SSTI Digest

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Businesses on SUNY campuses outside of New York City, and on certain designated private campuses, will be exempt from sales, property and corporate state taxes under a new initiative unveiled this week by New York Gov Andrew Cuomo. In addition, employees of these businesses will be exempt from income taxes. Eligible businesses must have a relationship with the host university related to its academic mission. The state will offer an additional 3 million square free of tax-free commercial space at New York private universities as part of the Tax-Free NY initiative. Read the announcement...

Amid a national economic recovery, city officials report a recent and persistent skills gap that may signal structural challenges and present serious barriers to sustained growth for metros. Nearly nine in 10 city officials (88 percent) note that workforce alignment has not improved over the past year, according to a recent survey on city fiscal conditions from the National League of Cities (NLC). Meanwhile, new business growth, as represented by indicators of entrepreneurial activity and new business permits, is showing signs of improvement. Unlike most other economic indicators, city officials report that workforce skills are not keeping pace with employer demand and more than half of city officials (53 percent) say that current local workforce skills are posing a problem for the economic health of their communities. Moreover, 82 percent of city officials responded that the percentage of the population with a post-secondary degree has not increased over the past year. Local officials have become deeply involved in discussions on how to better train workers for the jobs likely to emerge within their cities and towns, said Neil Bomberg, program director for Human…

New nonprofit initiatives have been re-defined in Seattle and Atlanta to support their cities' startup communities. Startup Seattle and Startup Atlanta will work to serve, support, and link the regional innovation systems and startup ventures in their respective cities. Both entities previously were developed by and for the local entrepreneurial communities to support new companies but are restructuring as independent organizations. Startup Seattle was established by StartupCity LLC in 2012 as a grassroots organization to aid local startups and unite and serve the regional innovation and startup systems in the city. It originally was funded by Startup Weekend, Microsoft BizSpark, TechStars, and Founders Co–op. It now will be a collaboration between the city of Seattle and local technology and business leaders since the City Council and the Seattle Office of Economic Development, with additional support from the Startup Seattle Advisory Group, will take over operations of Startup Seattle from StartupCity LLC. Moving forward, Startup Seattle will implement a multifaceted plan to support the community. Through the rest of 2013 and into 2014 the focus will…

London's Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an initiative to transform Olympic Park into a creative and digital business hub for the city. According to an article from startups.uk, the proposed redevelopment promises to boost the United Kingdom's (UK) GDP by $450 million ($692.5 million US) and create more than 6,500 new jobs. In partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation, the city will make major investments in the areas surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including the construction of three feature buildings: A 300,000 square-foot innovation center; A 750 seat auditorium; and, A 650,000 square-foot building housing educational space, broadcast studios, office space and a state-of-the-art data center. The project, dubbed iCITY, also will include the creation of accelerator and incubator space for creative and digital business startups. They will be located in the building that was used for press and broadcasting during the 2012 Olympics. Visit iCITY's website... Over the last year, several U.S. cities have proposed similar adaptive re-use projects — the redevelopment of an old historical site or building for a new…

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla recently issued three executive orders aimed at advancing the island's renewable energy industry. The orders will grant priority approvals to renewable energy projects and introduce two new councils that will coordinate energy initiatives. Gov. Garcia Padilla joins a growing list of governors who have used executive orders to quickly implement energy policies without going to the legislature. The National Governors Association (NGA)has published an issue brief on the use of executive orders in energy policy, along with an index of these orders since 2008. Gov. Garcia Padilla's orders call for priority to be given to renewable energy projects under the condition that these projects conserve areas of high ecological and agricultural value. Projects also must have the infrastructure to connect to the island's Power Authority without increasing the cost of electricity to consumers. In addition, the governor has created two new bodies to coordinate energy efforts. The Council of Energy Independence will develop a new energy policy for the island, seeking citizen input and bringing together local governments and…

For as little as $2,000, you can highlight your organization, support SSTI -- and receive a registration to this year's conference in Portland, OR, Sept. 15-17! The more support we receive the larger the impact of the conference. Over the last few years SSTI has been able to introduce automatic polling, discussion groups, dine-arounds and numerous other opportunities because of the generous support of our sponsors. Being associated with the premiere professional development event of the year for the nation's technology-based economic development community can yield tremendous returns for your organization. Exposure and unrivaled networking opportunities are presented through SSTI's annual conference -- broadening the reach and deepening the impact of your marketing dollars. Contact Noelle Sheets at sheets@ssti.org for more information.

