In This Week's Issue
SSTI News and Analysis
Obama Administration Announces $15 Million Rural Jobs and
Accelerator Challenge
Thirteen federal agencies, led by the Economic Development
Administration (EDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), will
provide up to $15 million in funding and other resources to assist
in job creation and economic growth in rural areas. The Rural
Jobs and Accelerator Challenge is intended to leverage local assets
and foster connections to industry in up to 20 rural regions across
the country.
Approximately $750,000 may be made available per award. Applications are
required to provide matching funds and apply for funding from both
the EDA and USDA. USDA will target investments to support technical
assistance to develop rural communities'
capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing,
community facilities or economic and community
development. EDA will target investments to support
projects that create regional linkages by connecting communities
with innovation clusters and regional opportunities leading to job
creation, expanded markets and economic growth.
To be eligible for an award, projects must benefit rural
communities, but the applicant is not required to be located in a
rural area. U.S. states, local governments, institutions of higher
education and nonprofit organizations are can collaborate to apply
for funding. Although businesses not eligible to
apply directly, businesses may collaborate with the applicatants on implementation. The deadline for applications is
May 9, 2012. Read the request for proposals.
The EDA, USDA and its partners will hold a webinar
on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM EDT to provide an overview of
the program and answer questions from the audience. Register
here to attend the webinar. If you are unable to attend, the
webinar will be recorded and made available on the
initiative's website.
In addition to the EDA and the USDA, the Rural Jobs and
Accelerator Challenge is supported by 11 other federal
agencies that will assist by providing funding or resources to the
awardees: the Delta Regional Authority; the Appalachian Regional
Commission; the Patent and Trademark Office; the National Institute
of Standards and Technology — Manufacturing
Extension Partnership; Denali Commission; Department of Education;
Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Energy; Environmental
Protection Agency; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development; and the Small Business Administration. Read the
Department of Commerce press release.
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Mid-Session Update on State TBED Proposals
As many states near the mid-point of their 2012 legislative
sessions, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at some
of the bills advancing in statehouses that could impact
states' efforts to improve economic conditions.
Several states are seeking to advance access to capital initiatives
as they continue to struggle with declining revenue and tight
credit restrictions. The following overview provides a sampling of
TBED bills supporting access to capital, R&D enhancements and
higher education standards.
Providing Access to Capital
The Arizona Senate approved last month a
bill to empower the state to facilitate $250 million in loans
to manufacturers and other businesses by allowing third parties to
sell income and insurance premium tax credits to venture capital
firms, banks and other lenders, reports The Arizona Capitol
Times. Supporters say the program, which has been employed at
the federal level over the last decade under the New Markets
structure, has been adopted successfully by nine other states. The measure awaits action in the House.
Hoping to stimulate venture capital investment in
Colorado, the Senate passed
SB 58, the Colorado Entrepreneur Act. The measure would
establish a Venture Capital Advisory Board to examine current
obstacles and develop strategic methods for increasing the
availability of capital in the states. The measure is being
considered in the House.
Lawmakers in Kentucky want to extend an angel investor
tax credit to individuals for investment in high-tech companies
(HB 113). The tax credit,
capped at $40 million, currently is available only to companies.
A bill making its way through the New Jersey Senate would
create an angel investor tax credit program with the goal of
spurring more money for emerging high-tech and biotech companies.
S
581 would allow investors to capture a tax credit to 10 percent
of their investment, up to $500,000 a year. The program would be
capped at $25 million annually.
Lawmakers in Oregon passed
HB 4040, the Oregon Investment Act. The measure establishes the
Oregon Growth Fund and Oregon Growth Board to encourage investment
in and availability of capital to Oregon businesses.
Enhancing R&D
A measure to provide tax credits for R&D was passed last
week by the Alaska House of Representatives.
HB 118 provides a 20 percent tax credit on qualified R&D
expenditures not to exceed $10 million per year. The measure awaits
action in the Senate.
A new bill introduced in Maryland would increase funding
for the state's R&D tax credit to $18
million a year, up from $6 million a year. The legislation also
would expand the credit so that smaller companies would be able to
use the credit even if they do not owe corporate income tax,
reports the Baltimore Business Journal. The measure,
SB
570, is set for a hearing on March 9.
