SSTI Digest

President Obama announced the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, a propped $1 billion initiative to build a network comprised of up to fifteen Institutes for manufacturing innovation across the country. The proposed fifteen member institutes will serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help make U.S. manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment. The administration also announced that it would take immediate steps to launch a $45 million pilot institute for manufacturing innovation. Each institute should have a well-defined technology focus to address industrially-relevant manufacturing challenges on a large scale and to provide the capabilities and facilities required to reduce the cost and risk of commercializing new technologies. By investing in industrially-relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications, the administration intends for these institutes to bring industry, universities and community colleges, federal agencies and U.S. states together.

The House of Representatives passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act by a vote of 390-23. Key components of the bill include several changes to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations by: Creating an "emerging growth companies" category that would lower the costs of initial public offerings for smaller firms; Abolishing an SEC rule that prohibits small companies from advertising for investors; and, Lifting restrictions on crowd funding that would allow entrepreneurs raise capital (up to $2 million) from large pools of small investors. According to an article in the New York Times, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said a Senate version will be introduced soon.

Though California remains the leading state for U.S. angel investment, 79 percent of angel deals and 70 percent of angel dollars were invested outside of the state in 2011, according to the first edition of the new Halo Report. The report, produced by the Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights, also found that the median size of angel and angel group syndicate rounds increased by 40 percent between 2010 and 2011, from $500,000 to $700,000. Read the full report...

A new report assessing the innovation capacity of 55 countries ranks the U.S. in the highest tier possible for five of the seven core policy areas identified by the authors. The U.S. rankings fall slightly in the areas of science and R&D policies and high-skill immigration. Only Canada and Singapore placed in the upper tier on all seven indicators. The report highlights effective policies countries are using to build their innovation capacity and offers recommendations for improving performance. Countries are ranked as upper tier, upper-mid tier, lower-mid tier, or lower tier on seven indices with those ranks calculated by a country's performance on a set of sub-indicators relevant to each core policy area.

To help target federal spending activities that will most effectively meet national renewable energy needs and identify duplicative programs, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a detailed inventory of all federal renewable energy initiatives implemented by 23 departments and independent agencies in 2010. An accompanying report also examines the federal roles supported by agencies' renewable energy initiatives, including R&D and commercialization and deployment. The Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy, and Interior collectively were responsible for nearly 60 percent of all initiatives. Download the report: http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/588876.pdf. An e-supplement with further data is available at: http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/gao-12-259sp/index.htm.

The U.S. economy rapidly has been becoming more export intensive over the last couple of years, according to a new report from the Brookings Institute — Export Nation 2012: How U.S. Metropolitan Areas Are Driving National Growth. According to the report, U.S. export sales grew by more than 11 percent in 2010 in real terms, the fastest growth since 1997, In terms of job creation, the report states, "export-supported jobs increased by almost six percent (approximately 600,000 jobs) in 2010, even as the overall economy was still losing jobs." The report also highlights an accelerated shift by U.S. exporters towards developing countries to take advantage of the growth in these countries. Canada and Mexico remain the largest export markets for the United States due to the NAFTA trade agreement (approximately 25 percent of all exports). The share of U.S. exports going to Brazil, India and China has increased two percent from 2008 to 2010. Brookings researchers contend that the 100 largest metropolitan areas (metros) were the key drivers of growth in exports. Overall, the top 100 metros produced "almost 65 percent of U.S.

Save the date! Hosted by the Georgia Research Alliance and the Georgia Institute of Technology, SSTI's 16th Annual Conference will be held at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia on October 29-30, 2012. Atlanta provides an excellent backdrop for SSTI's 16th Annual Conference. Georgia has a vibrant technology community that is using innovative approaches to bring together state and local partnerships to positively impact the economy. The Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center is offering SSTI conference participants the exceptional room rate of $159 plus tax. Use this link to make your room reservation. The hotel will be honoring a limited number of rooms at the government rate. Rooms can be booked at the government rate by calling 404-838-2100. To help get the most out of your time in Atlanta, these outstanding rates will be honored five days before and after the conference, based on hotel availability. Keeping with years past, the agenda will be set by SSTI member recommendations to ensure the conference will be jam packed with the most timely and relevant sessions. Look for more information on SSTI's conference website soon.

