The U.S. ranks second on a global manufacturing competitiveness index, according to the 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index by research firm Deloitte Global and the Council on Competitiveness. The U.S. ranking has improved in each of the past studies and is poised to take over that top spot from China by 2020, the study maintains. However, executives from across the world in responding to the study, noted that talent is the leading factor in determining manufacturing competitiveness, and finding and cultivating that talent is a topic that has received increasing attention from the manufacturing sector. While such rankings provide an interesting focal point, their real value lies in the discussion and attention focused on the subject matter. SSTI recently interviewed several leading thinkers on the subject, finding common calls for changing the approach to the talent pipeline in manufacturing, as well as a cautionary note on rankings.

In last week’s Digest article – Alternatives to VC: Reconsidering the Startup Financing Paradigm – SSTI examined the conventional venture capital (VC) model as well as its advantages and limitations. In this installment, we will highlight alternatives such as revenue-based financing, venture debt, crowdfunding and a new financing model for cleantech proposed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. We also take a look at the potential that these alternatives have for the field of tech-based economic development.

Nearly half of the U.S. states and the District of Columbia saw a 10 percent or greater increase in higher education R&D expenditures from FY 2010 to FY 2015 with five of those states (Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Utah) seeing at least a 20 percent change, according to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey for 2015. Between FY10-15 overall U.S. research and development (R&D) spending at U.S.

The 21st Century Cures Act was signed by President Obama on Tuesday and is broadly intended to facilitate the research, development and transfer of medical discoveries in order to better-address diseases affecting American people. While the bill has received mainstream coverage for its bipartisanship – the core authors were two Democrats and two Republicans – and billions in new research spending – more than $5 billion in authorizations – the text also contains potentially significant changes for federally-supported medical research policy.

Despite the economic recovery since the Great Recession, the U.S. remains in a long-term decline in productivity, according to a pro bono study by Gallup commissioned by the U.S. Council on Competitiveness for the council’s 30th anniversary. The study, No Recovery An Analysis of Long-Term U.S. Productivity Decline, finds that since 2007, U.S. GDP per capita growth has been one percent, and Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton warns that “America is dangerously running on empty.”

To ensure economic growth and the success of the industries of tomorrow, the U.S. government needs to expand federal support for research and improve the efficiency of the process of federally funded knowledge leading to U.S. innovation and jobs, according to a recently released study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the Brookings Institution’s Bass Initiative on Innovation and Placemaking. In Localizing the economic impact of research and development: Policy proposals for the Trump administration and Congress, ITIF and Brookings suggest 50 policy proposals that the new administration and Congress can undertake to bolster tech transfer, commercialization, and innovation.

Megatrends like ageing societies and digitization are expected to shape future research and development agendas across the globe, according to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A broader distribution of science, technology and innovation are expected around the world due to the fast pace of economic development in emerging economies, and global competition for talent and resources will most likely intensify according to the OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016. Such megatrends, and others highlighted in the report, require policy responses that will likely face major constraints, including high public debt, international security threats, a possible erosion of social cohesion and the rise of influential non-state actors, the report maintains.

Congress approved the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017, which now awaits the President’s signature. The bill includes several significant provisions for the innovation community, including:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a new initiative this week to grow the life science research cluster throughout the state, pledging $550 million through a variety of programs including tax incentives, state capital grants, and investment capital with an expected match of $100 million from private sector partnerships for operating support.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting feedback on a 2017 funding opportunity that will allow the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers and their partners to add capabilities to the MEP program, including projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems. Small and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers are encouraged to send information about their needs in four areas: critical manufacturing technologies; supply chain; potential business services, including information services; and other technologies or services that would enhance global competition. NIST also requests recommendations for other critical issues that it should consider in strategic planning for future investments. More information can be found here. Responses will be accepted through Jan. 13, 2017.

Last week, Congress passed the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (S. 3084), which reauthorizes the America COMPETES Act. The Act does not include any funding levels for any of the programs or agencies reauthorized in the bill but does reinforce Congress’s support for research and makes adjustments to some programs. One crucial component of the bill adjusts the cost share requirement for NIST’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership to 1:1 throughout the new authorization period.

