After a nine-month hiatus, the Economic Development Administration has reopened its Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs with an updated Notice of Funding Opportunity. In the past, this funding has supported a variety of technology-based economic development projects, including research commercialization centers, business incubators and accelerators, revolving loan funds, workforce development initiatives, and regional strategic planning activities, as well as other infrastructure and economic development projects in economically distressed communities.  

SSTI has learned from Ben Page, deputy assistant secretary for economic development and chief operating officer in the U.S. Department of Commerce that U.S. Economic Development Administration is discontinuing funding for the University Centers, Trade Adjustment Assistance to Firms, and STEM Talent Challenge programs. The reason cited was budget constraints. Page noted in the email that “(t)his change will have no impact on current awards—we are working individually with grantees to close out their awards and efforts. EDA is committed to supporting an orderly and respectful wind-down of existing grants.”  The image below shows the locations of the 70 affected University Centers. Hover over the link for the name and exact location of each center.

SSTI recently examined the investment histories of 31 Venture Development Organizations (VDOs) across 20 states to quantify their impact and help to characterize how the broader technology-based economic development (TBED) community supports long-term innovation-driven economic and financial returns. Our top-level findings showed that 

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) is inviting comments regarding the proposed collection of information for its Breakthrough Innovations Initiative application. According to the notice in the Federal Register, published on Sept. 19, 2025, they are launching this initiative “to enable researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs to apply unconventional approaches to create game-changing technologies and translate discoveries into tangible applications and products.” TIP is proposing a streamlined application process with the aim of “accelerating timelines for selecting and conducting translational research….” They estimate that the data collection burden for the application form…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has recently updated 35 of its over 50 indicators covering education, R&D, and workforce, among other important topics. These indicators are available in two forms: the Science & Engineering Indicators and Science and Engineering State Profiles. 

Like the broader metric of R&D intensity, the prominence of R&D value added in a state’s economic output has shifted within several states over the past decade. Does it matter? For sustaining a state’s innovation competitiveness, it may, and subsequently it is important to know for many state and regional TBED initiatives. Proximity to the conduct of R&D has been well documented in empirical research to support strong regional innovation economies. Subsequently many TBED policies are designed to increase and maintain R&D activity within those boundaries as well as ensure the localized spillover effects are maximized. Determining where R&D activity is thriving and the size of its value added to the state’s GDP, particularly manufacturing-related R&D, may help inform those policy decisions. SSTI explores the latest data on state R&D value added in this Useful Stats article.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program  has narrowed the list of finalists advancing to the next stage of the program's second competition to 15 applicants—spanning critical technologies and applications ranging from enhancing energy grid security to maximizing the yield of critical minerals mining extraction to advancing quantum computing. The finalist teams, many of whom have been building their regional coalitions for a year or longer, are led by a range of organizations, including universities, nonprofits and private industry from across the United States. The finalists and their lead organizations are: