SSTI Digest

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program recently awarded $2.5 million for five pilot projects to improve small U.S. manufacturers' supply chain competitiveness and foster their readiness to adopt advanced technologies. The projects will be led by MEP centers and bring together teams of experts in specific technology areas. MEP centers in California, Georgia, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin each will receive approximately $500,000 for the pilot efforts, which, in most cases, involve partners in other states. Read the announcement…

Maine businesses may now raise up to $1 million in capital by selling small amounts of equity to individual investors as a result of legislation that recently became law without the signature of Gov. Paul LePage. Using a model similar to crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, participating businesses will be able to register with the Maine Office of Securities, setting both a fundraising goal and deadline.  Individual investors will be able to purchase up to $5,000 in equity from a single business. In order for the round of fundraising to be approved, businesses will have to achieve their fundraising goal by the deadline they initially set. Read the legislation…

With buy-in from the state and private industry, the University of Wyoming (UW) School of Energy Resources will move forward with plans to build a major new energy and engineering research complex. The recently enacted 2014-16 biennial budget also includes $8 million in support of UW’s efforts to gain “Tier 1” status for the engineering school, matching funds to establish endowed chairs, and $15 million for a test center to study carbon sequestration. The university’s plans for the 81,000-square-foot High Bay Research Facility include lab space where large-scale experiments that go beyond the size of a traditional engineering lab can be conducted, according to a press release. The facility is funded in part by the state with matching funds from the private sector. Last biennium, lawmakers approved $15 million for the facility and secured nearly $15 million in matching grants from various energy companies, including $3 million from Halliburton, to support the complex and for research into unconventional reservoirs. Lawmakers approved another $10.5 million in the latest budget. With matching funds, the investment for the facility totals $51 million…

While bragging may not be polite, it can be quite helpful to others. That is, sharing your success with organizations working to achieve similar outcomes can inspire new ideas and provide valuable lessons for replicability. Now in its eighth year, SSTI’s Excellence in TBED awards program has recognized 38 initiatives for impactful, replicable and novel efforts that support high-growth companies and advance regional competitiveness. Please consider sharing your story as part of the 2014 awards program. Open call for applications begins April 16. More info at: http://www.sstiawards.org/. 

Enacted FY14 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted. The administration’s FY15 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is $77.1 billion in discretionary spending, reflecting a 1.6 percent decrease from FY14 enacted funding levels. Discretionary spending accounts for only 7.5 percent of the total proposed HHS budget. Mandatory spending for programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program account for the balance. Total FY14 budget authority for HHS would be $1 trillion (6 percent increase over FY14 enacted).  Through the Opportunity, Growth and Services Initiative (OGSI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be allocated $970 million to support approximately 650 additional new grants across several initiatives including: $30 million for a new advanced research program to support high-risk high-reward projects modeled after the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), NIH entities would contribute an additional $100 million to the program; and, $100 million in increased funding for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovation…

FY14 estimated funding is used for Department of Agriculture funding comparisons, unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY15 budget request would provide $23.7 billion (12 percent decrease) in discretionary funding for the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The proposed budget would launch three new multidisciplinary agricultural research institutes dedicated to crop science, advanced biobased manufacturing, and anti-microbial resistance research, and double funding for rural broadband access. Through the president’s Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative, additional funding would be provided for natural resource conservation programs and the construction of a new national biosafety research laboratory. Research, Education, and Economics USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) agencies would receive a total of $4.1 billion (2 percent increase) under the proposed FY15 budget. These agencies include: Agricultural Research Service (ARS) — $1.1. billion (no change); National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) — 1.5 billion (6 percent increase); Economic Research Service (ERS) — $83 million (6…

FY14 enacted funding is used for NASA comparisons, unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY15 budget request for NASA totals $17.5 billion in discretionary funding and prioritizes research and development that has the potential to bolster long-term space exploration. Major priorities of the proposed budget include extending the life of the International Space Station to 2024 and institutionalizing partnerships with the commercial space industry. The proposed budget would allocate $4.9 million (4 percent decrease) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which supports research science, invests in advanced technologies, supports over 90 space missions, and maintains partnerships with a dozen other federal agencies and 60 other nations. Funding would include: Earth Science — $1.8 billion (no change) for improved climate modeling, weather prediction, and natural hazard mitigation, through Earth observation from space; Planetary Science — $1.3 billion (no change) to explore the planetary bodies of our solar system; Astrophysics — $607 million (10 percent decrease) to scan the universe and search for earth-like planets; and,…

