SSTI Digest

While manufacturing has never been more important to the American economy, many manufacturers report that they are unable to fill positions requiring skilled workers, according to the latest report from the National Academy of Engineering. At the same time, workers and students often find it difficult to navigate the web of certifications, degrees and experience levels necessary to claim these jobs. The authors provide a number of recommendations for federal, state and local agencies, as well as employers, universities and community colleges, to build pathways to manufacturing employment. In Making Value for America: Embracing the Future of Manufacturing Technology, editors Nicholas M Donofiro and Kate S. Whitefoot, with the Committee on Foundational Best Practices for Making Value in America, suggest that workforce policy at the federal, state and local level has been held back by an outdated view of manufacturing. In recent decades, manufacturing has become thoroughly ingrained in the value chain. Manufacturing is as important to the economy as research and development, product design or information technology, while the lines dividing these areas have become blurred.…

As firms around the world continue to seek funding outside of traditional sources of capital, it has become increasingly difficult to track these emerging markets. That’s why in November the University of Cambridge and the professional services organization EY launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of other major European industry associations, the largest study to-date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and other forms of alternative finance in Europe. The study, which opened in late November 2014 and ran until early January 2015, ultimately received input from 255 crowdfunding or peer-to-peer lending platforms across 28 European countries. Highlights from the first year of the research study include: The European alternative finance market was valued at €2.96B (3.3B USD) in 2014 compared to €1.21B (2.3B USD) in 2013, an increase of 144 percent; €201M (222M USD) in early stage, growth and working capital funding was provided to European startups and SMEs by alternative finance platforms in 2014; The United Kingdom, by far, has the highest proportion European’s alternative finance with €2.34B (2.6B…

Several governors released their proposed budgets over the last two weeks, and while some states continue to deal with budget shortfalls that prevent many new initiatives from coming into fruition, governors in Pennsylvania and North Carolina included numerous proposals focused on innovation and economic development. Additionally, governors in Louisiana and Massachusetts highlighted new workforce development proposals.  Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed $33.8 billion fiscal year 2015-16 budget prioritizes strengthening the commonwealth’s middle class, allocating funds to a variety of workforce, economic development, and education initiatives. To enhance Pennsylvania’s business friendliness, Gov. Wolf proposes lowering the Corporate Net Income Tax (CNIT) from 9.99 percent to 5.99 percent, improving the commonwealth’s ranking from second-highest to fourteenth-lowest. For technology-based economic development, Gov. Wolf proposes an increase of $100 million for the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority Fund, meant to support entrepreneurs, established companies, and manufacturing innovation. This increase would be…

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 final installment of this year’s series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Read the first, second, third, fourth and fifth installments of this year’s series. AlabamaGov. Robert Bentley, 2015 State of the State Address, March 3, 2015"This Session we will introduce the Made in Alabama Accelerate Alabama Jobs Incentive Package. Our current incentives are 15 years old, out of date and 100 – percent dependent on borrowing money. "This new incentives package will no longer be based solely on debt. "It will increase incentives for new projects that locate in rural areas, like Vernon, Alabama. "It will offer incentives for those who invest in Small Businesses and Start-Ups. "It will provide research and development credits for work done with Alabama-based research centers. And…

The Small Business Administration released its annual solicitation for the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, a competitive grants program for eligible organizations to conduct outreach and provide technical assistance services to technology-based small business owners. The program places particular emphasis on organizations that propose helping socially and economically disadvantaged firms compete in the SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Each state, through its governor office, may submit one proposal in FY15 for an eligible organization (e.g., state and local economic development agencies; Small Business Development Centers; and, colleges and universities). Applications are due April 10.  Visit the FAST Partnership Program website…

The National Institute of Standards and Technology-Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP) announced the award of 10 new five-year cooperative agreements to manage Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers. In an open competition, the existing MEP centers in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, were selected to receive a total of $26 million in funding – an increase of about $10 million (nearly 60 percent). In addition to the additional federal funding: The state/local cash increased significantly in eight states; The cash contribution remained constant at nearly $2 million in one state; and, In one state, state/local in-kind support replaced in-kind support from other sources. The funding is intended to help the centers to reach new customers and offer new services. Read the announcement…

