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Several recent studies have identified the roadblocks that females face in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. These two roadblocks include gender bias in the classroom and too few mentors in K-16 STEM fields. In an attempt to increase opportunities for females in STEM education, both federal and foundation funders have announced programs that will increase scholarship and internship opportunities for young women in STEM fields.

To celebrate the one year anniversary of the TechHire Initiative, the Obama administration announced an expansion of the program with the addition of 15 new communities. The administration also announced activities and commitments to help support career and technical education. 

Florida Higher Education – Is the Cheapest Fiscally Sound? provides evidence for the connection between state funding for universities and productivity. Florida Research Consortium and Florida Chamber Foundation combine a variety of data to advance three connections: 1) state funding for universities is exponentially related to total funding for universities; 2) total funding for universities is related to research quality; and 3) research quality is related to productivity within Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, announced the creation of the Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC) – an effort to coordinate and accelerate development of industry-wide additive manufacturing (AM) standards and specifications.

In partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the availability of $65.8 million in new funding through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) initiative.

Despite its location more than 180 miles south of Gainesville, FL,  Sarasota County – which is far better known for its cultural and environmental amenities than industrial strength – will be home to the University of Florida’s first engineering extension office.

Earlier this month, SSTI highlighted recent research from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) that detailed the critical role immigrants play in developing some of the most notable innovations in the U.S.

Last summer, SSTI and JumpStart Inc. conducted a survey of tech-based economic development (TBED) organizations on how groups use and invest in information technology tools. The goal of this survey was to gather a greater understanding of the basic challenges TBED organizations face with regard to information technology, as well as their self-identified strategic goals and whether they believe their IT spending priorities are helping them achieve these goals.

Illinois and Michigan are among the few states that support regular comprehensive examinations of the role higher education plays in the overall innovation economy. Organizations in both states recently completed studies on university-generated entrepreneurship, licensing, investment and employment, finding a steady rise in university economic impact over the past five years.  In both cases, the increase in university impact was linked to an expanding university role in supporting entrepreneurs and researchers.

Many states across the country already have, or will soon have, signed budgets ready for the 2017 fiscal year.  Over the past few months, SSTI has examined gubernatorial addresses and proposed budgets for a preview of technology-based economic development spending in the coming year. This week, we take a look at what initiatives and spending levels survived spending negotiations in Alabama, Florida, Idaho and New Mexico, as well as an update on the budget situation in Pennsylvania.

North Dakota led the country in per capita personal income gains between 2010-2015, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). While average (mean) incomes rose 18.4 percent around the U.S. during that time, North Dakota incomes rose by 26.8 percent from $42,964 in 2010 to $54,376 in 2015. Changes in mean income can obscure discrepancies between demographic groups and concentration of wealth, but demonstrate some of the key economic trends of the last few years.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) intends to publish a federal funding opportunity (FFO) in July 2016 for MEP Centers in the 11 states: Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. The objective of the MEP Center program is to provide business and technical services to small- and medium-sized manufacturers within the state of operation.

NASA is accepting applications for the Space Race Competition – a startup accelerator challenge that allows startups to license patented NASA technologies without any up-front costs and no minimum fees for up to three years.

What leading indicators allow a national, state, regional, or local economy to rebound from an exogenous shock (e.g., economic downturn or natural disaster)?

What risk factors are common among economies that were not resilient to an exogenous shock?

New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released his administration’s 2016 proposed budget last week which, if passed, would allocate significant funds to scientific research and technology-based economic development.

Although they represent a small proportion of the total number of institutions in the U.S. higher education system, the impact of public research universities is profound and widespread, according to a recently released report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy). The report, which is divided in three sections, provides insight into how public research universities act as centers of discovery, drive economic development and social wellbeing, and serve their communities.

New data analyzing the first cohort of Tennessee Promise students reveals a higher graduation rate and increased number of students earning a college credential when compared to the previous year’s non-Promise cohort. The inaugural class of Tennessee Promise students graduated from high school in 2015 and completed their five semesters of eligibility in December.

Venture development organizations (VDO), nonprofit organizations across the country investing in innovation startups to help grow their regional economies as well as earn a respectable return, saw at least 20 exits in the first quarter of 2018, based on data entered on Pitchbook.com. Here are some examples from the quarter:

For the economic development community as a whole, the issue of retaining and attracting talent is of the utmost importance. While a visualization in a Wall Street Journal article looks at where graduates move after college, an interactive analysis by the Pew Research Center examines where foreign student graduates work in the United States.

The federal government’s priorities for funding research and development do not necessarily match those of the general public, an analysis of ScienceCounts and National Science Foundation data suggests. ScienceCounts is a national nonprofit with the objective of enhancing the public's awareness of, and support for, federally-funded scientific research.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program dubs itself as “America’s largest seed fund.” Three recent research articles add to the existing literature on the program. First, a study finds that SBIR supports high-risk efforts to convert R&D. A second study suggests that SBIR awardees are more likely to locate in denser regions but in less dense neighborhoods in those regions. A third study finds that SBIR awardees from federal agencies with more diverse workforces tend to perform better.

The SBIR/STTR program, which dubs itself as “America’s Seed Fund,” is one of the broadest forms of early-stage capital available to small technology companies. During the five-year period from 2013 to 2017, the 11 federal agencies participating in the SBIR/STTR program distributed 25,524 awards. Using charts, maps, and a downloadable spreadsheet, this Digest article looks at trends in SBIR/STTR awards by state over the period, including the companies with the most awards and states where SBIR/STTR awards outnumber VC deals.

Several recent articles covered in the National Bureau of Economic Researchers (NBER) Digest suggest that current understanding of policies surrounding wages, clusters and labor concentration may warrant revisiting. In one piece of academic research, a historical argument of shared productivity gains with employees is challenged, while another article shows a loss of bargaining power for employees in concentrated labor markets.

Industry consolidation slowing wage growth, productivity

This June, the Innovation Growth Lab's (IGL) third global annual conference will explore future innovation, entrepreneurship and small business policies. The summit, happening in Boston June 12-14 at Harvard Business School and MIT, includes more than 50 world-leading experts and participants from over 20 countries coming together as part of a global community at the forefront of innovation.

State economic growth relies on the availability of a workforce capable of filling open positions. But increasingly around the country, one of the top concerns of employers is finding the right talent to fill these roles. Beyond corporate strategies in hiring, states are increasingly developing new initiatives to keep their pipeline of talent flowing.