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SBIR slowly relaunching following president’s signature

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Following the April 13, 2026, reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, federal agencies are beginning to resume activities after a lapse of more than six months, though progress so far has been uneven. The Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense, has already resumed issuing SBIR and STTR solicitations at the DoW SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal, while most other participating agencies have not yet released new Notices of Funding Opportunity since reauthorization.

An FY25 decline in public higher ed funding raises questions about future trends

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
A recent State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) FY 2025 report suggests that public higher education funding is at a potential crossroads. Education appropriations per full-time equivalent (FTE) student peaked in FY24, then declined by 1.0% in FY25. It is unknown whether this recent downturn marks the beginning of a downward trend or is just a glitch in the previous 12-year run of increases.

Researchers find AI adoption moderate across firms, stronger among individuals

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System recently published a new FEDS Notes article titled Monitoring AI Adoption in the US Economy. The article examines trends in AI adoption in the U.S. using three publicly available surveys: the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), Real-Time Population Survey (RPS), and Survey of Business Uncertainty. These surveys respectively capture data at the firm-level, individual-level, and from business executives.

GAO finds Bayh-Dole still working

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
The federal government invests billions of dollars each year in R&D, expecting these investments to lead to new technologies, firms, and broader economic growth. Under the framework established by the Bayh‑Dole Act, universities, small businesses, and nonprofit institutions may retain ownership of inventions developed with federal support and pursue their commercialization. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Technology Transfer: Funding Recipients Keep Most Federally Funded Inventions, but Some Cited Reporting Challenges, examines whether the policies governing federally funded inventions are helping or hindering the transfer of those inventions. The analysis is timely given the current policy focus on strengthening domestic innovation capacity and supply chain resilience.

ASAE reports on the health of associations: Uncertain times ahead

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

What are current trends in the financial health and well-being of the business, industry, and trade associations, including tech councils and chambers of commerce, that can play various roles related to a state or regional innovation strategy? Association involvement can cover the full spectrum of helpfulness and harm as these communities may serve as allies, antagonists, assistants, advocates, or adversaries—sometimes simultaneously.  

What are current trends in the financial health and well-being of the business, industry, and trade associations, including tech councils and chambers of commerce, that can play various roles related to a state or regional innovation strategy? Association involvement can cover the full spectrum of helpfulness and harm as these communities may serve as allies, antagonists, assistants, advocates, or adversaries—sometimes simultaneously. 

Member News April 23, 2026

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

SC Launch Inc., the investment affiliate of the South Carolina Research Authority, was named in PitchBook’s 2025 Global League Table for the Southeast region. The ranking award is attributed to SC Launch Inc.’s acceleration in investment activity during recent months. Since J

Administration’s FY 2027 budget repeats cuts desired in R&D and economic development

Wednesday, April 8, 2026
The Trump Administration’s FY 2027 budget request, submitted to Congress on April 3, bears considerable resemblance to its FY 2026 request with proposals to cut funding for many of the agencies and line items of most interest to the state and regional innovation community. Congress approved a FY 2026 budget that in most ways mirrored previous years’ allocations for TBED-related programs and priorities, such as R&D.

Ten-day clock ticking on SBIR reauthorization

Wednesday, April 8, 2026
The 2026 SBIR/STTR reauthorization bill (S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act) has cleared Congress and is now awaiting final action by the President. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent on March 3, 2026. The House subsequently approved the Senate-passed measure on March 17, 2026, by a vote of 345–41. Because the House adopted the Senate version without amendment, the bill moved straight to enrollment, where the final official copy is prepared for signature before being sent to the White House.

Recent Research: What is the labor market value of bachelor's degrees earned from community colleges?

Wednesday, April 8, 2026
As states look for ways to expand access to bachelor’s-level education while controlling costs and strengthening workforce pipelines, community college baccalaureate (CCB) programs have emerged as a promising policy tool. A recent NBER working paper by Riley Acton, Camila Morales, Kalena Cortes, Julia A. Turner and Lois Miller examines whether CCB programs deliver meaningful economic returns for graduates and how they compare to traditional degree pathways from four-year institutions. 

A region’s high concentration of bachelor’s degree-holders predicts future economic growth

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Discussions concerning the value of earning a bachelor's degree often center on the return on investment for the degree-holder. However, a recent article from Chicago Fed Insights illustrates that degree-holders, specifically their density in a community, also impacts whether or not their region will thrive in the coming decades.  

SSTI Members

To sustain  our work to support state and regional innovation initiatives across the country, SSTI relies on the generosity of those members of the community who share our vision of serving as a center for advancing best practices across the field. We greatly appreciate their support. We also invite others equally committed to using smart programs to combine the four pillars of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship to advance their own regional economies to join the list of leading organizations below.  

With OZ expansion looming, research shows program has little net jobs impact

Thursday, March 26, 2026

When the Opportunity Zone program was authorized by Congress in 2017, there was high hope that it would give a significant boost to the employment rates of those living in the poorest areas of our cities. Unfortunately, a new research paper adds to the growing findings of the program’s shortcomings and disappointing outcomes, just as the next race to establish new OZ designations is set to begin.    

When the Opportunity Zone program was authorized by Congress in 2017, there was high hope that it would give a significant boost to the employment rates of those living in the poorest areas of our cities. Unfortunately, a new research paper adds to the growing findings of the program’s shortcomings and disappointing outcomes, just as the next race to establish new OZ designations is set to begin.   

Data centers may be inevitable, but state and local resistance is growing

Thursday, March 26, 2026
People in the U.S. may be in favor of the using internet, social media, and artificial intelligence, but they are increasingly skeptical of and concerned about the data centers that make all these things possible. Common themes of their skepticism were recently expressed by data center opponents in Michigan who “fear lost farmland and destroyed habitat, noise pollution from thousands of humming servers, strain on the electric grid and higher bills as utilities spend mightily on infrastructure to power the facilities, and strain on rivers and aquifers amid data centers’ use of water to cool servers.” Michiganders are not alone. 

Innovation Advocacy Council visits the Hill on your behalf

Thursday, March 26, 2026
“We few, we happy few” shouldn’t have been so bloody few if Shakespeare’s Henry V were honest 400+ years ago. Flash forward, and a merry band of brothers and sisters represented the TBED community well as they visited DC’s Capitol Hill this week to remind Congressional offices of the importance of several federal programs for funding strategic regional innovation initiatives. And it was nothing like Henry V’s Battle of Agincourt. In truth, regional innovation is and always has been a nonpartisan issue, but there are other pressures afoot to capture Congress’s attention and purse strings.