SSTI Digest

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the median net worth of Americans jumped an inflation-adjusted 37%, from approximately $141,000 to $192,000, representing the largest increase reported across available data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Breaking net worth down into its two main components, assets and debts, shows that while debts have increased, the sharp rise in assets—both financial and nonfinancial—has driven these numbers. When separating Americans into the self-employed and those employed by another person or company, interesting trends are revealed; self-employed individuals have higher median and average net worths, and, in 2022, for the first time ever, lower median debts. The old adage, it pays to be your own boss, seems to hold. This article uses data from the 2022 SCF, the most recent release. New editions of the SCF are published triennially and include information on families’ balance sheets, pensions, income, and demographic characteristics. All dollar values are inflation-adjusted to 2022 USD.   An overview of net worth, assets and debt A look into SCF data reveals that since 1992, the median net…

July 25 at 3pm ET | Free Immigrant talent is a key driver of innovation in technology and entrepreneurship. However, navigating and understanding the many legal options available can be challenging. Join this TBED Community of Practice webinar to learn about pathways for TBED immigration, including lesser-known tools and under-utilized features of common immigration paths. Speakers: Sophie Alcorn, Founder & CEO of Alcorn Law Doug Rand, Senior Advisor to the Director of USCIS Register here to attend.

During a recent webinar presented by the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), center representatives announced details of its initial round of R&D funding opportunities, as outlined in its vision for 2024 document. The projects to be funded, which NSTC refers to as Jump Start Projects, are (1) AI-based Radio Frequency (RF) Design and (2) Test Vehicles. ​ During the webinar, Jay Lewis, director of the CHIPS for America NSTC Program, noted that “the aim is to deliver impactful results through early investments in projects with a near-term time horizon.” ​He also announced that approximately $100 million will be available to fund the first set of external teams. ​ Further announcements regarding the NSTC facilities model and selection process, as well as the launch of a workforce center of excellence, are expected in the summer of 2024. As described during the webinar, the first project, Artificial Intelligence Driven Radio Frequency  Integrated Circuit Design Enablement (AIDRFIC), seeks to develop AI-based electronic design automation tools for radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) design. NSTC cited a lack of experienced RFIC designers in the…

Hear from your Peers—Three Build to Scale Success Stories June 20 @ 2pm ET | Free Are you interested in leveraging EDA's Build to Scale program to launch or grow your innovation programs? Go beyond what you can learn from the NOFO and video explainers and hear from three B2S awardees about their experiences with the program. Speakers will discuss what challenge they sought to address, how that process developed in practice, and what impact the award helped them achieve in their communities. Speakers: Amanda Hedrick, Director, Grants and Sponsored Programs, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, Shawnee State University/Kricker Innovation Hub Stacy Nimmo, Executive Director, Red Wing Ignite Tim Jones, Chief Operating Officer, Innosphere Ventures   Register for free today.

The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are seeking input into a social and economic mobility classification. The feedback form, available here, will be open until July 31, 2024. (Note: The feedback window has closed for basic classification.) In addition to the basic classification, the 2025 Carnegie Classifications will also include a social and economic mobility classification, which will organize institutions by looking at student characteristics, access, and outcomes, according to the organizations. This classification “will identify institutions throughout the U.S. higher education landscape that provide strong socio-economic mobility for students, and it will equip users to understand how an institution’s data compares to similar campuses. ”Institutions will have the opportunity to review their social and economic mobility classifications before they are released alongside the ACE-Carnegie revised basic classification. “We plan to create a process this winter, similar to what existed in past years, where institutions will have a chance to preview their classifications ahead of finalization and…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the reopening of five voucher opportunities (VOs) to accelerate clean energy technology adoption and the launch of two new VOs with $15 million in available funding to support manufacturers via the Voucher Program. The solicitations are structured so the first submission window solicits proposals from potential voucher providers and the second, which should be open soon, will be from potential voucher recipients. The application deadline for the first window is no later than July 9, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Voucher providers support entities that need help launching new clean energy technologies or projects. ENERGYWERX lists possible voucher providers as being: independent engineering and consulting firms, private labs and testing facilities, certification bodies, testing and validation centers, nonprofit entities or consultants with expertise in the regulatory and permitting processes, incubators and accelerators, or national labs. Details and application forms for voucher provider opportunities can be found at the links below: Voucher Opportunity 1 - Pre-Demonstration…

