SSTI Digest

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced a recompetition of Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in 12 states and Puerto Rico including: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Utah, and Vermont. The objective of the MEP Center program is to provide business and technical services to small- and medium-sized manufacturers within the state of operation.

In September 2010, the Obama administration launched Challenge.gov– an online portal for federal agencies to engage the public to offer solutions that address issues of national priority in return for monetary and non-monetary prizes. Since its launch in 2010, more than 80 federal agencies have run nearly 500 competitions and awarded upwards of $150 million in prizes. Challenge.gov is one of the most well-known examples of this growing trend in government and foundation funding. In addition to Challenge.gov, U.S. states, local governments, and foundations have announced similar prize competitions to help address important societal and S&T issues.

While innovation prize competitions have become a popular funding mechanism, proponents and critics remain split on the success of these competitions in spurring innovation. In an attempt to understand the impacts of prize competitions on innovation, several recent academic research articles have been released to provide empirical evidence about these prize competitions.

Through a partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the government of Ontario is launching the Cluster Development Seed Fund, offering grants of up to $100,000 to support cluster initiatives. The funds are part of the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, passed in 2014 by the Ontario government. According to the act, clusters – geographically concentrated groups of interconnected businesses and related entities – perform an important function in regional economic development by increasing productivity, innovation and competitiveness. To help support the development of these clusters, Ontario is offering funding through two streams: supporting cluster consortium building and networking, as well as research and feasibility studies.

While considerable attention has been paid to the growing role of cleantech jobs in the American economy, there has been less of a focus on the skills it takes to pursue these careers. Greenprint: A Plan to Prepare Community College Students for Careers in the Clean Economy, a new report released by The Greenforce Initiative, a partnership between the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Jobs for the Future, provides recommendations on how education can help students can gain better access to clean economy jobs, strengthen communities, and address environmental impacts.

Leaders in Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha and St. Louis have teamed up to leverage their respective resources and help build an economic mega-region in the center of the country. The Heartland Civic Collaborative will focus on four main areas of opportunity: transportation, federal advocacy, life science and entrepreneurship. In the coming months, the collaborative plans to begin work on an entrepreneurial metrics dashboard for the participating metros and a map of life sciences research assets. The group also plans to improve the research commercialization pipeline for biomedical and bioenergy research. The initiative’s first event, around transportation futures, will be held next month. Learn more at: http://heartlandciviccollaborative.org.

Many governors around the country have begun laying out priorities for the next legislative session. In the coming weeks, SSTI will review gubernatorial addresses and budget proposals related to economic development. This week, we highlight developments in Arizona, Maryland, Missouri and South Carolina.

Several foundations have announced major commitments to fund workforce development efforts focused on expanding the talent pipeline in metros across the country. Each of these efforts is intended to provide high school students and/or young adults with skills and experience necessary to match specific needs of regional industries. These new initiatives also are intended to help at-risk youth from low-income families to obtain and keep well-paying jobs, and to proper evidence-based training as well as address the youth unemployment crisis faced by U.S. metros.

AT&T has announced a new partnership with three U.S. metros to establish a Smart Cities Framework using Internet of Things (IoT) innovations to create solutions for cities. In the first stage of the effort, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas will showcase the potential use of sensors and other Internet-connected technologies to improve municipal services. In addition to existing services offered by AT&T, the new framework adds several new services in four categories: infrastructure; citizen engagement; transportation; and, public safety. To help support the new framework, AT&T has formed alliances with Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, GE, Georgia Institute of Technology, IBM, Intel, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. More information is available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-launches-smart-cities-framework-with-new-strategic-alliances-spotlight-cities-and-integrated-vertical-solutions-300199022.html.

With the start of the new year, many governors around the country have begun laying out priorities for the next legislative session. In the coming weeks, SSTI will review gubernatorial addresses and budget proposals related to economic development. This week, we highlight developments in Idaho, Iowa and New York.

Throughout the Great Recession, numerous stories from sources like The Wall Street Journal pointed to the idea of the overeducated and underemployed recent college graduate as a symbol of the economic times. While some recent graduates were able to find work in their respective fields, many did indeed struggle. Several recent studies highlight the extent to which new graduates faced underemployment in the years following the Great Recession, how their college majors impacted this probability, and how information influences these college major decisions.

Even though the total amount invested by venture capitalists (VCs) grew for the fourth straight year to nearly $77.3 invested, Pitchbook analysts contend that 2014/2015 was the peak of the VC industry for the foreseeable future. While high valuations drove up the total amount invested, the number of deals plummeted during the second half of 2015 according to new data from Pitchbook.  In addition to insights from Pitchbook, other analysts contend that the declining trends of 2015 should remain through 2016.

In the days leading up to his final State of the Union Address, President Obama hinted that in lieu of the usual wishlist of policy proposals he would lay out his take on the issues that will define American public life over the next few decades. These issues took the form of four big questions, the first two of which directly relate to the work of tech-based economic development professionals. First, what are the building blocks needed to ensure that all Americans have access to opportunity and security in the new economy? Second, how do the U.S. and the world best employ technology to solve the biggest challenges facing mankind?