SSTI Digest

As American spending on research relative to GDP dwindles, the system that generated America’s economic prosperity over the past century has begun to fall apart, according to a new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy calls the disintegration of the country’s national innovation system the key threat to American prosperity. The authors propose several strategies to address the issue, including renewed federal investment in basic research, policy solutions to ensure that the benefits of R&D are maximized and widespread, and strengthening government-industry-university partnerships. Download the report…

“People ages 20 to 34 created 22.7 percent of all new companies in last year [2013], down from 34.8 percent in 1996,” according to an article from Walter Hamilton of the LA Times. In the article, Hamilton contends that the “image of the U.S. as bursting with entrepreneurial zeal, it turns out, is more myth than reality.” To support his claim, he uses Census Bureau data to point out that the rate of business creation has fallen steadily for more than three decades – falling nearly 28 percent from 1977 to 2011. Hamilton and others contend that similar to other age groups, the decline in millennial entrepreneurship is driven by decrease in entrepreneurial zeal due to increased risk aversion among workers, shifts in government regulation and a consolidation in corporate America. However, several recent surveys about millennials indicate that the entrepreneurial zeal is strong among the millennial generation. According to Deloitte Millennial Leadership Study, 70 percent of millennials want to launch their own startup. In comparison, only 20 percent of millennials aspire to senior leadership in a large, established organization. The U.S. Chamber…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) launched Community College Innovation Challenge – a Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)-focused competition for teams comprised of up to five community college students, a faculty mentor, and a community/industry partner. Teams should propose innovative STEM-based solutions for real world problems within one of the five themes: big data; infrastructure security; sustainability; broadening participation in STEM; and, improving STEM education. NSF will select up to 10 teams invited to attend the Innovation Boot Camp, a professional development workshop on innovation and entrepreneurship. Those 10 teams will be eligible for multiple prizes including a $3,000 first prize. Team proposals are due January 15, 2015. Visit the challenge’s website…  

Observing that legacy policies have hampered the contribution of the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories to the modern innovation economy, Brookings Institution authors Scott Andes, Mark Muro and Matthew Stepp outline a plan to engage DOE labs with regional technology clusters. The authors recommend tasking the labs with an explicit regional economic development mission, as well as opening regionally oriented microlabs that would provide a front door for smaller businesses to access lab resources. In addition, Brookings advises DOE to provide greater flexibility and funding for regional initiatives through the national labs. Download the report…

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently named the 50 winners of the first Growth Accelerator Fund competition, which recognizes accelerators building stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems in underserved parts of the country. Each organization will receive $50,000, in exchange for providing SBA with quarterly reports on their activities, impact and partnerships. SBA hopes to use the data to build a national database of information about accelerator programs and forge long-term relationships within the accelerator community. The $2.5 million Growth Accelerator Fund competition was launched in May, with SBA leaders noting that accelerators have become one of the most flexible and useful tools for entrepreneurial support in underserved regions. Though the model has its origins in Silicon Valley, accelerators have spread across the country to provide intensive mentoring, guidance and connections in regions without easy access to mentoring networks, experienced entrepreneurs and investment capital. Accelerators, which often focus on a specific industry or type of entrepreneur, can help build long-term connections to these resources while creating a more…

Federal investment in research and development appears to be falling far short of the ambitious goals set by Presidents Bush and Obama in the early part of the century. Though federal R&D spending grew by 22.5 percent from fiscal years 2002 to 2012, commitments declined substantially in 2011-12, following the spike in funding through the Recovery Act. By 2012, R&D expenditures were at their lowest levels since 2004. Data on federal obligations for research and development come from the Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development, an annual survey conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF). All federal agencies are asked annually to report obligations or outlays incurred or expected to be incurred, and then also to report R&D funding, with 27 agencies responding. Typically, agency R&D programs are not identified by budget line items and R&D or R&D plant activities (funds used for facilities or equipment) are identified within broader programs. As a result, the accuracy of this data depends on how well respondents from federal agencies meet survey requirements. SSTI has collected the data from 2002 to 2012 to better highlight…

