benchmarking report

North Carolina is rich in resources to support a thriving innovation ecosystem. But despite its strengths, several factors are preventing the state from reaching its full potential to fuel and sustain strong economic growth. These and other findings are outlined in a recent report tracking the state's performance in 38 measures related to innovation assets, activities and trends. The fourth in a series of indexes produced over the past 13 years, the report benchmarks North Carolina with six key comparison states, the U.S. overall and leading countries. Findings indicate the state excels at academic R&D, but lags in business-led R&D. Additionally, the state's high-tech sectors have wages well above the U.S. average, but a large share of the state's industries and employment not high-tech in nature. Recommended actions to improve the state's standing are detailed in the report, Tracking Innovation: North Carolina Innovation Index.

U.S. spending on higher education research and development (R&D) declined in FY12 (after adjustments for inflation) for the first time in almost 40 years, according to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The decrease marks the end of a period of modest growth since 2009 in which R&D expenditures increased at an average of five percent each year. While data on higher education R&D spending by state is not yet available for FY12, NSF has released state data through FY11, including expenditures by funding source

U.S. adults are less proficient in basic reading, math and problem-solving skills than many of their international counterparts, according to the first Survey of Adult Skills from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD found that, overall, U.S. adults possessed below average proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. In most of the countries included in the study, younger adults entering the workforce generally possessed better skills than older adults leaving the workforce, leading to better prepared labor pools over time. In the U.S., however, adults 55-65 years old performed at levels close to the international average, while younger adults ranked among the least skilled in the 24 countries surveyed.

Startups spun out of university research parks stayed in business longer than the overall national average and helped to improve regional competitiveness by establishing their companies within the area where they were incubated, according to a recent survey from the Association of University Research Parks (AURP). The survey reported the findings of 108 university research park directors over the past five years to demonstrate the extent to which the parks are focused on advancing innovation in their region. Among the top rated opportunities for enhancing growth, effectiveness and impact of research parks going forward are: developing and expanding the business services offered by incubators, capitalizing on more corporate outsourcing of research and deepening university-industry research partnerships, and strengthening collaboration between the park and its affiliated universities. Read the report…

State economies appear to be re-energizing after several years of slow recovery from recession, according to the Spring 2013 Fiscal Survey of States by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and the National Governors Association (NGA). As a result, state government revenues also are improving with 42 governors recommending higher spending levels in FY14. Total FY13 spending, however, remains below the pre-recession 2008 peak, and much of the increased spending will be dedicated to areas where spending was reduced over the past five years. Read the report...

Rice University's Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has been named the top university business incubator in the world by the University Business Incubator (UBI) Index based in Sweden. The group reviewed 550 university business incubators and studied 150 incubators to determine the top incubators in the world based on their value for the ecosystem, their value for clients, and their attraction rate and past performance. Other U.S. incubators that made the UBI Index Top list include VentureLab, the University of Buffalo Technology Incubator, and Tech 20/20.

The health and potential of a state's innovation ecosystem does not always directly correlate to current economic performance and overall job creation, despite media and policymakers' focus on such metrics. Although they vary across organizations and in scope, indices serve to assess states' assets and processes within their innovation ecosystems. Two recently published indices from the Milken Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recognize innovation as a driver of economic growth, and provide comprehensive assessments of innovation data from 2012.

The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) U.S. Report by Babson College and Baruch College shows that the total early stage entrepreneurial activity in the country increased 13 percent, the highest rate since 1999 when GEM first began tracking entrepreneurship. Among the findings, GEM found that a diverse population of age, gender, and immigrant status exists in the entrepreneurship community. This infographic summarizes some of the key trends and conclusions on the entrepreneurial activity and community in the country. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also has released its Enterprising States report that assesses the entrepreneurial activity and strengths by state using a number of metrics.