SSTI Note: Benchmarking innovation-driven entrepreneurship and the impacts of other science, technology and venture development activity in your state or region is more important than ever in the post-pandemic economy. Understanding the gains made prior to the onset of the coronavirus – and the inevitable setbacks resulting from its economic shocks – will be important for helping to build support and momentum for your initiatives going forward.

As governors continue to roll out their State-of-the State addresses in the month of February, we continue to see a heavy focus on recovering from the pandemic. Given most state’s fiscal condition, governors have been generally hesitant to roll out new initiatives during this time, although broadband continues to receive attention, especially with the renewed attention surrounding its importance during the pandemic.

NOTE: The nation's community of technology-based economic development organizations is in its annual report season, and we've already seen several releases from SSTI members. All document TBED's impact on advancing research, moving it to market, and helping businesses improve their profitability and competitiveness.

Many metropolitan areas grapple with demographic shifts, labor shortages, and changing economic conditions, so understanding the factors that encourage former residents to return may help policymakers design more effective strategies for talent retention and regional revitalization.

In this final coverage of gubernatorial addresses as they discuss the innovation economy, the following highlights have been selected from State of the States or budget addresses given between Feb.

For the United States to achieve greater security in chip manufacturing, the critical sector requires a much larger, better trained workforce.