Lawmakers in Nebraska advanced a measure (LB
983) to strike limitation on the number of years a taxpayer can
claim the state's R&D tax credits, which
currently is limited to five years. This includes credits applied
to university-based R&D projects.
Improving Higher Education Standards
The House voted 85-28 in favor of
HB 7129 allowing qualifying Florida universities to set
tuition at differentiated and market rates. This includes the
ability to set tuition rates higher for different types of
programs. The goal of the Academic and Research Excellence and
National Preeminence Act is to elevate the university
system's global standing for research and
innovation. Qualifying universities would have to meet 11 of 14
academic and research standards. The measure awaits action in the Senate.
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Abell Foundation, TEDCO Launch $3.3 Million Angel Fund
Targeted at Baltimore's Startups
The Abell Foundation and Maryland Technology Development Company
(TEDCO) announced the Propel Baltimore Fund — a
$3.3 million angel investment fund targeted at startups and
entrepreneurs in Baltimore. The fund will invest in technology
companies with innovation-focused business
plans
that are located in Baltimore or are
willing to relocate to the city. Initial investments will be
between $50,000 and $100,000 (maximum investment of $220,000 per
company). Propel investments will require a 50 percent match from
outside investors. Read the press release.
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International Patent Filings under the WIPO Set New Record
in 2011
Over 181,900 international patents were filed in 2011, up 10.7
percent from 2010, according estimated data from the World
International Patent Organization (WIPO). China, Japan and the U.S.
accounted for 82% of the total growth, the highest since 2005.
Estimated data was collected from the WIPO-administered Patent
Cooperation Treat (PCT) system. The PCT system facilitates the
process of seeking patent protection across its over 140-member
countries by postponing the requirement to file a separate
application in each country until after a centralized processing
and initial patentability evaluation have taken place.
The U.S. with an estimated 48,596 filings (26.7 percent of all
patents filled worldwide in 2011) remained the largest user of the
PCT system. The U.S. was followed by Japan (38,888 fillings; 21.4
percent of all patents filled), Germany (18,568 fillings; 10.2
percent of all patents filled) and China (16,406 fillings; 9.0
percent of all patents filled). However, the US (0.7 percent
decrease) saw a drop in its shares of total filings, while China
(1.5 percent increase) and Japan (1.8 percent increase) each
increased their share by more than a percentage point.
The report also looked at patent fillings in 35 technology
sectors. Digital communication technologies (7.1 percent published
applications) accounted for the largest share of estimated PCT
applications in 2011. It was followed by electronic machinery
(6.9%), medical technology (6.6%) and computer technology (6.4%).
Most technology sectors experienced growth in patenting in 2011
with the exception of four sectors — basic
communication processes (5.9 percent decrease from 2010), organic
fine chemistry (4.1 percent decrease), pharmaceuticals (1.9 percent
decrease) and analysis of biological materials (0.3 percent
decrease). Electronic machinery (23.2%) saw the fastest growth
between 2010 and 2011, another 11 sectors experienced double-digits
growth. Read the Press Release.
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FedDev Ontario Investment Connecting STEM Grads with
Businesses
A contribution of $4.2 million CAN ($4.2 million USD) by FedDev
Ontario will be used to place 320 recent graduates in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields with
businesses in a competitive six-month internship and mentorship
program. The idea is to provide graduates with real world
opportunities to develop business skills and experience. The grads
will be matched with small- and medium-sized enterprises in
southern Ontario. Read
the press release
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IT-Intensive Firms Likely to Create More Jobs, Report
Finds
Discovering the ideal conditions for entrepreneurs to succeed is
a topic widely researched in today's economy.
Most researchers will agree that having access to capital, a culture conducive
for risk, and skilled workers are key components. A new report from
the Technology CEO Council (TCC) adds that powerful and affordable
new technologies, and companies that harness them, are at a greater
advantage than ever before when it comes to driving job
creation.
The report points to new research from Catherine L. Mann of
Brandeis University indicating companies that were
intensive users of IT
grew jobs at
a rate of 5.1 percent from 2001-09, while overall employment shrank
by 0.5 percent. And, although small IT-intensive service firms
represent only 5 to 6 percent of all employment, they averaged 34
percent of new jobs created between 2002 and 2008. The next
gazelles, or high-growth enterprises, will be those businesses best
able to use technology to pioneer new management techniques,
capitalize on new production methods, exploit distribution channels
and maximize organizational structures, according to the
authors.
A combination of breakthrough innovations over the past several
years has enabled more startups to succeed. The report points to
on-demand supercomputing, low-cost, high-capacity data storage and
ubiquitous, robust connectivity as three transformational
breakthroughs. Technology also has played a role in how startups
find financing with a wave of new Internet platforms that offer
crowd funding.
In addition to being good at
technology,
the report indicates that having access to
talented people, markets, and capital are the factors that best
enable high-growth companies to succeed. Several policy
recommendations are outlined in support of these factors. However,
the take-away from the authors is that technology will prove even
more essential to business success and survival in the future and
those not taking advantage of new technologies will be left
behind.
The report, High Impact: How IT is Empowering the Next
Generation of Entrepreneurs, is available at:
http://www.techceocouncil.org/clientuploads/reports/TCCHighImpact3-5-12[1].pdf.
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OMB Releases RFI on Reforms to Federal Policies Relating to
Grant Applications
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a request for
information (RFI) on the Reform of Federal
Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative
Agreements.
OMB intends to use these comments in its
development of a whitepaper, to be published later this year, which
may propose specific revisions to increase efficiency and
effectiveness of federal grant programs by eliminating unnecessary
and duplicative requirements. Comments should address
possible reforms to one or more of four topics:
Overarching Questions
— reform ideas related to reducing the
administrative burden of applicants;- Single Audits — reform ideas related to the
federal single audit framework;
- Cost Principles — reform ideas related to
indirect cost rates and a flat rate framework; and,
- Administrative Requirements — reform ideas
related to specific standards that should be considered in federal
agencies' evaluation of merit.
Comments are due March 29, 2012. Read the
Request For Information.
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SSTI EVENTS
Infusing Technology into Companies: A Case Study
Manufacturing is a national priority – and
American manufacturers must innovative to stay competitive.
This session will explore the roles of various intermediaries
and partners, including an MEP center, universities, Centers of
Excellence, companies, and other components of the innovation
ecosystem. The discussion also will include specific impacts
realized with companies, including new products and increased
sales.
Presenters:
Aimee Dobrzeniecki, Deputy Director of the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership at the Department of
Commerce's National Institutes of Standards and
Technology
Peter Pritchard, Program Director, Center for Economic
Growth, Albany, NY
Matt Watson, Director of Regional Technology Development
Centers, NYSTAR
Register today — space is
limited! Members can attend a minimum of one webinar for FREE.
Contact Noelle at sheets@ssti.org to receive your promo code or
become a member.
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Staff Picks
#FixYoungAmerica to Overcome Youth Unemployment
The movement has begun a crowd funding initiative and hopes to
encourage and promote entrepreneurial education and share ideas
through Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.
Read more ...
Tech Advances Helping Spur Interest in Entrepreneurship
College students are embracing an entrepreneurial culture on
campuses nationwide possibly due to advances in technology
making it easier than ever before to start a business.
Read more ...
Patent Office Contest Rewards Humanitarian Work with Faster
Processing
Patent owners who use their technology for humanitarian purposes
will be rewarded with an acceleration certificate to speed up
processing for any other patent matters at the USPTO.
Read more ...
Commerce Department Swears in New Patent Judges to Help with
Backlog
Nine new patent judges were sworn in last week with the goal of
reducing patent backlogs and helping entrepreneurs get ideas to the
market faster.
Read more ...
NLC: Innovation and Cities: Reframing the Dialogue
Worried about the overuse of the term "innovation" in our
national dialogue, this blog posting suggests ways to reframe
conversations and debates about issues involving cities.
Read more ...
Some States Going Non-Traditional Route for Job
Creation
Requiring matching commitments from private companies to rebuild
highways and selling off future income tax from the state lottery
and other more "obscure" sources are highlighted as creative ways
states are looking to boost job growth.
Read more ...
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