SSTI Digest

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is accepting applications to operate Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island and South Dakota. The NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership funds 51 centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico which provide experts who enhance the performance of local manufacturers. Funding awards will include almost $19.8 million to support small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the four listed states.

Eligible applicants include U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, states, U.S. territories, and local or tribal governments. Already existing MEP centers in good standing that have received assistance for 10 consecutive years may also apply. Centers must recompete for awards every 10 years, and the MEP centers in each of these states are approaching that point.

NIST anticipates awarding the following amounts to manufacturing centers in each state during an initial five-year performance period:

SSTI and the Small Business Technology Council circulated a letter to Congress calling for reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The letter has been signed by more than 100 organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Angel Capital Association, Association of University Research Parks and dozens of SSTI members. Without congressional action, the programs will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Read the letter to congressional leadership.

This week’s edition of Useful Stats examines the contributions to county-level GDP in 2020 by industry group. Specifically, this analysis identifies the industries that contributed the most to the economic output of each county in 2020, as well as examining the annual percent changes in industry contribution to county GDP over the previous year. Most industries experienced declines brought on by the economic recession of 2020, although some experienced growth. In 2020, the real estate and rental and leasing; professional and business services; government and government enterprises; and manufacturing industry groups were vital economic drivers in terms of both their contributions to national GDP as well as the number of counties where they were the top contributor.

Attracting investment to a coal-dependent region with a state-of-the-art AgriTech research and development center is under consideration in Kentucky while Rhode Island is proposing greater investment in developing its blue economy. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Rhode Island Gov. Daniel J. McKee have both targeted new innovation initiatives to grow their state’s economy in their recently proposed budgets.

Recognizing that the era of total U.S. dominance in the global science and engineering (S&E) enterprise is over, a recent report from the National Science Board (NSB) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) on the State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2022 indicates that the U.S. must focus on strengthening international research and development (R&D) collaboration and developing domestic STEM talent to maintain its leadership on the global S&E stage. As in previous years, the report includes a detailed examination of the statistical indicators of S&E activities, but also updates the definitions used for the S&E workforce and includes an analysis of the role of K-12 STEM education in the domestic STEM talent pipeline.

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have published a request for information (RFI) to inform the planning and design of potential programs surrounding the semiconductor industry within the United States. Historically, the U.S. accounted for 40 percent of the global semiconductor manufacturing. In recent years, however, the global semiconductor industry has been dominated by Taiwan, South Korea, and China. As of 2019, the U.S. accounts for only 11 percent of semiconductor manufacturing.

The global semiconductor supply chain has been severely disrupted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – leading to negative spillover effects in other industries that rely on semiconductors for their manufacturing. A high demand domestically for semiconductors tied with a low supply due to disrupted global supply chains has sparked the idea of investing in strong domestic semiconductor supply chains.

Earlier this week, House Democrats released its version of a wide-ranging innovation policy bill. This legislation includes authorization for Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs — a program SSTI’s Dan Berglund testified about before the House science committee last June. The bill also would establish a new directorate within the National Science Foundation (NSF), reauthorize the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy (Energy) Office of Science, and fund incentives for U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing.

The Convergence Accelerator, a program developed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to invest in research towards developing high-impact solutions for societal issues, requests topic ideas for the 2023 cohort in a Dear Colleague Letter Request for Information (DCL/RFI). This program follows a three-tiered process, including topic ideation and convergence research phases one and two. This RFI seeks input from industry, institutions of higher education, non-profits, state and local governments, and other interested parties and represents the beginning stages of topic ideation and precedes community workshops to develop the final convergence research tracks, anticipated in FY 2023.

Building on takeaways from Appalachian stakeholders that included a preference to grow their own jobs through entrepreneurship and small business development rather than the traditional approach of business recruitment and new job creation, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) developed a four-year strategic plan.  The Appalachia Envisioned: A New Era of Opportunity plan sets strategic investment goals and objectives to build Appalachian businesses, workforce, infrastructure, culture and tourism, and community leaders.   

To help build Appalachian businesses, the plan recommends strengthening and diversifying the region’s economy through inclusive economic development strategies and investments in entrepreneurship and business development. It notes that it is particularly important to support start-up entrepreneurs and small businesses focused in high-growth industry sectors, such as manufacturing, technology, health, the arts, recreation and tourism, agriculture and food, and energy.  

ARC’s 2022-2026 Strategic plan can found here.

The Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q4 2021 reports unprecedented growth in venture capital activity through 2021. Although total deal count had decreased by almost 2.5 percent from 2019 to 2020, deal activity in 2021 surpassed that of both 2020 and 2019 – showing that 2021 saw substantial growth from pre-pandemic levels.

There were 12,473 reported deals across the 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands in 2019, which fell to 12,165 reported in 2020. However, in 2021, there were 15,449 reported deals – an increase of 27 percent from 2020 and 24 percent from 2019. The total dollars invested in 2021 more than doubled that of 2020, which had already seen an increase from 2019. This growth outpaced the growth in deal count – indicating that deal sizes continued to increase in 2021.

South Carolina’s innovation economy is benefiting from funding and support to academic institutions and tech startups from the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA). According to its annual report, SCRA produced an economic impact of over $1 billion in the state in 2021, an increase of about 5.4 percent from 2020. SCRA is a nonprofit corporation chartered by South Carolina to develop the state as a top innovation destination. SCRA and its affiliates provide loans and investments to South Carolina-based companies.

In 2021, SCRA provided almost $4.6 million in grants and investments and its portfolio companies received more than $700 million in follow-on funding. SCRA programs resulted in over 5,000 jobs with an average salary of $73,811 — 53 percent higher than the state average.

SCRA’s annual report, Scale Up South Carolina, is available for download here.

Broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is vital for encouraging innovative advancements in scientific research and developing a diverse STEM workforce that engages citizens from all backgrounds. The Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) 2019-2020 Biennial Report to Congress outlines plans to broaden participation in STEM by focusing on "Making Visible the Invisible."

CEOSE is a committee of the National Science Foundation mandated by Congress to promote the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in STEM. Their biennial report summarizes the past year's activities and provides recommendations for future steps to continue broadening participation. A series of meetings focused on supporting persons with disabilities in STEM; issues of intersectionality and diversity; the importance of assisting Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs); and the need to advance diverse STEM leadership.

The report’s central theme of "Making Visible the Invisible," highlights three primary goals: