SSTI Digest

NSF is issuing its first set of awards from the Convergence Accelerator Pilot. The new program is intended to accelerate use-inspired, convergence research in areas of national importance through partnerships between academic and non-academic stakeholders. The Convergence Accelerator (C-Accel) pilot program focuses on two of the NSF’s “10 Big Ideas” and emphasizes the importance of deliverable-oriented, multidisciplinary teams. The two Big Idea tracks are “harnessing the data revolution” (Track A) and the “future of work at the human-technology frontier” (Track B). In its first round, C-Accel recently awarded $39 million to 43 teams across the nation.

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced 24 grants to organizations working to increase SBIR/STTR awards and commercialization outcomes in their states. The Federal and State Technology Partnership program (FAST) emphasizes initiatives focusing on underrepresented regions and entrepreneurs.

Congratulations to the SSTI members receiving FAST awards in the 2019 cycle:

• Arrowhead Center @ New Mexico State University
• Hawaii Technology Development Corporation
• Launch Tennessee
• Maryland Technology Development Corporation
• TechConnect West Virginia
• University of Missouri
• University of Nevada, Reno
• VertueLab

Several of these organizations provided additional information on the goals for their newly-funded initiatives:

A trio of reports from the U.S. Department of Energy showed a continued upward trend in wind energy capacity and employment in 2018, as the cost per megawatt (MW) continued to drop due to larger and more efficient turbines. However, the possible elimination of federal tax incentives could slow the long-term growth of wind power, the report cautioned.

The 2018 Wind Markets Report found that, overall, an additional 7,588 MW of new capacity were added during the year, spurred by $11 billion in investments. “Wind power represented the third-largest source of U.S. electric-generating capacity additions in 2018, behind solar and natural gas,” according to the report.

Overall, wind power contributed 6.5 percent of the country’s electricity supply in 2018, more than 10 percent of the electricity total in 14 states, and more than 30 percent in three of these 14 states (Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma).

A growing number of Republicans have a negative view of higher education, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The survey found that, overall, half of all the adults in this country have a positive attitude toward higher education, down from 55 percent in 2017 and 63 percent in 2016. The number of adults with a negative view now stands at 38 percent, up from 36 percent in the 2017 Pew survey and 28 percent in 2016.

The increase in negative perceptions is due to a change in attitude among Republicans and independents who lean Republican. Of this group, 59 percent had a negative perception of higher education in 2019, up from 58 percent in 2017 and 37 percent in 2015.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the winners of a $1 million competition designed to help makerspaces train the future workforce, focusing on addressing the job skills and placement gap faced by U.S. businesses. The 12 winners of the Makerspace Training, Collaboration and Hiring (MaTCH) Pilot Competition, will reap $1 million total in prize money across three tiers. Seed grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded to seed small workforce development programs, Proof of Principle grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded to grow programs with a proven history of training and/or workforce development, and Scale grants of up to $200,000 will be awarded for capacity building of successful existing programs with a strong history of training and/or workforce development, with graduated participants in at least two training cycles.

SSTI is extending its reduced rate for conference registration with no rate increase planned before the start of the conference. It is not too late to register under that special rate! In the more than 20 sessions we have planned, there are leaders in manufacturing succession planning, workforce development, funding, connecting academic departments with industry partners, and more. We hope to see you in Providence, Rhode Island, Sept. 9^th through 11^th for SSTI’s Annual Conference. 

The 116^th Congress has already advanced policies to affect regional innovation economies, and much more is poised to happen once both chambers return in September. In addition to completing the FY 2019 budget (see our Feb. coverage), this session has seen Regional Innovation Strategies legislation pass the House and Senate (albeit in different bills); the Senate working toward an overhaul of the Small Business Administration; and, the start of the FY 2020 budget process. Here, we summarize these federal policy developments, which SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council has been supporting.

Regional Innovation Strategies reauthorization

The Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program has two paths for renewal thanks to action in both the House and Senate:

Manufacturers are aware and concerned about the aging of their manufacturing workforce, according to a recent report from the Manufacturing Institute’s Center for Manufacturing Research. The report notes that a recent outlook survey found that attracting and retaining a quality workforce is one of the top challenges facing manufacturers, where nearly one-quarter of the sector’s workforce is age 55 or older. The manufacturing sector is particularly vulnerable to the challenges of an aging workforce due to several factors that sets it apart, including its already older workforce than the overall U.S. labor force, a pronounced skills gap due to the technical nature of manufacturing production work, and ongoing technical change, such as the advance of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Broadband access is one of the pillars of economic development, yet as many as 24 million Americans, including a disproportionate percentage in rural areas, still lack high-speed and reliable internet service, according to the Pew Charitable Trust. To promote more widespread broadband access and information about the policies of all 50 states, Pew has launched State Broadband Policy Explorer, an interactive web-based tool “that lets you learn how states are expanding access to broadband through laws.”

Pew spent more than a year studying broadband access, including the locations of gaps in coverage and the policies each state is pursuing to fill in the gaps. Searchable categories on the new State Broadband Policy Explorer include: broadband programs, competition and regulation, definitions, funding and financing, and infrastructure access.

SSTI and conference host Rhode Island Commerce Corporation are pleased to announce Gov. Gina Raimondo is scheduled to deliver welcoming remarks during the opening plenary session and officially kick off SSTI’s Annual Conference in Providence on September 10!

Gov. Raimondo became the state’s first female governor when she was first elected in 2014 and won re-election in 2018 for a second term. Prior to becoming governor, she worked as the General Treasurer of Rhode Island, spearheading landmark pension reform that would help reorder and ensure the state’s fiscal stability.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced awards for Conceptualization Grants (CG) for Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes, which are large-scale interdisciplinary research projects that aim to advance the frontiers of quantum information science and engineering. The CG awards, up to $150,000 each, are to support teams as they work toward the overall challenge research theme and focus areas for a future Challenge Institute proposal. The next phase will fund 5-year Challenge Institute awards to establish and operate Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes.

We are excited to be partnering with NSF during SSTI’s Annual Conference, Sept.9 through 11 in Providence, Rhode Island, to bring you the latest information and ideas on SBIR/STTR and university/industry partnerships.

We have lined up several important sessions, linked below that will be filled with information on how you can help your entrepreneurs access SBIR/STTR and how to support commercialization in your region. It’s not too late to register, but hurry if you want to take advantage of the special rate we have reserved for you at a nearby hotel – our block closes when it’s full or on Saturday, whichever comes first.

Click on each link below to learn more about these conference sessions!