With overwhelming support from the Idaho legislature, Gov. Butch Otter signed into law HB 546, a measure to establish the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM), an industry-university research partnership to facilitate and accelerate tech transfer. The governor proposed $5 million for the initiative within the FY13 Higher Education and Commerce budgets, which are pending approval in the legislature. The bill signed by the governor modifies the existing Idaho Innovation Council into an oversight and governing body called the IGEM Council, which is charged with distributing grants, developing and implementing a statewide strategic plan for innovation and establishing objectives for the program. Funding for the initiative is divided among three areas: $1 million for the Department of Commerce to set up the IGEM Innovation Grand Fund for investment in new technologies with oversight from the IGEM Council; $2 million in increased funding for Idaho's universities; and, $2 million in ongoing, permanent support for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies.

"In the 2000s, U.S. manufacturing suffered its worst performance in American history in terms of jobs. Not only did America lose 5.7 million manufacturing jobs, but the decline as a share of total manufacturing jobs (33 percent) exceeded the rate of loss in the Great Depression," according to a new report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). In Worse Than the Great Depression: What the Experts Are Missing About American Manufacturing Decline, ITIF contends that there is a fundamental flaw in the conventional wisdom regarding U.S. manufacturing job loss. Most economists, pundits and elected officials maintain manufacturing job loss is a result of productivity-driven restructuring, similar to the U.S. agriculture sector that has lost jobs but remains healthy due technology-driven increased productivity. However, the authors provide two methodological flaws that have led to poor data and shaped conventional wisdom: Most economists and pundits do not extend their analysis beyond one macro-level number — change in real manufacturing value-added relative to real gross domestic product — which at first glance appears stable; and, More fundamentally, U.S.

Thirteen federal agencies, led by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), will provide up to $15 million in funding and other resources to assist in job creation and economic growth in rural areas. The Rural Jobs and Accelerator Challenge is intended to leverage local assets and foster connections to industry in up to 20 rural regions across the country. Approximately $750,000 may be made available per award. Applications are required to provide matching funds and apply for funding from both the EDA and USDA. USDA will target investments to support technical assistance to develop rural communities' capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities or economic and community development. EDA will target investments to support projects that create regional linkages by connecting communities with innovation clusters and regional opportunities leading to job creation, expanded markets and economic growth. To be eligible for an award, projects must benefit rural communities, but the applicant is not required to be located in a rural area. U.S.

As many states near the mid-point of their 2012 legislative sessions, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at some of the bills advancing in statehouses that could impact states' efforts to improve economic conditions. Several states are seeking to advance access to capital initiatives as they continue to struggle with declining revenue and tight credit restrictions. The following overview provides a sampling of TBED bills supporting access to capital, R&D enhancements and higher education standards.

Providing Access to Capital

The Arizona Senate approved last month a bill to empower the state to facilitate $250 million in loans to manufacturers and other businesses by allowing third parties to sell income and insurance premium tax credits to venture capital firms, banks and other lenders, reports The Arizona Capitol Times. Supporters say the program, which has been employed at the federal level over the last decade under the New Markets structure, has been adopted successfully by nine other states. The measure awaits action in the House.

The Abell Foundation and Maryland Technology Development Company (TEDCO) announced the Propel Baltimore Fund — a $3.3 million angel investment fund targeted at startups and entrepreneurs in Baltimore. The fund will invest in technology companies with innovation-focused business plans that are located in Baltimore or are willing to relocate to the city. Initial investments will be between $50,000 and $100,000 (maximum investment of $220,000 per company). Propel investments will require a 50 percent match from outside investors. Read the press release.