Three pieces of federal legislation enacted in 2021 and 2022—the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS Act), and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—collectively authorize nearly $1.5 trillion to reshape America’s industrial landscape. But will this money help the 107 Black-owned and 151 Hispanic-owned companies in the manufacturing supply chains that the legislation is designed to support?  In the paper, Racial Equity in America’s New Industrial Transformation, Miles Chandler, Peter Eberhardt, and Howard Wial of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) analyze original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and first-tier suppliers in 13 key supply chains to understand how the money from the above-mentioned federal legislation could, via their policy recommendations, lead to a racially and ethnically inclusive industrial future. The authors present data showing the extent of Black and Hispanic owners’ underrepresentation in 13 manufacturing supply chains, including within the semiconductor, wireless technology, electric vehicle, and battery industries. They report that "Black-owned businesses are 0.5 percent, and Hispanic-…

In a recent ruling, a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals panel upheld the preliminary injunction against the Fearless Fund, preventing the organization from resuming operations of its Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, which awards winners with a cash prize and access to mentorship and business support services. Following on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court decision ending Affirmative Action in college admissions (previously covered by SSTI here), this legal challenge tests whether private entities, like the Fearless Fund, can operate race-conscious funding programs without violating federal anti-discrimination laws. The Fearless Fund, established in 2018, is an Atlanta-based venture capital firm focused on funding and supporting Black women entrepreneurs. Although the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, launched in 2021 in partnership with Mastercard, is paused while the lawsuit is still active, work continues for the organization’s other projects.     The contest came under legal scrutiny last year when the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) filed a lawsuit alleging that the contest’s eligibility criteria violate the Civil Rights Act of 1866,…

Led by increases in retail trade and professional, scientific, and technical services, the number of annual business applications nationwide has increased 119%, or nearly three million, from 2005 to 2023. However, the share of applications classified as high-propensity, or those more likely to result in businesses with a payroll, has decreased in all but the health care and social assistance sector, leading to a 26-percent point drop (58% to 32%) over the same period. This article builds upon a prior SSTI article covering the same data, but examines which two-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry sectors are generating more new business applications and which are declining. For a list of all NAICS sectors and their codes, refer to the NAICS Association website. Monthly data on seasonally adjusted business applications have been downloaded from Business Formation Statistics (BFS) and annualized by taking the sum of each month in a given year. Data for both total business applications and the subset of those defined as high-propensity are used in this article. When characterizing high-propensity businesses, the Census…

Two weeks ago, I let the SSTI Board of Trustees know that I wanted to step down as President & CEO and that a search for a successor be launched. After leading the organization since its inception in 1996, I had come to the conclusion now was the right time for a new chapter both for SSTI and for me. The job posting for the new President & CEO can be found at https://ssti.applytojob.com/apply/OSDVL6j7zk/President-CEO with a pdf of the full description at: https://ssti.org/sites/default/files/SSTI%20President%20CEO%20Job%20Des… I won’t be going away entirely and more on that later. I have been involved in this field that has become known as tech-based economic development (TBED) for almost four decades, both speaking for and to the field as the head of SSTI for the last 28 years. TBED was largely a new field when I started in it in 1985, but even then the hallmarks of the field were evident: We were learning from each other, happily sharing information across state lines to make our work better; We worked to evaluate our programs and the impacts they were having, so we could improve our outcomes; The beneficiaries of the work were at the table designing the programs and putting their money into the efforts as well; and, As economic and societal conditions changed and program evaluations were conducted, we changed our approaches to respond.

SSTI, a national nonprofit organization focused on strengthening initiatives to create a better future through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, seeks a President & CEO, who will work with the SSTI Board of Trustees and staff to set the vision and direction for the organization. The President & CEO serves as both the voice for and to the technology-based economic development (TBED) field, advocating for the field, and encouraging effective action by TBED organizations and personnel. The President & CEO has the ability to shape the nation’s economic competitiveness, work closely with states and regions as they plan for our innovation-focused economy, and guide the field to operating with maximum impact and efficiency. This opening comes as there is increasing interest at the federal, state and local level in the U.S.’s technological competitiveness and ensuring the benefits of the technology economy reach all regions and people. The new President & CEO has the chance to take the impact SSTI has had in its first 28 years and magnify that for the new opportunities ahead. The field is continually evolving as new technologies…

In SSTI’s recent TBED Community of Practice webinar, representatives from SourceLink and EcoMap Technologies shared practical insights on how ecosystem mapping supports both entrepreneurship and regional economic development. The discussion focused on ecosystem mapping as a fundamental first step in understanding and strengthening entrepreneurs. Maria Meyers, founder of SourceLink, explained that ecosystem mapping does more than create a directory of resources—it activates a network. “If you build that network, you will build the ecosystem to create what you want in your community,” she said. Building on this idea, Sherrod David, co-founder and CEO of EcoMap, emphasized the importance of visibility for entrepreneurs seeking local resources. He described ecosystem mapping as a virtual “front door” for entrepreneurs that makes local resources easier to find and more accessible. By improving the discoverability of these resources, ecosystem mapping helps communities develop more effective support systems, enabling new opportunities for growth and collaboration. Access the recording and slides from this event here to learn more about ecosystem mapping…