SSTI Digest

Total student loan debt in the United States increased 558% from the first quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2024, increasing from $240 billion to $1.58 trillion, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. However, as seen in Figure 1, the rate of change has remained essentially flat since the first quarter of 2021, coinciding with a dip in undergraduate enrollment and federal loan forgiveness programs totaling nearly $160 billion, as the U.S. Department of Education reported.

Figure 1. Total student loan debt increased from $240 billion to $1.58 trillion between the 1st quarter of 2003 and the 2nd quarter of 2024.

The Fearless Fund and Fearless Foundation, which made awards restricted to Black female entrepreneurs, announced a settlement on September 10 with the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) and will end its Fearless Strivers Grant Contest that was targeted in a racial discrimination lawsuit by AAER. The settlement means that states within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit’s jurisdiction will be subject to the rationale behind the court’s preliminary injunction that found grants awarded through contracts cannot be restricted based on race. For grantmakers outside of these states, the implications are less clear.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article notes that Arian Simone, Fearless Fund co-founder and CEO, decided to settle because the decision would apply nationwide if they lost in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While production of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are expected to decline from 12 million in 2023 to 5.2 million in 2029 and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), powered exclusively by an electric battery, would increase from 1.1 million to 7.3 million vehicles during the same period, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago concludes the change is unlikely to cause much change in the geographic location of automobile manufacturers, according to an Economics Perspectives paper. The paper's authors investigated what impact, if any, such a change in the number of types of vehicles produced would have on the locations where cars are manufactured. They concluded that the changeover to manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) should not cause much disruption to the geographic location of automobile manufacturers.

With the release of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Build to Scale program, time has begun ticking towards the October 28 application deadline. To assist organizations with determining eligibility under EDA’s Equity Investment Priority, SSTI has developed a map visualizing counties that are either rural or in persistent poverty, made public through SSTI’s Technology-Based Economic Development (TBED) Community of Practice (CoP).

Figure 1: Rural and Persistent Poverty Map with Engines and Tech Hubs overlay

The Economic Development Administration has released the 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Build to Scale program. With $50 million in available funding, the program continues to support regional commercialization, entrepreneurship, and capital formation efforts. This year’s competition, however, comes with a restructured application process and updated evaluation criteria.

Key changes for 2024

The most significant change for 2024 is the consolidation of the Venture, Capital, and Ignite challenges into a single “Implementation Challenge.” This new format streamlines the application process by allowing organizations to submit one comprehensive proposal that includes related activities instead of separate applications for each challenge.

Ohio recently awarded more than $97 million for the Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub in Toledo, the onMain Innovation Hub in Dayton, and the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub in Akron. These hubs are part of the recently created a $125 million Ohio Innovation Hubs Program. The program is “designed to make Ohio a national leader in innovation, creating new jobs and business opportunities by supporting world-class research in industry-aligned platforms that build upon Ohio’s existing legacy industries and research strengths,” according to the Ohio Department of Development which administers the program.

Quantum technologies are revolutionizing sensors, computation, and communication, according to an article from the World Economic Forum.

This reality is inspiring many states to build foundations for reaping the economic benefits of these technologies. This year, several states, including Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, South Carolina and South Dakota have passed legislation, provided new funding or have launched new quantum initiatives.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs offer opportunities for small businesses to innovate and secure federal funding for their ideas from eleven U.S. government agencies. Every state in the U.S. assists potential SBIR/STTR companies to increase their chances of success. SSTI has created a new SBIR/STTR resource guide that includes examples of state-level initiatives in four broad categories: 

• Proposal assistance and mentorship,
• Technical assistance and networking,
• Financial assistance, and
• Commercialization support

In many states, some or all of the assistance programs are offered as part of the Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) program. 

The resource guide includes a downloadable Excel file of all programs and their offerings. Additionally, there is a map to visualize which types of financial assistance are available in different states. Lastly, the guide provides examples by state of the different types of support programs available nationwide.

With classes resuming for the fall term, SSTI continues its reflection on the state of higher education. In last week's issue, today's and next week's, we’re examining where higher ed has been and where it currently stands. The post-secondary education system is the cornerstone of the American innovation system—as an R&D performer, moving research into the marketplace, offering technical assistance to companies, and supplying a skilled workforce. The challenges are significant—eroding public support for universities, cuts to state funding during each economic downturn that takes years to recover, and burgeoning tuition and student debt.
 

For the last 40 years, higher education has been the dominant performer of basic research in the United States, but there has been a slide in higher education’s share over the last 20 years as businesses have increased their performance of basic R&D (Figure 1). If the current trendline continues, businesses will soon surpass higher education as basic R&D performers and become the predominant basic R&D performer just as they have been in applied R&D for decades.

Figure 1. R&D performance by performer of basic research, 1979-2022.

Public perceptions of higher education are complex and multifaceted. A Chronicle of Higher Education 2023 report found that while Americans believe in the value of a college credential, they are not convinced higher education is fulfilling its promise to society; nonetheless, many recent polls, surveys, and reports also conclude that people, whether they have a four-year degree or not, would advise others to pursue one. Respondents are mixed on whether they think four-year institutions do a good job educating their students—or that colleges and universities greatly benefit graduates. Alternatives like trade schools or community colleges appear to many Americans as a viable path to a successful livelihood. However, colleges’ value to communities and society draws skepticism.

By 2031, 72 percent of jobs in the US will require postsecondary education and/or training, according to a 2023 report by Georgetown University. The authors contend, “Postsecondary education is no longer just the preferred pathway to middle-class jobs—it is, increasingly, the only pathway.”