SSTI Digest

Job Corner
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A•P•L•U) is seeking applicants for the position of director of Innovation and Technology Policy. The individual in this position will serve as the director for the APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity as part of his/her responsibilities as a member of the staff of the Office of Research, Innovation and STEM Policy.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will be armed with $100 million for efforts to attract new businesses and help existing businesses grow in the coming year — an additional $50 million above Gov. Rick Snyder's request. Another $25 million was approved for a new innovation and entrepreneurship program.

Funding for the job creation initiatives comes partly from redirecting funds previously dedicated to the 21st Century Jobs Fund, which received $75 million last year. Lawmakers agreed with the governor's proposal to replace business tax credits with a new incentive program aimed at dedicating resources to helping existing Michigan businesses grow, known as economic gardening. MEDC also is slated to receive $25 million for tourism promotion and $25 million for a film incentive program.

An initiative aimed at stemming Michigan's brain drain was left out of the final budget. The governor had proposed $5 million to develop programs encouraging immigrants with advanced degrees to move to the state.

New Jersey's Economic Development Authority announced the Edison Innovation Green Growth Fund (EIGGF), a new loan program with a performance grant component to grow the state's energy efficiency and Class 1 renewable energy technology companies. The fund offers five-year fixed term loans of up to $1 million to eligible companies that have begun generating commercial revenues and are seeking matching funds (1:1 by the time of loan closing). If the company achieves certain milestones, up to 50 percent of the loan will convert to a performance grant at the end of year five. The program is supported by funding through the state Board of Public Utilities. Eligible technologies include:

Gov John Hickenlooper recently signed legislation expanding eligibility for Colorado's Innovation Investment Tax Credit (CIITC). The program provides angel investors with an income tax credit equal to 15 percent of their investment in Colorado small businesses that are less than five years old and are involved in research and development. Originally, the program allowed investors to claim the credits for investments made during the 2010 tax year. Under the new legislation, investments made after 2010 will be eligible until the remaining funds are exhausted. In addition, the rules regarding qualified businesses have been loosened.

Editor's Note: Last week, the Digest erroneously reported that Congress had approved the extension of SBIR/STTR. This mistake was due to the substitution described in the article below. The actual SBIR extension was approved on May 31, 2011. We regret the error.

On Tuesday, the House and Senate approved an extension of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program through September 30, 2011. The passage came a week after the original bill was replaced with legislation to extend the USA PATRIOT Act under the SBIR bill's number and title. As a result, the SBIR/STTR extension was delayed another week, and approved under a separate bill number (S. 1082) on the day that the programs were set to expire. The Small Business Administration (SBA) programs that were also set to expire were extended through July 31. Read the bill...

From 2000 to 2008, the U.S. ranked 18th out of 30 countries in the growth of government-funded university research, according to a new report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). In University Research Funding: the United States is Behind and Falling, Robert Atkinson and Luke Stewart compared the U.S. government and business funding for public university research against 29 other developed countries. The results indicate that both government-funded and business-funded have fallen dramatically behind and will continue to slip further behind several nations including China, Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Compiling SBIR Phase I awards and proposal statistics by state for FY10, SSTI finds the 10 states with the most awards in FY10 were California (851), Massachusetts (517), Virginia (250), Colorado (218), New York (212), Maryland (196), Texas (185), Pennsylvania (184), Ohio (179), and Michigan (125). Colorado moved up two positions to fourth place, dropping New York to fifth place while Maryland fell to sixth place from fifth last year. Pennsylvania edged out Ohio to move up one spot into eighth position, pushing Ohio down one spot from last year to ninth place. Michigan moved into the top 10, climbing from 15th place last year, dropping Florida out of the top 10.

The Obama administration announced a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) for a new $33 million public-private initiative focused on supporting and accelerating the growth of regional innovation clusters (RICs) that exhibit high-growth development potential — the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The Obama administration intends for these investments to serve as catalysts for leveraging private capital (e.g., foundations, financial institutions, corporations and other partners) in the selected regions.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) in partnership with Employment Training Administration (ETA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) will provide the direct funding and technical assistance to support customized solutions for each awardee. Thirteen additional partner agencies and bureaus (e.g., Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Energy) also intend to provide customized technical assistance.

Created as the successor to two longstanding and accomplished tech-based economic development organizations — the Washington Technology Center (WTC) and the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI) — Innovate Washington will serve as the state's primary agency responding to tech transfer needs and strengthening university-industry partnerships. Innovate Washington also will coordinate the state's clean energy initiatives.

Although both organizations have similar missions, WTC focuses on statewide efforts while SIRTI's mission is centered on growing the innovation-based economy in the Eastern Washington region. By combining the two through a public-private partnership model, the services will be expanded to include entrepreneurial support, access to capital, and sector/cluster initiatives and coordination for the entire state. Specifically, Innovate Washington will:

To more closely align Georgia's efforts to market and promote strategic industries to existing and potential companies, Georgia's Centers of Innovation (COI) program will be integrated with the programs of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA). The move follows the legislature's decision to transfer funding for GRA's strategic economic development initiatives from the Board of Regents' Research Consortium program to the Department of Economic Development Innovation and Technology Division.

The goal for integrating the programs is twofold: to develop strategies and tactics to maximize the potential for high-tech companies generated from university R&D to thrive in the state; and, to leverage the resources of Georgia's research universities to retain and recruit companies in industries considered crucial to the state's growth. The COI's provide technology-oriented support to businesses and startups in the areas of aerospace, agribusiness, energy, life sciences, logistics, and advanced manufacturing.

Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Innovation Council launched a new initiative to facilitate business and research collaboration and to provide services to the state's high-tech entrepreneurs. The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) will be connected to Startup Illinois, the first Startup Region to be introduced by the national Startup America Partnership. Read the announcement...

For the 11th time in the last 32-months, Congress approved a continuing resolution to extend authorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The House version of the Small Business Additional Temporary Extension Act of 2011 (S.990) would extend small business programs "as is" through the end of Fiscal Year 2011. The Senate version would extend the program through May 31, 2012. Both the Senate and House versions passed by unanimous consent. The bill will now proceed to conference committee before reaching the president. Read the bill...