SSTI Digest

Regardless of the approach used, the goal of every economic development program in the country is to create economic opportunity within a specific geographic area. If more local, state and federal policy makers and practitioners were aware that empirical research has revealed certain types of companies were 235 percent better than others at maintaining long-term job “stickiness,” would we shift more resources and priorities in their direction?  Would knowing these same companies also were shown to be more profitable, had higher sales, and had greater survival rates than others help persuade skeptics? Should more companies with these business models be part of your region’s portfolio of innovation-based firms?

Enrollment in the nation’s institutions of higher education is an important indicator of the knowledge capital available to local innovation economies. This edition of Useful Stats explores enrollment data from the recently updated National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) report , Current Term Enrollment Estimates, covering spring term enrollment trends at degree-granting institutions of higher education. Specifically, this analysis examines enrollment per 1,000 residents by state*, the change in total enrollment over prior spring terms, as well as enrollment by type of institution by state from spring term 2019 to spring term 2021.

Enrollment per 1,000 residents

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced a new competition for awards to support industry-driven consortia in developing technology roadmaps that will address high-priority research challenges to grow the advanced manufacturing sector in the U.S. and is inviting applications to its Manufacturing USA Technology Roadmap (MfgTech) grants program.

Roadmaps should 1) address major technological barriers that inhibit the growth of advanced manufacturing in the U.S. that no single organization could tackle on its own; 2) identify and prioritize research projects supporting long-term industrial research needs; 3) create new and/or update broadly available industry-driven, shared-vision technology roadmaps to support strategic and long-range planning; and 4) catalyze development and support the maintenance of a technology infrastructure and excellence in advanced manufacturing, including identifying technology areas appropriate for potential new Manufacturing USA institutes.

The White House has released reviews from the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Defense, and Health and Human Services in response to the president’s Executive Order on “America’s Supply Chains.” Vulnerabilities in supply chains were assessed in four key product areas: semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging; large capacity batteries; critical mineral and materials; and, pharmaceuticals and advanced pharmaceutical ingredients. The report makes the case that more secure and resilient supply chains are essential to our national security and economic security, as well as technological leadership.

High-risk/high-reward research can yield breakthroughs, produce new technologies, and allow the surrounding region to remain economically relevant. However, the scientific community remains concerned that research and development-focused policies, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, continue to be conservative with their goals by only encouraging incremental growth that can yield tangible results in shorter amounts of time. These concerns, and potential policy solutions, are explored in a recently published research paper by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Effective Policies to Foster High Risk/High Reward Research, authored by an international group selected by the Global Science Forum, examines the current policy environment, notes the roadblocks to supporting high-risk/high-reward research, and investigates what can be done to provide long term support for high-risk/high-reward projects.

New York City  Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that the city is planning to double its $500 million investment in the LifeSci NYC commitment, to reach a total of $1 billion invested in life sciences over the next 10 years. The mayor, whose term in office expires at the end of this year, and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), kicked off the investment by announcing a request for proposals (RFP) to help advance the commercial research and development of new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, materials, and research tools.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that 10 accelerators and incubators across the country have been awarded $9.5 million in total funding through the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) to help develop pipelines for energy technology to reach the market. Created by the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions, the EPIC funding program aims to encourage the growth of regional energy innovation ecosystems across the U.S. and supports new business formation. This announcement marks the second round of funding through the EPIC program, with the first awarding $500,000 each to 20 incubators and accelerators in October of 2020 to support energy innovation ecosystems and stimulate energy hardware development in regions across the country.

The recipients of this round of EPIC funding, along with the total amount awarded, are:

The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking public feedback on the current barriers and actions needed to make its funding opportunities and innovation and entrepreneurship activities more inclusive, just and equitable, and, in a separate effort, it is seeking input on improving productivity and efficiency of the manufacturing sector through a $4.8 million request for proposals.

Students who earn bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM) are more likely than not to see an increase in pay; however, it is far from guaranteed that their post-graduation employment will be within a STEM-related sector. The Census Bureau recently reported that of the 50 million employed college graduates aged 25 to 64 in 2019, 37 percent reported a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering but only 14 percent worked in a STEM occupation. Of all the STEM workers, those who majored in STEM fields typically earned higher salaries than those who did not ($101,100 vs $87,600 on average).

Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced $1.25 billion in coronavirus-related “rapid response” funding to 863 CDFIs. Among the recipients were SSTI members Launch NY and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. The awards included a total of $9.4 million to seven CDFIs certified as venture capital funds; as of FY 2019, just 14 CDFIs were certified as venture capital funds, out of 934 in total (note that a fund’s certification status does not necessarily signify how the CDFI will use a new award). The full list of awards can be found here (xlsx). To receive funding through the CDFI Fund, organizations must first become a certified CDFI. Learn more at cdfifund.gov.

This edition of Useful Stats explores data from the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) on new utility and plant patents granted in the U.S. by state/territory for the five-year period from 2016 to 2020. This analysis includes only utility and plant patents as these types are those associated with the invention of new products and services, and excludes reissued patents and those issued for purely aesthetic designs.

State patent activity is a good indicator of the health of local innovation economies. Patents for innovative products and processes are issued to inventors across academia, industry, and the public sector, and the number of these new patents issued in states over time can provide insights into the strengths of these sectors and how well they are collectively able to bring innovative technologies out of the lab and, potentially, to market. Understanding this patent activity can help program and policy designers in local innovation economies in evaluating, enhancing, and developing their initiatives.

We are excited to announce that SSTI’s annual conference is back and in-person, Nov. 1-3, in Little Rock, Arkansas. More than ever, now is the time to reconnect with those in the field and make new connections as we revitalize our plans for the innovation economy. Whether you are resetting your agenda, expanding your initiatives, evaluating your success, or searching for new paths to emerge stronger from the pandemic, we will have ideas, sessions and resources for you to explore at SSTI’s 2021 Annual Conference: Focusing on the Future. Mark your calendars, register early and as always, reach out to anyone of us here at SSTI with ideas or questions as we build out the conference agenda. And check back at ssticonference.org frequently for updates.