London's Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an initiative to transform Olympic Park into a creative and digital business hub for the city. According to an article from startups.uk, the proposed redevelopment promises to boost the United Kingdom's (UK) GDP by $450 million ($692.5 million US) and create more than 6,500 new jobs. In partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation, the city will make major investments in the areas surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including the construction of three feature buildings: A 300,000 square-foot innovation center; A 750 seat auditorium; and, A 650,000 square-foot building housing educational space, broadcast studios, office space and a state-of-the-art data center. The project, dubbed iCITY, also will include the creation of accelerator and incubator space for creative and digital business startups. They will be located in the building that was used for press and broadcasting during the 2012 Olympics. Visit iCITY's website... Over the last year, several U.S. cities have proposed similar adaptive re-use projects — the redevelopment of an old historical site or building for a new…

Threats to America's cybersecurity continue to make headlines, underscoring the growing importance of protecting our country's digital infrastructure. As national security experts continue to grapple with how to address the challenge, the federal government is stepping up to coordinate state cybersecurity efforts. In an effort to promote our country's economic security and boost innovation and competitiveness, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with states and the private sector to develop a framework for national cybersecurity standards. States are capitalizing on the increased coordination to build public-private partnerships that seed industry growth. The impact of cyber crime on innovation is devastating. U.S. industry losses of intellectual property to data theft in 2008 alone amounted to as much as $1 trillion, according to the Department of Commerce. In May 2009, President Obama accepted the recommendations of the Department of Homeland Security's Cyberspace Policy Review, which included the appointment of a Cybersecurity Coordinator who can work with state and local governments as well as the private sector to…

As Congress considers comprehensive immigration reform, policymakers are debating the effect of high-skilled immigration on the U.S. economy. Amidst the fervent discussion, the question has been raised of whether or not there is a shortage of domestic high-skilled workers, especially those in the field of science, technology, engineering and math; a question that now is being fiercely debated by two renowned policy groups. Researchers from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently made the claim that the U.S. has a sufficient supply of workers to fill the demand of STEM occupations. In response, researchers from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) published a point-for-point rebuttal to the EPI's report, joining a chorus of others in staunch opposition of the EPI's interpretation of the statistics. In their paper Guestworkers in the High-Skill U.S. Labor Market, the EPI refutes the notion of a STEM worker shortage and makes the following three claims: The U.S. has a sufficient supply of workers in STEM; IT employment and wages have been relatively stable and weak, indicative of low demand for workers; and the IT workforce contains a…

The budget agreement reached by Texas lawmakers earlier this week includes $50 million in new funds to provide grants to technology companies for research and commercialization activities under the Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). A bill to address accountability and transparency of the fund was passed in the House, but later removed from the Senate calendar despite controversy surrounding the decision-making authority of the grants. Lawmakers also passed a measure to reinstate an R&D tax incentive that was repealed in 2006, and set aside funding to lure a space transport company to the state. Total funding for the Emerging Technology Fund is $57.2 million for the biennium, which includes carryover funds. Gov. Rick Perry had requested $69.5 million. The fund was established in 2005 to foster emerging technologies, enhance university-industry collaboration, and promote technology commercialization (see the June 13, 2005 issue of the Digest). Since then, $200 million has been awarded to more than 100 companies to incentivize commercialization activities. In recent years, however, lawmakers have criticized the governor for preferential treatment of grants awarded to…

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it would commit $200 million to establish three new manufacturing innovation institutions in 2013 (see the May 8, 2013 issue of the digest). The announcement was followed by the release of a funding announcement for the first of those proposed institutes — the Department of Energy-administered Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The Department of Defense released requests for information on the two proposed institutes focused on digital manufacturing and design and lightweight and modern metals manufacturing. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) also released a funding announcement for the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (see the April 24, 2013 issue of the Digest). The Department of Energy's (DOE) Clean Manufacturing Innovation Institute will focus on wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors for power electronic devices, highly efficient and reliable semiconductors that can produce low-cost, better performing electronics to increase energy efficiency. The DOE intends to make one award of up to $14 million in 2013 with a potential $70 million in total funding over five…