Estimated FY14 funding levels are used for NSF comparisons, unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY15 budget proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) would provide $7.3 billion (1.2 percent increase). Of that amount, $5.8 billion (no change) would be designated for research and related activities, $200.8 million (0.4 percent increase) for R&D facilities and equipment, and $889.8 million (5.2 percent increase) for education and training. The president’s budget proposes three priority goals to improve NSF’s effectiveness and efficiency: Increase public access to NSF funded peer-reviewed publications; Improve the nation’s capacity in data science; and, Optimize the award process to level workload. Nearly 90 percent of NSF funding is awarded through a merit review process that includes distribution of grants and cooperative agreements. Key initiatives included in the proposal are: $213.2 million (7.3 percent decrease) for Cyber-Enabled Materials, Manufacturing and Smart Systems (CEMMSS); $139 million (14.1 percent decrease) for Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES); $124.8 million (14.2 percent…

Enacted FY14 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted. The administration’s FY15 budget request for the Small Business Administration (SBA) is $710 million, a 7.8 percent decrease from FY14 (not including presidential disaster funding). Of this amount, $47.5 million is for business loan subsidy and $197.8 million is for non-credit programs. Through the Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative the administration also proposes public-private investment funding to support the scaling-up of new advanced manufacturing firms into full-scale commercial production. SBA has defined several key priorities for FY15 that support competiveness and job creation. They include: improving America’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with a focus on high-growth entrepreneurship that includes regional clusters and growth accelerators; and, building capacity and depth in the small business supply chain to strengthen manufacturing and exporting. In FY14, SBA’s non-credit programs were separated into a new account called Entrepreneurial Development programs. For FY15, SBA’s request for non-credit program funding would increase by 0.8 percent.…

Enacted FY14 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY15 budget request of $7.9 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reflects a 3.8 percent decrease from FY14 enacted. However, funding for science and technology programs would increase by 0.6 percent under the budget proposal. Priority funding areas for EPA R&D in FY15 include research in potential endocrine disrupting chemicals, human health risk assessment, air quality, sustainable approaches to environmental protection, and safe drinking water. For Science and Technology (S&T), including R&D activities, the administration requests $763.8 million (0.6 percent increase). Funding for S&T represents 9.7 percent of EPA’s total budget request. Funding for EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) and the Greater Research Opportunities fellowship programs will be consolidated as part of a comprehensive reorganization to facilitate a cohesive, national strategy of STEM education programs to increase the impact of federal investment in four areas. This includes K-12 instruction, undergraduate education, fellowships and scholarships…

Enacted FY14 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY15 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is $47.7 billion, a 2.6 percent increase. The administration’s Growth, Opportunity and Security Initiative proposes $280 million for HUD to support comprehensive revitalization in high-poverty neighborhoods and for the Promise Zones Initiative. The Community Development Fund, which includes the Community Development Block Program (CDBG), would receive $2.9 billion (7.4 percent decrease). Of this amount, $2.8 billion (7.6 percent decrease) is for the CDBG formula grant program to assist state and local governments address community and economic development activities. The budget requests $75 million within the Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative for Integrated Planning and Investment grants, formerly known as Sustainable Communities grants. Grants would be used to spur economic progress and promote opportunity by supporting communities and regions with developing long-term, strategic investment plans that serve as a formalized blueprint for revitalizing communities. …

Enacted FY14 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted. The administration’s FY15 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is $38.2 billion (2 percent decrease) in non-disaster, net discretionary funding, excluding disaster relief funding. The proposed budget includes funding for major asset acquisitions, including $300 million for completing the construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. The proposed budget also includes $549 million to support the EINSTEIN intrusion, detection, and prevention cybersecurity system. In the president’s budget, funding for the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) would receive $1.1 billion (10 percent decrease) for research and development activities and would target opportunities in cybersecurity and the detection of nuclear, chemical, biological, and explosive threats. S&T works with state and local partners to support research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) and provides technology solutions to improve mission effectiveness. Proposed funding for ST&T initiatives includes: Laboratory Facilities — $435.2 million (20…