the first edition of the new Halo Report. The report, produced by the Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights, also found that the median size of angel and angel group syndicate rounds increased by 40 percent between 2010 and 2011, from $500,000 to $700,000. Read the full report...

A new report assessing the innovation capacity of 55 countries ranks the U.S. in the highest tier possible for five of the seven core policy areas identified by the authors. The U.S. rankings fall slightly in the areas of science and R&D policies and high-skill immigration. Only Canada and Singapore placed in the upper tier on all seven indicators.

To help target federal spending activities that will most effectively meet national renewable energy needs and identify duplicative programs, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a detailed inventory of all federal renewable energy initiatives implemented by 23 departments and independent agencies in 2010. An accompanying report also examines the federal roles supported by agencies' renewable energy initiatives, including R&D and commercialization and deployment.