r&d
NSF Finds State Agencies Spent $1.1B for R&D in FY 2006
In its first state R&D survey since 1998, the National Science Foundation (NSF) finds 252 different state agencies across the country directly supported R&D and R&D facilities totaling $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2006. The survey, released this morning, was conducted for NSF by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Recent Research: Measuring the Effectiveness of State R&D Tax Credits
Two weeks ago, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter vetoed legislation to repeal state R&D income tax credits for Idaho companies. Among his reasons for the veto, Gov. Otter claimed removing the credits would put Idaho at a competitive disadvantage because surrounding states over similar incentives. Was he right?
Recent Research: Could Sudden Doubling of Federal Physical Science Research Funding Undermine U.S. Competitiveness Goals?
Last year, Congress authorized $5.9 billion in new spending on research, education and entrepreneurship as part of the Bush Administration’s decade-long $50 billion American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI). Though Congress did not appropriate a significant amount of new funding to match this authorization, many remain committed to the goals of the ACI.
Federal Agencies Identify R&D Priorities for Critical U.S. Manufacturing Areas
Three of the major thrusts for the research investments of many states – hydrogen energy technologies, nanomanufacturing, and intelligent and integrated manufacturing – are the focus of a new report by a federal Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing R&D. Manufacturing the Future: Federal Priorities for Manufacturing R&D describes the significance of each of the three critical manufacturing R&D areas, details the challenges essential for progress, discusses existing interagency collaborations and provides recommendations for future research.
Virginia Lawmakers Pass Budget, Delay Action on $1.65B University R&D Bond
Adjourning from the 2008 legislative session on March 13, Virginia legislators passed the fiscal year 2008-10 biennial budget but immediately called for a special session to resolve differences in the proposed capital outlay plan that supports university R&D and commercialization efforts.
West Virginia Legislature Approves “Bucks for Brains”
Witnessing the success experienced by its neighbor, West Virginia is creating a university R&D matching endowment program similar to Kentucky’s. The legislature approved $50 million for Gov. Joe Manchin’s “Bucks for Brains” initiative to be allocated from lottery surplus funds (see the Jan. 16, 2008 issue of the Digest).
Economic Impact of Measurement in the Semiconductor Industry
This report characterizes and quantitatively estimates investment in technology infrastructure by the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and the resulting economic benefits to those industries. Whereas previous retrospective studies have examined the economic impacts on various industries of specific NIST research programs, this new analysis represents an initial attempt to quantify the collective contribution of a wide range of measurement-related infrastructure technologies on productivity and growth at the industry level.
Are Firms That Received R&D Subsidies More Innovative?
The authors investigate if R&D tax incentives and R&D grants improve the innovative performance of manufacturing firms more than tax incentives alone. They find that a combination of the two incentives produces more innovative firms, on average.
Do Subsidies Have Positive Impacts upon R&D and Innovation Activities at the Firm Level?
This research paper looks at the impact of R&D subsidies on Norwegian firms from the European Union and Norway. Subsidies are labeled as either "close to market" or "far from market", and it is found that "far from market" subsidies stimulate private R&D spending, and "close to market" subsidies substitute for private R&D spending.
Evaluating the Impact of Public Subsidies on a Firms Performance: a Quasi-experimental Approach
This research paper compares the innovative output of firms in the region of Catalonia in Spain that have received a subsidy from a regional government entity. The research finds that firms that receive subsidies gain more value added than firms that do not.