Over two years, President Obama signed the JOBS Act, a bill authorizing a variety of significant changes to securities laws. Among those changes, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was mandated with implementing rules for equity crowdfunding within 270 days – approximately January 2013. However, the rules still remain in draft form. This SEC slow play has led to grassroots lobbying efforts by crowdfunding industry professionals; 30 members of the U.S. House  of Representatives’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Caucus drafting a letter to pressure the SEC into adopting the new rules; and, federal lawmakers proposing new federal legislation to revise the original JOBS Act proposed crowdfunding rules. While federal crowdfunding rules remain in limbo, states have been working to pass intrastate crowdfunding exemptions. Since the SSTI Digest Legislative Round-up, several states have taken steps towards enacting intrastate crowdfunding exemptions including the Texas State Securities Board being in the final stages of rendering for the crowdfunding initiatives exemption. According to a recent handout from the National Conference of State Legislatures,…

With a recent request for information (RFI), the National Science Foundation began soliciting comments on the potential establishment of a national network of big data regional innovation hubs. These hubs will help to continue and scale up the activities and partnerships launched under the National Big Data R&D Initiative and also serve as a catalyst for economic prosperity by supporting the growth of the U.S. big data industry. Hub activities include acting as a matchmaker to support emerging big data research partnerships, coordinating regional big data clusters, sharing best practices, accelerating the commercialization of big data solutions, and support education and workforce training focused on growing the country’s big data workforce. Public comments are due November 1. Read the RFI…

The U.S. Department of Commerce released a solicitation (EDA-HDQ-OIE-2014-2004219) for Regional Innovation Grants via the 2014 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program. Under the RIS program, Commerce is soliciting applications for three separate Regional Innovation Strategy funding awards, including: i6 Challenge grants; Science and Research Park Development Grants; and, Cluster Grants to support the development of seed capital funds. These awards are intended to help develop regional innovation ecosystems that provide support and funding to startups engaged in the commercialization process that ultimately lead to high-growth companies – the drivers of regional economic prosperity and job creation. Launched in 2010 as part of the Startup America Initiative, i6 Challenge grants support regional economic growth and job creation by providing funding to proof-of-concept and/or commercialization centers that increase the commercialization of innovations, ideas, intellectual property and research into viable companies. Proof-of-concept centers and commercialization centers can be physical or virtual, existing or new. Through Science and Research Park…

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) announced that it received state-backing for its Cybersecurity Investment Fund (CIF) – a fund that helps companies across the state develop and commercialize new cybersecurity products. TEDCO will make investments of up to $100,000 to help companies achieve early technical milestones that are critical to the commercialization process. Technologies eligible for CIF funding include devices and software that protects networks and components of networks from unintended or unauthorized access, vulnerabilities, attacks, use, change, or destruction. Additionally, computer and critical infrastructure security includes protection from unplanned events and natural disasters. Read the announcement… Learn More at SSTI's 2014 Annual Conference!Join us for Private Funds in Nonprofit Innovation Initiatives, TEDCO’s President & Executive Director Robert Rosenbaum and Tom Walker, President & CEO of TechColumbus, will share their insight on the role of venture development organizations in helping support regional prosperity through geographically focused equity investment funds. For more…

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan area is home to the largest number of manufacturing jobs in the country, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Approximately 510,900 people are employed by manufacturing firms in the Los Angeles metro, about 100,000 more than in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area, which is ranked second for manufacturing employment. Other top metros include New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. Of the top 10 metros in which manufacturing jobs represent the highest percentage of total employment, seven are in the Great Lakes region, with several in both Indiana and Wisconsin. Read the release…

An Aug 22 Readwrite post drew our attention to a potential “peak app” period arising. That wasn’t the intended conclusion of the ComScore, Inc. according to the authors of the white paper, The U.S. Mobile App Report. The report’s focus is on how much of the digital media market is dominated by mobile devices so companies should direct more of their advertising budgets here. There are a few compelling stats, though, that should have many in the accelerator, co-work, and weekend/bootcamp/competitions wondering about the future viability of all of the new app-oriented startups we’re encouraging people to create.  Perhaps the private sector doesn’t have to worry about it too much because market adjustments are part of the sector’s or industry’s business cycle. That’s why it is called risk capital and pivoting, after all. But should public policymakers and practitioners take a closer look at the expected outcomes of any publicly funded spaces in light of market trends or new realities? Here are the stats from the report: Nearly two-thirds of all smart phone users do not download…