In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
Support for Entrepreneurs, Manufacturers Included in Connecticut Jobs Package
Building on several of the new programs enacted during the
regular legislative session (see the June
15, 2011 issue of the Digest), Gov. Dan Malloy last week
signed into law HB
6801, a comprehensive legislative package that authorizes $626
million in bonds to support efforts aimed at job creation. The bill
has several components to support high-tech entrepreneurship,
workforce development, and incentivize manufacturers and small
businesses.
To encourage more early stage investment in startup,
technology-based businesses, the bill reduces the minimum cash
investment to qualify for the angel investor income tax credit from
$100,000 to $25,000. Aggregate new credits are limited to $6
million per year in FY12-13 and $3 million in FY14.
Connecticut Innovations, a quasi-public organization supporting
high-tech industries in the state, is recapitalized with $125
million over five years under the bill. Of that amount, $15 million
is reserved for the existing preeseed financing program, which
provides capital and support services to businesses developing new
concepts.
In support of workforce training for new economy jobs, three
community colleges will be chosen and receive up to $20 million in
bonds to establish or enhance manufacturing technology programs.
Colleges selected must demonstrate a commitment to precision
manufacturing and the ability to expand such programs through space
and faculty.
The bill also doubles the limit, from 50 to 100, on the number
of small manufacturing companies eligible to participate in the
Manufacturing Reinvestment Account (MRA) program and doubles from
$50,000 to $100,000 the maximum annual amount a company may deposit
in an MRA. This program allows small manufacturers to deposit a
percentage of their gross domestic receipts to save for training,
developing or expanding their workforce, or for purchasing
machinery, equipment or facilities.
The First Five program, established last legislative session, is
expanded under the bill to allow the Department of Economic and
Community Development (DECD) commissioner to provide state
assistance to up to five additional business development projects
in FY12. Under the program, companies must create at least 200 new
jobs within two years or invest at least $25 million and create at
least 200 new jobs within five years.
Other components of the bill include the creation of a Small
Business Express program and Subsidized Training and Employment
Program (STEP). Under the small business express program, the
Department of Economic and Community Development will provide
loans, forgivable loans or matching grants up to $250,000 to
Connecticut-based small business and small manufacturers.
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White House Directs Federal Agencies To Speed Commercialization
The Obama administration recently announced two directives to
accelerate the commercialization of research and provide small
businesses with streamlined access to federal resources. In his
announcement, President Obama tied the directives to his
administration's recent jobs push, and noted the
need to bypass Congress in order to quickly implement the changes.
The first memorandum instructs all federal agencies with research
facilities to increase research and regional innovation
partnerships with the private sector and develop five-year
plans. The second calls for the creation of a one-stop shop for
small businesses that would give them access to the full range of
federal business support services.
The commercialization memorandum instructs research agencies to
speed commercialization in three ways. First, agencies are to
promote the creation of public-private research partnerships,
accelerate the processing of small business research and
development grants and foster university-startup collaborations.
The administration suggests that these changes could speed grants
to startups by 50 percent.
The second component is to give agencies more flexibility to
partner with private industry. Agencies are directed to use this
change to create new partnerships with communities, support
regional innovation clusters and share laboratory facilities with
local businesses. The last component requires research agencies to
develop five-year plans, including goals and concrete metrics, to
increase transparency and accurately evaluate progress. These
metrics are to include the number of patents generated by each
federal lab.
BusinessUSA, the one-stop-shop announced in the second
memorandum, is to be a comprehensive resource for small businesses
and exporters. The initiative is intended to streamline access to
public resources, so that business owners may avoid a lengthy
search for information on the many agency websites. It also will
provide access to information about state, local and private
resources that are available to startups. BusinessUSA is to begin
operations within the next 90 days, according to the announcement.
Learn more...
On the same day as the Presidential Memorandum, the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it would launch a
pilot program to provide Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
awardees with comprehensive intellectual property support. This
support is being offered through a collaboration with the National
Science Foundation, using the agency's existing
small business programs. SBIR recipients will have access to
USPTO's new IP Awareness Assessment tool,
developed in collaboration with NIST's Hollings
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). USPTO also has begun
offering educational services through its Global Intellectual
Property Academy, which features monthly webinars covering IP
topics of interest to small businesses. Learn more...
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Senate Passes FY12 "Minibus" Appropriations Bill
The U.S. Senate has passed an FY12 funding bill encompassing
appropriations measures for the Department of Agriculture;
Commerce, Justice and Science; and Transportation and Housing and
Urban Development. The bill includes funding for NASA, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Science
Foundation, as well as other technology agencies and programs. By
combining the separate appropriations bills, the Senate hopes to
increase its leverage in conferences with the House. The American
Institute of Physics publication FYI has prepared a breakdown of
technology-related agency funding in the bill. Read the committee announcement...
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Report Calls for a Collaborative Infrastructure of Technology Transfer in SE Wisconsin
In Technology Transfer in Southeast Wisconsin, a new report from
the Public Policy Forum, researchers call for
a "full-fledged collaborative
infrastructure" that is adept at transferring
technologies developed at the region's research
institutions to entrepreneurs that will use them to create
businesses and jobs in the region. The report does tout some
efforts to develop a collaborative
infrastructure for the knowledge economy including the recently
established Clinical and Translational Science Institute of
Southeast Wisconsin (CTSI)
— a collaborative dedicated to using research to
inform and improve medical practice that includes the
region's prominent research and academic
institutions. However, according to the report,
"many more dollars are spent on research and
development than are recouped in licensing royalties or equity
positions in new companies" in southeastern Wisconsin.
To remedy this problem, the report provides three models that
could enhance regional collaboration in technology transfer and
potentially augment the effectiveness of existing efforts:
- Joint Office of Technology Transfer
— a joint office could potentially result in
greater expertise in economic development practice for the
participating institutions, as well as economies of scale;
- Joint Infrastructure for Informal Technology Transfer
Activities — a consortium of CTSI
institutions could be created and charged with raising the profile
of translational research for local industry through networking and
partnering efforts (this model is based on the Federal Lab Consortium); and,
- Joint Economic Development Entity
— four different types of collaborative economic
development agency models aimed at encouraging and supporting the
transfer of technology to local industry and startups, with each
having unique characteristics.
Researches devised these recommendations through a series of
interviews with local academic researchers, technology transfer
practitioners and entrepreneurs, as well as extensive research into
national technology transfer collaborative approaches and models.
Read the report...
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EU Releases Competitiveness Report, Several Members Form Science Europe
The European Union (EU) released its first competitiveness
report on all 27 EU member nations and six associated countries
— Innovation Union Competitiveness Report
2011. Providing a deeper perspective on European R&D
intensity, the report is intended to monitor the progress towards
EU and national R&D headline targets and provide economic
evidence and analysis to underpin the development of EU and
national innovation policies. Twelve key findings are highlighted
within the report including:
- The EU is slowly advancing towards its 3% R&D target;
- Despite the economic crisis hitting business R&D
investments hard, many European countries are maintaining or
increasing their levels of public R&D funding;
- Europe is losing ground in the exploitation of research
results;
- European small- and medium-sized business are innovative but
do not grow sufficiently; and,
- Europe has a strong potential in technological inventions for
societal challenges and new global growth areas (e.g., green
technologies).
The report also provides recommendations related to each of the
12 findings that may address the deficiencies highlighted (e.g.,
the move towards a more cost-efficient intellectual property and
protection management system to stimulate technology transfer.) and
build upon existing strengths (e.g., even under sever austerity
measures, member nations should safeguard spending in R&D,
innovation and education.).
The report also discusses the ongoing development of a new,
single integrated indicator to allow for better monitoring of
progress in innovation. The EU is working with member
state's national statistical offices and the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The metric will focus on the share in employment of the
fast-growing innovative enterprises. Read the
report...
Several of the European national research organizations also
announced the founding of "Science Europe"
— a collaborative effort to promote the
collective interests of its member organizations and streamline the
coordination of policies and activities. Located in Brussels, the
capital of Belgium, Science Europe will work to partner with the
European Commission and other organizations with similar interests
to foster the European research ecosystem. In addition to policy
coordination efforts, there will be six scientific committees
covering all scientific disciplines, including the humanities and
the social sciences. Read the press
release...
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Staff Picks
Federal Program Could be Model for Growing Regional
Economies
Citing an approach that is in sync with the business and
economic realities in local communities nationwide, this
issue brief examines how the federal Jobs Accelerator
program's focus, collaboration and return on
investment provide important lessons for policymakers seeking to do
more with less.
Read more ...
What it takes to Be a World-Class University
A new World Bank report examining world-class universities finds
top performers shared three key factors: high concentration of
talented academics and students, abundant resources, and strategic
vision and leadership.
Read more ...
Leaving the "S" Behind in STEM
Teaching
A statewide survey in California finds elementary students are
receiving little hands-on science instruction. Teachers say they
lack time and resources, attributable somewhat to pressure to focus
on reading and math.
Read more ...
Nerd York City: Why Bloomberg Wants a NYC Tech Campus
This article from Fast Company points to some of the
problems with Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to
bring an applied science university campus to New York City,
including geography.
Read more ...
Kauffman Foundation Announces Global Economic
Initiative
Countries selected for inclusion under the Kauffman Global
Partners Network will work with the foundation to develop programs
to attract entrepreneurs through support services such as
accelerators and access to capital programs.
Read more ...
Panel Calls for Industry-Focused Granting Council for
Canadian Higher Ed
A proposed overhaul of the National Research Council, whose role
has become too broad and unfocused, is among a set of
recommendations outlined in a report from a federally appointed
panel on R&D.
Read more ...
Southern Growth Offers Checklist for State Innovation
Members of the Southern Technology Council recently participated
in a survey examining the merits of state policies that promote the
development of a healthy innovation environment. The Southern
Growth Policies Board published 10 final recommendations that
serve as a checklist of state innovation policies. The resulting
list places a strong emphasis on encouraging new ventures and
strengthening research.
Read more ...
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