SSTI Digest

Follow-on funding, access to technology, talent and resources all can be barriers to commercialization and successfully spinning off sustainable companies. Always seeking a quicker, more viable path to market for technologies and products, university-based programs and public-private partnerships try to tackle these hurdles, which often times are region-specific. Such is the case in Long Island, NY, where a recent partnership between a nonprofit organization and venture capital firm is working to address access to capital concerns. Other recent initiatives addressing region-specific barriers have launched in Indiana and Wisconsin.

Save the date!
Hosted by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, SSTI's 18th Annual Conference will be held in Chicago at the Westin Chicago River North Hotel on September 14-16, 2014.

Chicago provides an excellent backdrop for SSTI's 18th Annual Conference. Illinois has a vibrant technology community that is using innovative approaches to bring together state and local partnerships to positively impact the economy.

Keeping with years past, the agenda will be set by SSTI member recommendations to ensure the conference will be packed with the most timely and relevant sessions. Look for more information on SSTI's conference website at: http://ssticonference.org/. Sponsorship opportunities are available; contact Noelle Sheets at sheets@ssti.org for more information.

People often remember stories, and telling stories can be an effective way to communicate success. But, as researchers have found, there is a craft to organizational storytelling whereby the story must work in conjunction with both logical-rational elements and the emotive and motivational features of the people involved. This lesson is an important one for small businesses and startups seeking to gain traction and staying power with their audience or customer. It also resonates for TBED practitioners who often struggle with clear and concise messaging in promoting economic growth. Researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) Ross School of Business examined storytelling's role in entrepreneurial endeavors as part of a working paper released in September. The paper concludes with a set of take-aways for researchers, small business owners and entrepreneurs, including tactics for telling better stories.

State government agencies spent $1.4 billion on research in FY11, an 11.3 percent increase over the previous year, according to a release from the National Science Foundation. Much of the increase was concentrated in the top five states, New York, Ohio, Florida, California and Pennsylvania, which together represent about 51 percent of total U.S. state R&D spending. State R&D expenditures appear to be focused on a few key industry sectors, with California and Ohio devoting the bulk of their investment in energy research and New York, Florida and Pennsylvania investing in health-related projects. The report offers a breakdown of R&D expenditures by state and expenditures by sector for the top ten states. Read the InfoBrief...

A new statewide network will coordinate the regional economic development activities of Indiana University, according to an announcement released by the university this week. The Innovate Indiana Network will complement the work done by the Innovate Indiana initiative and the university's Council for Regional Engagement and Economic Development (CREED). The network will include representatives from 16 schools, offices and centers across the state that offer services that could potentially benefit regional economies. By connecting these offices through the network, the university hopes to address a wider variety of economic concerns in the state and marshal resources from underutilized university offices. Read the announcement...

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce highlights university programs across the country working to facilitate student and faculty entrepreneurship as part of a larger federal effort to improve tech transfer activities and external partnerships. Information was collected from the leaders of 131 research universities to understand what universities are doing programmatically and strategically to nurture innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship. Examples range from universities experimenting with on-campus accelerators, entrepreneurial dorms and student venture funds to tech transfer offices that focus on identifying and supporting entrepreneurship on campus. Universities also are increasingly partnering with companies to offer internships and shared facilities. Read the report...

Growth in the number of patent assertions facing startup companies is hampering U.S. venture capital, according to a new survey of venture capitalists (VC) and venture-backed companies from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Robin Feldman, director of the Institute for Innovation Law at University of California Hastings. Eighty percent of VC respondents note that the number of patent assertions filed against portfolio companies have increased over the past five years, with half indicating these assertions were a major deterrent to investment. Seventy percent believe the growth in claims is a negative influence on U.S. entrepreneurship.

A measure to increase the sales tax in Jackson County, MO, to fund medical research across Kansas City and St. Louis was rejected by greater than a 5-to-1 ratio, reports the Kansas City Star. Unofficial returns found that 84 percent of voters rejected the proposal that would raise up to $40 million annually through a sales tax increase of one-half of 1 percent to support an institute of hospitals, universities and research institutes working to recruit scientists and turn research into commercial products and treatments. Voters in Maine approved $15.5 million in bonds to renovate and upgrade labs and other STEM facilities at all seven campuses within the University of Maine System and $4.5 million toward a public-private effort to build a science facility at Maine Maritime Academy.

Hoping to draw attention to declining federal funding for basic research, a nonprofit group of public and private research universities unveiled a report highlighting the success of 100 companies that trace their roots to a federally funded research university. Of the companies highlighted, 89 remain in business today, which is far better than the U.S. average new business survival rate of 50 percent after five years, the report notes. Moreover, 16 of the 20 youngest companies (less than five years old) also remain in business. Several distinctions are drawn for university research startups, including companies bringing forth transformational innovations with social significance and a nurturing ecosystem with companies benefiting from university expertise and a creative environment. As a follow up to a 2010 report, Sparking Economic Growth 2.0 also estimates the level of federal funding behind each of the companies highlighted. Read the report...

MassVentures, Massachusetts's pioneering quasi-public capital fund for early-stage technology companies, has announced that its portfolio companies have now attracted more than $1 billion from outside sources over the lifetime of the organization. MassVentures was one of the first state efforts in the U.S. to address the lack of investment capital for early-stage firms. Since its launch in 1978, the organization has leveraged $14 million in state funding to make $91 million in investments. Read the announcement...

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker recently announced the first ten winners of the Make It in America Challenge, which provides grants to accelerate regional job creation and encourage business investment. Grantees will receive a total of $20.5 million for projects supporting regional economic development, advanced skills training, greater supply chain access and other projects. Funding for this round of awards is provided by the Economic Development Administration, the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration, and the Delta Regional Authority. The National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership will sponsor another round in early FY14. Read the announcement and list of winners...

A public-private investment of $1.5 billion to create a nanotech hub in upstate New York and a $250,000 educational investment in Illinois illustrate recent state efforts to elevate nanotechnology in workforce development. New York is putting $200 million toward the Nano Utica facility for purchasing new equipment. The initiative is being led by six global technology companies, and the facility will serve as a cleanroom and research hub for computer chip packaging and lithography development and commercialization. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently announced a $250,000 state investment for equipment to prepare high school students for careers in nanotechnology. The school receiving the funds also plans to incorporate nanotechnology programming within its STEM summer camp curriculum.