In recent decades as many countries have developed sophisticated national innovation strategies, the U.S. has generally avoided attempts to introduce a coordinated innovation policy system. Instead, U.S. leaders have placed their trust in the market, rather than the government, to generate knowledge, products and businesses. A new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) suggests that this approach ignores a major factor in the success of innovation economies.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the launch of the National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE).  NIICE will serve a national support network for the nation’s clean energy startup community and the incubators that support them. The network will provide technical assistance and training services to help clean energy startups move their products closer to market readiness.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it is accepting applications for the SBA Clusters Program. Under the SBA Clusters Program up to four contracts may be made to lead organizations of innovation cluster initiatives from across the country. The awards are intended to help the lead organization bring together regional assets to support the cluster and provide services and resources to small businesses involved in the cluster. Applications are due July 31.

STEM degrees lead to higher salaries and more employment opportunities than other degrees, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Despite these economic advantages, only 16 percent of 2008 graduates received a STEM degree. The lack of workers with STEM skills has created a difficult hiring environment for many U.S. firms. A recent Brookings Institution study reveals that the lack of STEM graduates has meant that STEM job postings take twice as long to fill as other postings.

In addition to the recent announcement of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Incubator program, several other countries announced initiatives that will provide financial and other resources to support innovation incubator and accelerator programs that help cultivate new tech startups and increase economic growth. Nations that made recent announcements include Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

About 74 percent of U.S. residents with a bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields are not employed in STEM occupations, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. While STEM graduates are less likely to be unemployed, they generally find careers outside of science and technology.

Over the next three years, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) plans to hold open competitions for MEP center cooperative agreements in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The process will begin with a demonstration program this summer, in which competitions will be held in six to 10 states in each of MEP’s six regions.

As Congress continues negotiations over the FY15 federal budget, SSTI is hard at work trying to secure additional funding for the Regional Innovation program. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The Senate has approved $20 million for the program for FY2015, while the House did not provide any funding for the program. SSTI has prepared a support letter to Congressional leaders and is seeking organizations to sign on to the letter.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of the Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, a 100-member public-private partnership between public research universities, private sector companies, and other research partners to develop next generation of materials and processes used in the manufacturing of wide band gap semiconductors.

As the world becomes more globally connected, both public and private entities have turned their attention to foreign markets in the hopes of spurring innovation, capital creation, and economic prosperity. Whether their effort is developing international business partnerships, attempting to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), investing in startups, or taking advantage of international demand, the entities establishing these initiatives view long-term economic success for both firms and regions as dependent upon entering the global market place.

Several scholarly articles published within the past few months highlight the role that entrepreneurship, high-tech employment, and place play in both economic growth and economic development. In a landscape where seemingly every place desires the successes found in the Silicon Valley model, new frameworks that support the economic efficacy of human capital, entrepreneurship, and place are needed to encourage innovation and prosperity.

Incumbent governors in Colorado and Montana released their budget proposals this month, with both of the proposed budgets including provisions that prioritize infrastructure spending, workforce development programs, and education. Infrastructure and capital projects in particular were popular among the proposed budgets, with Colorado’s budget allocating $281.6 million to improve technology infrastructure and Montana allocating $300 million for infrastructure, including $45 million to Eastern Montana communities impacted by oil and gas development.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is accepting proposals for a national partner to help coordinate the Accelerating Industry-led Regional Partnerships for Talent Development Program – a nationwide learning exchange that will focus on building critical regional partnerships to accelerate job-skills development across United States.

More and more established companies are trying to keep pace with technological changes by increasing their presence in the startup community. Although some companies choose to locate divisions such as software in places like the Bay Area, others are taking a more hands-on approach. Corporate accelerators function as startup accelerators that receive significant and public support from established firms such as financial investments, privileged access to resources, official endorsements by the corporation, as well as continued organizational ties.

In a new report, the Ohio Board of Regents highlights promising policies to build more competitive innovation economies by tapping into the skills, knowledge and entrepreneurship of women, African-Americans, rural residents and other underrepresented populations.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed a permanent $1.5 billion increase in the cap of the E-rate program as part of the largest overhaul of the initiative in 18 years. The E-rate program is the federal government’s largest educational technology program, funding broadband and wireless access for schools and libraries with a portion of the funds received through the Universal Service fee for interstate communications.

Though federal support for R&D increased in FY14, federal spending on research and R&D facilities is currently at its lowest point in a decade, according to new data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). After hitting an all-time high in FY09, U.S. federal funding for R&D slid downward for the four years. By FY13, funding for R&D, and R&D plant (buildings and fixed equipment), had fallen by 19.4 percent. Federal funds only began to tick back upward in FY14, when increased support for basic research, agriculture and natural resources led to a 2.4 percent increase.

Over the last couple weeks, governors in Arkansas and Mississippi presented budgets to their stage legislature. In Arkansas, term-limited Gov. Mike Beebe presented two budget proposals for the 2015-17 biennial budget to state lawmakers. However, Gov.-elect Asa Hutchison also will present a budget to the legislature that may differ from Gov. Beebe’s proposal and potentially impact funding for state agencies due to a proposed $100 million individual income tax cut. Mississippi Gov.

On November 20, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) held its annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. During the daylong event, panelists focused on two important issues – secondary market liquidity for securities of small businesses and the potential revision of accredited investor definition.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) released a request for information (RFI) on revisions to two key areas of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) policy directives: SBIR/STTR Phase III policy; and, SBIR/STTR data rights.

With the hopes of better understanding which policy environments encourage and support innovation, new research  from the C.D. Howe Institute, a Canadian public policy thinktank, examines which sectors and provinces drive Canadian patent intensity.

Last week, the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) announced the launch of FLCBusiness, an all-inclusive search database that shares information about funding, equipment, know-how, and resources available from the federal lab network for private and public utilization.

The U.S.s entrepreneurial culture, long celebrated as a key element in the country’s economic success, is being threatened by several long-term trends, according to a paper from the Brookings Institution’s Robert Litan and Ian Hathaway. Over the past 30 years, U.S. business starts have slid downward, with many experts and policymakers offering their own explanations for the trend. Litan and Hathaway examine the data and note two possible causes: regional population decline and business consolidation.

As part of President Obama’s recent executive order on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a number of new policies and regulations intended to capitalize on the skills of foreign workers, researchers and students. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy published an explanation of how the new rules will also be used to attract immigrant entrepreneurs through two new pathways to legal residency.

Around the world, national governments are working to cultivate their innovation economies and increase their global competiveness by creating and increasing support for government-led initiatives. Leaders of advanced economies recognize that their positions as global leaders face a murky future due to the emergence of new economies. In turn, officials from emerging economies realize that supporting innovation is necessary for their economies to continue their rapid growth.