The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it would commit up to $12.5 million in pilot grants to test novel ways of broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Over the last month, several universities have announced new initiatives that look to spur investments in university-related startups to support economic growth and prosperity within their region or state. These include efforts in Triangle Venture Alliance in North Carolina, Purdue Ventures in Indiana, and a partnership between Oregon State University and a local investment fund.

North Carolina

This week, the White House announced the ConnectAll Initiative, an effort to reform federal communications programs to focus on bringing more Americans online. The focus of this effort will be on lower-income families who often lack access to affordable service and the devices to make use of them. Under the proposed plan, low-income families could be eligible for a monthly broadband subsidy.

A computer science education is viewed as a valuable prerequisite for many technology jobs, and, as a result, policymakers are responding to make these programs more ubiquitous. In January, the Obama administration announced his $4 billion Computer Science For All proposal, a nationwide effort to help all students from kindergarten through high school learn computer science.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the creation of a pay-for-performance workforce training program that will help Virginia workers acquire the industry certifications and occupational licenses that meet the needs of key businesses in each region of the state.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) recently released the first round of 33 awardees from the Small Business Vouchers Pilot program.  A total of $6.7 million will be awarded in the form of vouchers for assistance from DOE national laboratories of up to $300,000 a piece. Small cleantech businesses may be able to apply in nine technical categories. A second round of awards also has been announced, with a third to follow later in the year.

Angel investors are an essential component of the global economy, supporting ideas and innovators at their very earliest stages. In 2014, more than 200,000 American angels invested about $24 billion in 73,000 startups, according to the Angel Capital Association (ACA). Little data, however, exists on who these investors are and how they make their decisions. ACA, Wharton Entrepreneurship and the John Huston Fund for Angel Professionalism at Rev1 Ventures are launching a nationwide survey of angel investors to learn more.

The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI), first unveiled in May 2013, is a statewide public-private partnership advanced by BioCrossroads that considers itself the first industry-led collaborative life sciences research institute in the country.

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.

The U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committees recently passed their versions of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation includes provisions for federal labs, SBIR and SBA technical assistance programs. These portions of the bills are currently very different between the chambers, and, if passed in their current forms, the final bill could address a wide range of policies affecting small business and innovation.

One week before implementation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the International Entrepreneur Rule would be delayed until March 2018 and that a new proposal to rescind the rule will be made. The rule would have provided immigrants who have founded a high-potential startup with equity investment to remain in the country up to five years to scale the company.

Startup innovators from around the country have the opportunity to exhibit their ideas and win $10,000 during the Catalysts of the Climate Economy national innovation summit in Burlington, Vermont, Sept. 6-8. Innovators in the climate economy are encouraged to enter a contest that will result in five competitors pitching their ideas to a panel of judges, with the winning idea garnering the top prize.

In a recent post, the Brookings Institution’s Mark Muro raises concerns about the U.S. manufacturing sector’s health due to the leading indicators of slowed growth in both auto sector output and auto manufacturing employment. Muro contends that these slowdowns are driven by plateaued consumer demand and automakers investing billions in developing technologies necessary for electric and self-driving cars.

Breaking a two-year impasse, legislators in Illinois were able to pass a state budget that reinstitutes an R&D tax credit and implements workforce development programs. In California, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz) will see a 28 percent increase in funding, while other innovation initiative are receiving level funding. In other states whose budgets SSTI analyzed this week for TBED-related funding, we found that Innovate Mississippi was able to maintain state funding and new funding was appropriated for workforce development at the state’s community and junior colleges; a variety of programs were cut in North Carolina; and, Ohio will not get funding for a state office focused on commercializing research across key industries that the governor had proposed. More findings from California, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina and Ohio are detailed below.

SSTI’s annual conference will focus on building bridges for a better future by establishing new connections and wading through an uncertain political climate during a three-day conference filled with tips and insights. The agenda is now online at ssticonference.org and early bird rates are available. The conference, held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13-15, will feature speakers on innovation, capital, policy, workforce, R&D, manufacturing and more.

A new survey released by the Pew Research Center reveals a much more negative view of the  impact of colleges and universities on America on the right, with a majority (58 percent) of the Republicans and Republican-leaning independents surveyed saying that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country compared to 45 percent last August. Democrats and Democratic leaning independents (72 percent) say the colleges and universities have a positive effect.

The White House Office of Management and Budget sent a letter directing all agency heads to prepare FY 2019 budget requests with the figures provided in the administration’s FY 2018 request.

When SSTI learned that the House commerce appropriations subcommittee’s draft FY 2018 bill did not specifically fund the Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program, we called on members to contact the full committee and ask that the bill designate funding for RIS. Thanks to the quick action of SSTI members, the House Appropriations Committee passed the bill last week with level RIS funding of $17 million for FY 2018.