SSTI Digest

As the state budgeting process comes to a close, SSTI will report over the coming weeks on actions taken by state legislatures to invest in economic growth through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. This week, we look at the budgets passed and signed by governors in Indiana, which includes new funding for an institute focused on health and life-sciences research and commercialization, and Maryland, which includes funding for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation.

In collaboration with the Angel Capital Association and Pitchbook, the Angel Resource Institute (ARI) released its 2016 Annual Halo Report, which highlights several trends including a decrease in median pre-money valuation from 2015; an increase in the number of syndicated deals; and, data revealing the lack of angel investments in both female- and minority-led startups. ARI also found that convertible notes are becoming increasingly popular among angel investors for first-time investments in a company. In Texas, nearly 60 percent of all deals included a convertible note with many other regions/states reporting over 35 percent of deals including a convertible note.

The report includes data from 2,751 deals and over $3.5 billion invested in total rounds including co-investors. ARI, however, excluded deals with first-time investment rounds greater than $5 million to avoid skewing the data.

Valuations/deals

Unfair treatment is the largest driver of employee turnover in the tech industry, according to a new report by authors at the Kapor Center for Social Impact with support from the Ford Foundation. In the 2017 Tech Leavers Study, the authors surveyed a national sample of 2,000 adults who in the past three years have voluntarily left a job in a technology-related industry. They find that unfairness or mistreatment in the work environment was the most frequently cited reason for leaving (37 percent), especially for professionals from underrepresented populations (e.g., women, black, Latinx, and Native American).

The traditional school season is ending across the country, but a new offering from Y Combinator (YC) does not follow a traditional path and instead allows students of startups the opportunity to participate from anywhere in an online course. The 10-week course, which began April 5, was open to startup founders, but the lectures are posted online weekly for “spectators.” Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley-based accelerator, explains on the course webpage that they thought the barrier to entry for people to start a startup is still too high, so they decided to share what they’ve learned through Startup School.

As the state budgeting process comes to a close, SSTI will report over the coming weeks on actions taken by state legislatures to invest in economic growth through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Up this week is a look at commitments that legislatures in Arkansas and Idaho have made including funds for a new accelerator program, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers, and more than $14 million for a biosciences research institute.

Among this year’s most talked about books on economic development is Richard Florida’s The New Urban Crisis. This commentary provides a brief overview of Florida’s book, a response to his conclusions, and insight into what the crisis may mean for economic development practitioners more broadly. 

Florida, well known for his theories on the creative class, has long advocated that the competitiveness of cities depends on their ability to embrace innovation and attract the knowledge workers essential to the 21^st century economy. To do so, the author has recommended that cities and regions focus on three things: technology, talent, and tolerance.

In his new book, Florida suggests that the impact of these recommendations has had both positive and negative effects. While the clustering of talent and innovation is now the basic engine of economic growth, it has led to deep divides within our society, Florida notes. These divides are at the root of The New Urban Crisis, which the author outlines with five dimensions:

As the relationship between technology and work continues to evolve, concerns abound, including its effects on jobs, education and business. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine took a deeper look at the relationship and its impact, convening an expert committee to delve into the topic and set forth a research agenda. The resulting report, Information Technology and the U.S. Workforce: Where Are We and Where Do We Go from Here, explores the current state, trends, and possible futures of technology and work, as well as the possible implications for education, privacy, security and even democracy.

Here at SSTI, we receive requests from time-to-time from members looking to better understand their regional economy through data. Though the federal government has long been the largest provider of publicly available data, the mechanisms to explore it have been unwieldy. Now more than ever, users have options for interactive resources to explore government data and help inform decision making around economic development. This Digest article highlights many of the free tools and databases that are available.

Innovation Index 2.0: StatsAmerica, a project of the Indiana Business Research Center funded with support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, operates this index for economic development practitioners to use in strategic planning, site requests, developing metrics, and grant writing. The recently updated index includes more than 50 new measures.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) held its national meeting this week, and the emphasis of many conversations around the conference site in San Antonio was how labs can implement new partnerships to yield greater tech transfer successes. This topic was core to a new training course at the conference led by Crane's John Dement, and at which SSTI VP Mark Skinner presented, as well as during the meeting’s Industry Day. Partnerships were also a clear factor in several of FLC’s awards, including those for a NASA technology supported by the University of Central Florida, a Sandia Labs partnership with the state of New Jersey on a post-Superstorm Sandy microgrid project, and an individual award to Elizabeth Brooke Pyne that specifically cited her role in developing a Lilly Endowment-funded collaboration between Crane and Indiana universities. SSTI is also currently working with two of the FLC regions to produce reports on opportunities for new lab partnerships to promote innovation and tech transfer.

In a report released this week, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the 11 agencies participating in the Small Business Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have varied in their implementation of fraud, waste and abuse prevention requirements. The ten requirements were put in place as part of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, following a 2009 congressional hearing regarding fraud in the programs. The extent to which the agencies have implemented the requirements varies – all 11 agencies have fully implemented two of the requirements and more than half have fully implemented another six. Officials from nine agencies indicated they have gone beyond the minimum requirements. However, officials from the Small Business Administration, which developed the requirements, said they had not confirmed with all agencies that all the requirements had been implemented. Similarly, Offices of Inspectors General (OIG) varied in their implementation of the requirements which had been assigned to them, with the military services branches failing to implement them.

U.S. clusters looking to collaborate with European clusters are invited to an event taking place in Washington, D.C., during the TechConnect World Innovation Conference, on May 16, 2017. The seminar and matchmaking event is being organized by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform and BILAT USA 4.0. BILAT USA 4.0 seeks to support transatlantic cluster cooperation for strategic business partnerships and enhance, support and further develop the research and innovation cooperation between the European Union and the U.S. Participants will be presented with an overview of different possibilities for funding to develop or enhance international cluster cooperation activities. During the meeting, clusters, EU and US policy makers, and research and innovation experts can learn about successful collaboration with European clusters, research institutes and companies. More information on the program can be found here, and the registration deadline is May 5.

Broadband connectivity is foundational for regional competitiveness in the global economy, prompting more states and communities to develop innovative solutions to expand high-quality broadband access for their businesses, residents, education systems and public sector. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam provided one of the most recent examples of the trend by signing legislation making it easier for municipalities and cooperative boards to deliver broadband connectivity in underrepresented communities throughout the Volunteer State. Considerable socioeconomic and political challenges remain for communities interested in providing broadband service at the municipal level.