A new report from NASBO (National Association of State Budget Officers), State Expenditures Report for Fiscal Years 2021-2023, finds while spending remains elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, it is starting to slow. Spending from states’ funds rose 12.3% in FY2023 as a result of states spending surplus funds.
A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) studies a sample of 198 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards from FY 2019 to identify subcontracting activity. SBIR recipients are generally allowed to subcontract up to 50% of their award value, and STTR recipients must contract at least 30% with a nonprofit research institution.
Countries participating in the COP28 climate summit agreed this week to call for "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems…” Earlier this year, researchers at Nature Communications said a full transition from fossil fuels could displace 1.7 million fossil fuel workers in the United States and an even greater number on the global scale.
The Biden-Harris administration recently announced new actions to lower health care and prescription drug costs by promoting competition.
Research and Development (R&D) is an essential component of innovation and economic growth, where higher education institutions play a key role. However, with these institutions being responsible for funding just a quarter of all HERD expenditures, it is important to see the influence of outside funding sources on the fields of R&D.
Activity to build the U.S. semiconductor industry picked up steam on Monday, December 11. On that day, New York State, Gov.
Institutions of higher education spent $97.8 billion on research and development (R&D) activities in fiscal year (FY) 2022, an increase of nearly 9% over the prior year’s $89.8 billion. Over the past decade of available data, from FY 2013-2022, higher education R&D expenditures have increased 46%, from $67.1 to $97.8 billion. However, when adjusted for inflation, the growth is more modest at 17%.
Data center technology processing passed the milestone of consuming 1% of world energy in 2010 and is projected to increase to 6% by 2030, according to a 2020 Science magazine study by Eric Masanet, Arman Shehabi, Nuoa Lei, Sarah Smith, and Jonathan Koomey. The authors suggest that governments may need to take on a more considered approach to expanding data centers to meet the growing demand.
A new report finds that state agencies face challenges when working to implement Justice40 goals. Justice40 is an initiative included in President Biden’s Executive Order 14008, signed on January 27, 2021.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently approved 20 additional state awards under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Technical Assistance Grant Program, totaling more than $50.8 million. These awards will provide legal, accounting, and financial advisory services to eligible small businesses applying for the SSBCI capital program and other government small business programs.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans say science has had a mostly positive effect on society, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. While the percentage of those with favorable views of science might seem like good news, the number is significantly less than at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in January 2019, when 73% of Americans declared positive views.
The United States' 42 federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) received a record $26 billion in federal government funding in fiscal year 2022 — a nearly 6% increase compared to the previous year. FFRDCs expended $26.5 billion on R&D in FY 2022, marking the ninth consecutive year of nominal growth. On average, FFRDCs have increased R&D expenditures by 1.3% per annum since 2012.
A group of technology-related organizations, including SSTI, is asking Congress to support the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program with additional, substantial appropriations in FY 2024.
SBA's Office of Investment and Innovation has launched an Investment Capital Advisory Committee (ICAC) to serve as an independent source of advice and recommendations to SBA on institutional investment market trends, innovation, and policy impacting small businesses’ ability to access patient investment capital.
The Internal Revenue Service recently published new interim guidance for companies to use when amortizing research or experimental expenditures — a new requirement for tax year 2022 created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
SSTI’s 2023 Annual Conference was Sept. 6-8 in Atlanta, and nearly 400 practitioners and policymakers working on tech-based economic development attended to discuss their latest activities, challenges, and successes in strengthening their regional innovation economies. Conference highlights include U.S. Economic Development Administration director Alejandra Y.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs): the National Clean Investment Fund and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. The National Clean Investment fund provides $14 billion to provide accessible, affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration has recently made multiple staff appointments for its national program offices. Cristina Killingsworth is now EDA’s deputy assistant secretary for policy and external Affairs, having formerly been chief of staff for the International Trade Administration.
It appears that innovation is contagious. Maps reveal that once there is a concentration of patents granted to inventors in one U.S. county, innovation starts to percolate in neighboring counties. And the phenomenon isn’t found only in established life sciences hubs like San Diego or Boston. SSTI observed this spillover effect in Washtenaw County, Michigan and Hennepin County, Minnesota, among other places. These data suggest that when a strong base is located, likely due to new companies and startups establishing themselves, innovation lays down its roots and spreads to other counties.
Last month, NIH came out with a policy statement that prohibits using generative AI to analyze or critique NIH grant applications and contract proposals.
Every year, inadequate childcare causes the US economy to take a $122B hit, according to a study by an economist at the University of Pennsylvania. This economic hit affects everyone—workers, businesses, and taxpayers. Parents lose income when they miss work to take care of a child. Businesses suffer from lower productivity when employees are absent.
The Department of Defense (DOD) receives about $95 billion annually to support research and development efforts. But some members of Congress feared that requesting and allocating those funds took too long. It usually takes two years, which hinders response to evolving threats. The Senate addressed this issue in the Senate Report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, calling for the U.S.
The "CHIPS and Science Act" authorizes both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to implement programs to enable regional technology development and economic and job growth through NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) and EDA Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hubs) programs. To officially enable cooperation between the two agencies as they pursue these similar goals, NSF and EDA signed a memorandum of understanding MOU. The MOU allows for coordinating specific projects, programs, and facilities.
The White House has released a new report, Building the bioworkforce of the future: Expanding equitable pathways into biotechnology and biomanufacturing jobs. The five core recommendations in the report are intended to help propel continued investment in the bioeconomy and maintain the U.S.’ leadership in this sector.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is implementing a final rule, effective Aug. 17, that adds a category of Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) that will make the program a better-fit for early-stage investment strategies. The most significant change in this direction is the creation of an accrual funding mechanism that enables licensed SBICs to receive a loan from SBA that is repaid only upon distribution events or at the end of a 10-year term.