SSTI Digest

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.

Because universities are increasingly seen as hubs for regional economic development, many institutions are reorganizing their business engagement efforts to eliminate the barriers between universities and the innovation community. Recently, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Michigan Medical School and the University of Texas at Arlington all announced plans to streamline and redesign their innovation services, aiming to increase their contribution to regional job and business creation. In each case, these institutions are hoping to create stronger connections with the private sector by creating a single office to engage with entrepreneurs, businesses and investors.

This week, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) announced the launch of UNH Innovation, a new office that will incorporate the former Office of Research Partnerships and Commercialization, laboratory services, equipment and facilities rental, and various other university venture and economic development programs. UNH Innovation intends to combine these functions with a number of new services, including mentoring and internship programs.

On October 25, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted unanimously to propose rules under the JOBS Act that would permit companies to offer and sell securities to non-accredited investors through crowdfunding intermediary portals (crowdfunding portals). The SEC released a fact sheet that highlights several of the proposed rules for startups and investors who want to engage in crowdfunding that include:

Only six states have statewide measures on the ballot in 2013, which is 28 percent fewer than the average number of measures on the ballot in an odd-numbered year, as noted by Ballotpedia's executive editor. Tech-based economic development measures will be decided in at least two states — Missouri and Maine. Although not a statewide measure, Jackson County, MO, voters will be asked to approve a sales tax of one-half of 1 percent for 20 years to fund medical research and discovery across Kansas City. Maine voters will be asked to approve a $15.5 million bond to upgrade classrooms and labs within the University of Maine System.

President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee “2.0.” Former SSTI board member Luis Proenza, president of The University of Akron is part of the steering committee chaired by Andrew Liveris, president, chairman, and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, and Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mark Kittrell has been appointed the president of the Iowa Innovation Corporation.

OK Gov. Mary Fallin has named Secretary of State Larry Parman as director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and secretary of commerce. Both positions require Senate confirmation.

In tech-based economic development circles, universities are frequently thought of as engines for regional economic growth, engines whose effectiveness is determined by the volume of research conducted and the ability of faculty and staff to turn discoveries into commercially available goods and services. The authors of two recent academic articles suggest that regional economies are also a key determinant of university success. Steven Casper’s research suggests that social linkages between research faculty and local tech professionals improve university commercialization, while Friedrich Dornbusch and Thomas Brenner find that alignment between local tech industries and university research priorities increases the prevalence of successful university-private partnerships.

In acknowledgment of their work with private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development, 16 public institutions were the first to be designated “Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities” by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). Applicants for the designation conducted a self-study and solicited input from external stakeholders. Each applicant identified three areas of strength in economic engagement and developed case studies to reflect them. APLU said in a press release the awards enable universities to shine a spotlight on the work they are doing and to demonstrate more clearly with government and the private sector the public benefit of their work. Read more about the winners at: http://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=2805.

U.S. adults are less proficient in basic reading, math and problem-solving skills than many of their international counterparts, according to the first Survey of Adult Skills from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD found that, overall, U.S. adults possessed below average proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. In most of the countries included in the study, younger adults entering the workforce generally possessed better skills than older adults leaving the workforce, leading to better prepared labor pools over time. In the U.S., however, adults 55-65 years old performed at levels close to the international average, while younger adults ranked among the least skilled in the 24 countries surveyed.