The American public and scientists have dramatically different views on a range of science, engineering, and technology issues, according to a new report from the New Pew Research Center. The largest gap exists between the two groups on safety of genetically modified (GM) foods. While 57 percent of the public believe GM foods are generally unsafe, 88 percent of scientists connected with American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) believe that GM foods are generally safe. Other questions asked that show a significant fracture between the public and scientific community include: the role of human activity in climate change; human evolution; use of animals in research; nuclear energy; and, offshore drilling. The only one of 13 issues compared where the differences between the two groups are especially modest is the space station. The report also provides data on the public and AAAS scientists’ views on STEM education, effects of science on society, and perception of U.S. scientific achievements. Both scientists and the public are general positive about the impact of science on U.S society and U.S. scientific achievements as compared to their industrial…

There are 50 areas of need for paradigm-shaping breakthrough technologies that would help stimulate sustainable global development, according to a new report from the Institute for Globally Transformative Technologies at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab – The 50 Breakthroughs Study. The authors contend that decisionmakers, funding organizations, impact investors, and inventors should focus on developing transformative, breakthrough technologies in these areas instead of supporting incremental technologies. The authors argue that incremental changes while having compelling narratives, significant funding, and considerable media hype fail to reach any reasonable scale or impact. In comparison, they highlight several gamechanging technologies that have significantly impacted both the developed and developing world. The study was launched to bring together thought leaders and science and technology (S&T) topic-specific experts to identify where such paradigm-shaping breakthroughs are most required and also to provide a loose ranking in importance. The report identifies 10 technologies (in no particular order) of most importance that include: A new method for…

California-based companies received about 56 percent of all U.S. venture capital dollars in 2014, the state's highest share of venture activity since the dot com boom of the early 2000s. Over the past 15 years, investment activity has steadily become more concentrated in California and a few other states. In 2009, about 67 percent of all deals and 74 percent of venture capital dollars flowed to the top five states. By 2014, those states' share of venture dollars grew to 80 percent, according to NVCA/Pricewaterhouse Coopers data. A recent Harvard Business Review article, however, suggests that startups are receiving first-round funding in more metropolitan areas than ever. The NVCA/PwC data indicate that California's dominance over the U.S. venture capital industry appears to be holding steady, but its high percentage of national venture capital dollars is due to larger deals rather than larger number of funded companies. Over the past 10 years, California's share of the nation's venture capital dollars has grown from about 47 percent to 56 percent. The state's share of deals, however, has remained fairly steady. In 2005, California's…

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to classify broadband as a public utility. Once rules have been put in place this summer, providers will no longer be able to selectively block access to legal content, throttle access based on content or services or offer paid prioritization of traffic. In addition, the FCC also voted to preempt state laws that impair the deployment of community broadband providers. Municipalities and other groups will be able to offer affordable broadband and wireless data options in underserved communities. Read the announcement...

The Signature Report, an annual report on college completion conducted by researchers at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and Indiana University’s Project on Academic Success, identifies six-year student success outcomes and college completion rates by state for the cohort that began post-secondary education in fall 2008. Unlike typical measures of graduation rates that fail to include completions that happen at institutions other than the starting institution, which heavily (and negatively) impact the non-persistence rate for students who started at four-year public institutions for each state, this report factors in these transfers. Furthermore, by segmenting in areas such as type of institution (public, private, two-year, four-year), enrollment intensity (full-time, part-time, mixed), age at first entry, and gender, the report is able to capture even more insights not collected by traditional studies of educational outcomes. The Signature Report is funded through a grant from the Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based private foundation committed to enrolling and graduating more students from college. Because the fall 2008 cohort began their…

Although every state delivers tax incentives for economic development, there are numerous inconsistencies in how these incentives are evaluated. Based on best practices developed by 10 states and the District of Columbia that passed legislation requiring regular evaluation of economic development tax credits from 2012 to 2014, researchers at The Pew Charitable Trust developed a framework for states hoping to improve the accountability and performance of tax incentives in a new policy brief. Ultimately, the brief recommends three steps: Making a plan that determines who will evaluate the incentives, how they will evaluate, and when they will evaluate. By identifying clear, measurable goals for each incentive, it is easier for policymakers to assess success; Measure the impacts by selecting appropriate metrics and a reasonable timeframe for analysis. Although many evaluations study how incentives impact businesses, the authors suggest more emphasis should be on how incentives affect state residents (jobs, wages, economic security); and, Inform decisions by identifying opportunities for improvement and encouraging lawmakers to regularly review incentives. According to the…