SSTI Digest

Despite having a higher rate of educational attainment than any previous generation, U.S. millennials (between 16-34 years of age) ranked lower than most of their international peers in literacy, mathematics and technology problem solving in a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Those born in the U.S. after 1980 tied for last among the 22 participating countries in numeracy and technology skills, and 16th in literacy. Top scoring Americans in this cohort ranked lower than their peers in most other countries, and bottom-scoring Americans ranked among the lowest in the whole study. Read America's Skills Challenge: Millennials and the Future...

Less than two months into 2015, Massachusetts and potentially Arizona will join the growing number of states that have adopted intrastate crowdfunding exemptions – one of the emerging trends in economic development from 2014.  In January, the Massachusetts Securities Division adopted a crowdfunding exemption that will allow businesses to raise up to $2 million in equity from both accredited and non-accredited investors.  A similar exemption was introduced in early February to both the Arizona state Senate and House with strong bipartisan support and the approval of several key business leaders and organizations. Minnesota (SF 138) and Colorado also have recently proposed or introduced intrastate crowdfunding legislation.

Over the past decade stem cell research has been touted as a game-changer in the life sciences and a potential fount of new biomedical innovations. As a result, several states have launched targeted programs to support stem cell research, despite the controversy that tends to surround the field. New research suggests that these programs have been effective at increasing the output of researchers in their respective states. State investments in California and Connecticut have helped researchers outperform their colleagues around the country, according to a recent paper published in Cell Stem Cell. Programs in New York and Maryland did not have quite the same impact, but helped research output in those states keep pace with other states.

Underrepresented minorities' share of  Science and Engineering (S&E) bachelor's and master's degrees has been rising since 1993, but their share of doctorates in these fields has flattened at about 7 percent from 2002 to 2012, according to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2015 report. Over the same time frame, NSF researchers found the proportion of women in biosciences and social sciences has increased to between 49 percent and 58 percent, depending on the field and degree level. The bi-yearly digest provides statistical information up to 2012 about the participation of these women, minorities, and persons with disabilities  in S&E education and employment organized into topical areas—enrollment, field of degree, occupation, employment status, and academic employment.

One of the few surveys based on the international collection of primary data on individual entrepreneurial activities, the sixteenth annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report was released earlier this month at the annual GEM meeting in Monterrey, Mexico. Across 73 economies representing 72.4 percent of the world’s population and 90 percent of the world’s GDP, more than 206,000 individuals were surveyed for the 2014 report. The sheer scope and size of the report leads to many findings regarding the current state of global entrepreneurship, including:

This week, governors in Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin unveiled their budget proposals. Included in the governors’ recommendations are several cases of agency restructuring and funds for workforce development, innovation tax credits, and other TBED-relevant issues.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the launch of the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) to serve as a DOE-wide functional unit that coordinates the commercial development of DOE’s research outputs and administer the Energy Technology Commercialization Fund – a nearly $20 million fund that will leverage the R&D funding in the applied energy programs to pursue high-impact commercialization activities. OTT will focus its efforts on coordinating technology transfer activities carried out at all 17 DOE national laboratories, as well as other DOE research and production facilities, to actively support private sector commercialization activities. To increase commercialization, OTT will engage and collaborate with industry during each step of the commercialization process for products and services with near-term commercial viability. Read the release…

Following the massive uptick in venture capital activity last year, California has solidified its place as the epicenter of investment activity, according to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Since the beginnings of the industry, Silicon Valley has dominated the venture capital landscape. Due to California's large overall population and economy, however, Massachusetts has outperformed the state in terms of per capita investment and venture dollars as a share of state GDP. In 2014, that situation changed, with the continued emergence of Los Angeles, San Diego and Northern California as investment hotspots.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned as governors across the country formally convene 2015 legislative sessions. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses.

The fifth installment of this year’s series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Read the first, second, third and fourth installments of this year’s series.

AdvanceKentucky continues to demonstrate its ability in Kentucky schools to dramatically increase access to and accelerate successful learning in rigorous math, science and English (MSE) courses, as shown by qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams, according to a new research reported undertaken in 2014 by the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics. AdvanceKentucky was particularly effective for students from underrepresented populations. The researchers found that AdvancedKentucky students: scored better on their ACTs by 1.5-points; achieved a 10 percentage-point advantage in earning college or career ready status; and, have higher college persistence rates while earning higher GPAs and graduate from college in four years from college at twice the rate of non-AdvanceKentucky students. They also are significantly less likely to attend remedial courses – only 10 percent of AdvancedKentucky students took at least one remedial course compared to 50 percent for the control group. Currently 101 schools across Kentucky use the AdvanceKentucky program.

The U.S. is home to more than 28.4 million small businesses (less than 500 employees), employing over 56 million workers (approximately half of the nation’s workforce), according to a recently released a report entitled Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories, an annual analysis of each state’s small businesses. Released by the Small Businesses Administration’s Office of Advocacy, the report provides information on the number of firms, employment, demographics, and other topics at both the national and state levels. Included in the report are detailed profiles for all 50 states and key U.S. territories that are intended to be a reference tool for researchers, policymakers, and small entities who are interested in how small firms are performing regionally or nationally.

Key national statistics include:

On Monday, President Obama released his $4 trillion budget request for FY16. His proposal is again unlikely to find support in Congress, but serves as a useful guide to the administration’s priorities and a source of new ideas. This year’s budget document is being presented as a policy pathway to rebuilding middle class opportunities, embracing “Middle Class Economics for the 21^st Century.” In embracing this agenda, the administration has included several new programs and significant spending increases for STEM education, manufacturing and R&D, though the proposed funding levels for most offices appear similar to those included in the administration’s past budget requests.

This year, SSTI’s review of the president’s budget request will be shorter than in previous years. The summary below includes proposed spending on initiatives directly related to innovation and economic development.

A Note on Comparisons
All comparisons in the text below use FY15 enacted levels as their basis, except where otherwise noted.