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When TechShop unexpectedly closed its 10 locations around the country on Nov. 15, announcing its intention to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it not only surprised many who were affiliated with the maker space, but raised questions surrounding the larger maker space community. Dan Woods, CEO of TechShop, cited financial reasons for the closing. They had earlier announced the closing of the Pittsburgh shop, but had opened a new shop in Brooklyn, New York, just weeks before the sudden closure.

While venture capital remains heavily concentrated across a select few metropolitan areas, the geographic distribution of angel investors is widespread, according to new research from the Angel Capital Association, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the John Huston Fund for Angel Professionalism at Rev1 Ventures.

Despite concern that America’s entrepreneurial engine is severely damaged, new research from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) finds that the number of technology-based startups has grown by 47 percent from 2007 to 2016, with wage growth higher than the national average. Because of their high growth potential, the authors suggest that technology-based startups should be the primary focus of entrepreneurship policy.

The state budget process is winding down across the country and SSTI continues to review the final budgets for funding for innovation-based programs. This week, we found level funding for South Carolina programs including MEP and regional-based economic development efforts, while university programs in Texas are taking a hit, and in West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice refused to sign the state budget although he will allow the legislatively approved measure to become law. Unless otherwise noted, the figures below represent level funding from the previous budgets.

This week we continue our series on state legislation pertaining to the innovation economy that has been enacted this year around the country. This second installment of the States of Innovation 2017 series deals with free tuition.

Last week in honor of Veteran’s Day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, states, universities, and various nonprofits announced new efforts that are intended to help U.S. veterans succeed as entrepreneurs and launch careers in 21^st century STEM-driven fields. From tax credits in Massachusetts to online training in data analytics, efforts will focus on providing veterans with the necessary training, education, tools, capital, and other resources to create a better future for those veterans, their families, and communities across the country.

In the most recent round of Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) funding, 42 organizations from 28 states were awarded $17 million to support the creation and expansion of tech transformation networks (i6 Challenge) and early-stage seed capital funds (the Seed Fund Support). In total, EDA’s awards leveraged over $22 million in private, state and local matching funds.

Median deal size from angel groups fell by 5.5 percent from $127,000 in 2016 to $120,000 in the first six months of 2017 (H1’17), according to the 2017 ARI HALO Report First-Half from Pitchbook and the Angel Resource Institute. In addition to a decline in median deal size, early-stage pre-money valuations also decreased from $3.6 million in 2016 to $3.5 million in H1’17.

State spending for the Oregon innovation economy during the 2017-2019 biennium in the Oregon Business Development Department received a sharp increase, thanks in part to nearly $14 million of funding for the new Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center (OMIC).

Beyond their traditional focuses on patenting and licensing, universities should reconsider how their technology transfer efforts can contribute more broadly to economic prosperity, according to a new report from the Association of Public and Land-Grand Universities (APLU) Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness & Economic Prosperity (CICEP). The report, Technology Transfer Evolution: Driving Economic Prosperity includes four briefs on topics relevant to redefining the field: engaging the local regional ecosystem; redefining expectations of tech transfer offices; adapting innovation management structures; fostering an entrepreneurial culture; and, supporting university startups. SSTI staff members contributed to the individual briefs and served on the commission’s advisory committee.

Since 1991, every state has added good jobs for workers without  four-year degrees in skilled-services industries like healthcare and finance, but fewer than half have added good jobs for similar workers in blue-collar industries like manufacturing, according to The Good Jobs Project, an initiative of The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Overall growth in manufacturing should accelerate this year and grow even more in 2018, according to recent projections from the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI). As a way to support manufacturers — especially small and medium sized ones — two states recently announced programs to boost their productivity.

This week, members of SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council met with more than two dozen Congressional offices to discuss the Startup Act and Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program funding. The Startup Act would expand RIS, create a new commercialization grant program and provide new paths for innovation-related immigration. RIS is slated to receive level funding of $17 million for FY 2018 in the House and $21 million in the Senate.

Washington, D.C. – From teaching high school students in rural western Kentucky how to become entrepreneurs to connecting entrepreneurs with a worldwide network of partners in a virtual hub, organizations are finding innovative ways to build regional prosperity.

Following reforms to the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) application process, four of the five venture capital funds that applied for CDFI financial assistance funding in FY 2017 were awarded. In trying to increase the impact of CDFIs by supporting their growth, reach and performance, the Fund implemented reforms to the application, making it easier for CDFIs to demonstrate their impact with an award regardless of what type of financial institution they are — they can be banks, credit unions, loan funds, microloan funds or venture capital providers.

From investment returns to education savings, R&D incentives and more, tax policy and innovation are inextricably linked. Not surprisingly, the U.S. House GOP’s tax plan, released last week and updated through a significant amendment on Monday, could have significant impacts on the innovation economy.

Current[1] proposals with implications for innovation include:

While traditional economic development within the states has shifted to an economy more reliant on innovation, many policy discussions remain mired in acknowledging just some of the more recognized tech-based regions, says the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in its latest report. However, as economic indicators reveal that all states’ economies incorporate some degree of innovation as a driver of their economy, the 2017 State New Economy Index measures states’ capacities to function in this new economy.

The innovation economy is a featured component of both newly elected governors’ agendas, with each showing support for TBED-related initiatives in their platforms. In New Jersey, Governor-elect Phil Murphy (D) has pledged to reclaim the state’s innovation economy while in Virginia Governor-elect Ralph Northam (D) proposed a new workforce development plan focused on “the new-collar jobs of the 21st century.”

Around the country, free or greatly reduced tuition programs at institutions of higher education – oftentimes called “promise scholarships” – are being increasingly utilized as a way to support education and workforce development. With a focus on those programs occurring at the community level, a new interactive database from the Upjohn Institute sheds light on more than 85 examples of place-based promise programs, including their history, their scope, and their impacts.