The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) becomes the eleventh institute in the Manufacturing USA network, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced last week. The $70 million award marks the first institute with a focus area proposed by industry and the first funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC).

This week, we take a look at the top SSTI Weekly Digest stories from 2016 and give you an idea of what to look for in the coming months.

After a down year for both the number of venture capital (VC) deals and the total dollars invested in U.S.-based startups, analysts remain split on whether 2017 will be a continuation of the downward trend or a rebound year. Those bullish on the market point toward strong fundraising totals in 2015-2016 and a likely uptick in the number of initial public offering (IPO) market. Whereas, those bearish on the VC market are concerned about a congested industry.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the 2017 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge – a cross-cutting prize competition to unearth innovative products and services that help impact and empower the lives of women and families.

Two new hubs have been announced in the Manufacturing USA network, one focusing on sustainable manufacturing innovation and the other on tissue biofabrication, bringing the total network of institutes to 13 since its inception four years ago.

Artificial intelligence and automation technologies have the potential to alter millions of jobs, yet the positive benefits associated with increased productivity are worth pursuing, according to a December 2016 White House report.

Two states are looking to make college more affordable through state programs aimed at decreasing or eliminating tuition costs. The New York legislature will decide the fate of a new proposal for free tuition at its state universities for middle income earners there, while in Kentucky students may be eligible for financial aid through the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program.

Across the U.S. people are working to build a more talented, skilled workforce, but often those efforts happen in isolation, separated from larger economic development efforts without engaging community and business leaders. A recently released playbook from the Aspen Institute and Futureworks, Communities That Work Partnership Playbook, aims to change a siloed approach and explores seven regional efforts to develop the local workforce for different industries and occupations. The playbook highlights key takeaways and is intended to provide guidance to others developing talent pipelines. SSTI also talked with individuals in Milwaukee and Kansas City about their regional efforts to develop the talent pipeline.

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the Brookings Institution recently proposed 50 ideas to bolster American innovation and technology transfer. Join SSTI’s president and CEO, Dan Berglund, at an ITIF and Brookings Institution event on January 11 from 10-11:30 a.m. in Washington, DC, to discuss how the incoming administration and Congress can make these improvements.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a solicitation committing up to $8 million to support between one and seven Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Nodes. The nodes are part of I-Corps’ National Innovation Network that builds upon fundamental research with the goal of dramatically reducing the period of time necessary to bring a promising idea from its inception to widespread implementation.

The U. S. House of Representatives wasted no time at the start of the new Congress, passing seven bills Tuesday that had been approved by the chamber in a previous session but had not received consideration in the Senate. Four of these bills with particular relevance to the innovation community are the HALOS Act, TALENT Act, Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2017  and Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act.

SSTI encourages its member organizations to sign onto a letter to Congress organized by NDD United, a broad coalition advocating for parity under sequestration for non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding and defense funding. The current leadership in Congress has made clear its priority to increase defense department spending at the expense of nondefense domestic spending, which includes programs under the EDA, SBA, NIST, NIH, NSF, the Department of Education, and more.

National business R&D intensity, as measured by business R&D expenditures as a share of gross product, increased by 6.6 percent from 2010 to 2013, according to SSTI’s analysis of recently released National Science Foundation (NSF) data. In total, business R&D intensity was nearly 1.9 percent in 2013, up from less than 1.8 percent in 2010. The states where business R&D expenditures were the largest share of gross state product were California, Massachusetts, and Delaware, while business R&D intensity grew the most from 2010 to 2013 in Washington, D.C., Maine, and Kentucky.

Startup failure is the rule, not the exception. However, much startup ”failure” includes businesses that made a workable product and grew — just not fast enough to attract venture capital. A hybrid venture capital-private equity approach is trying to identify these slower-growing businesses as part of an investment model that may provide an exit strategy for spurned startups throughout the country.