Expanding the federal research tax credit and making it permanent could help generate $10 billion per year in research activity, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Tax Policy. Treasury also suggests that the enhanced credit could expand use of the credits, which already generate a one-to-one match in research spending and help support almost one million jobs. The current credit, which has been reauthorized temporarily 14 times since its introduction in 1981, is set to expire at the end of the year.

Recruiting bioscience faculty to universities and investing in R&D infrastructure tops the list of strategies recommended for Iowa to capitalize on a growing bioscience economy. A report commissioned by Innovate Iowa also finds that while significant progress has been made in growing the state's bioscience industry over the last 10 years, declining state funds to build research capacity and provide seed and venture capital remains a challenge for bioscience companies and entrepreneurs to compete regionally and globally.

Three recent reports from Maine provide insight into the challenges of fostering an innovative economy in a rural state. Overall, the research suggests that Maine has done well in its efforts to support startups, but could do more to help those startups expand and find new markets. By encouraging innovation-based businesses to expand to markets outside of Maine and by offering mentoring services, the state could overcome the stagnation that can occur when companies and states focus on local markets.

Governor Jay Nixon has released the final report from a year-long effort to design a five-year economic strategy for Missouri. The report identifies seven target clusters for development, including advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, biosciences, health sciences and services, information technology, financial and professional services, and transportation and logistics. Recommendations include a new science and technology/innovation fund, an R&D tax credit, an angel investment tax credit and cluster-based career training.

International collaboration in science and technology (S&T) research has risen over the past 15 years from approximately 25 percent to over 35 percent, according to Knowledge, Networks and Nations: Global Scientific Collaboration in the 21st Century — a new report from the Royal Society Science Policy Center.

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.

"Productivity growth is below the average rate of growth that has historically been recorded 39 months after a business cycle started," according to Growing Concerns About Future U.S. Competitiveness — a policy brief by the Center for American Progress. In this report, researchers examined several short-term economic trends (e.g., business investments and innovation) that help to stimulate long-term competitiveness.

A larger number of states are positioned to capitalize on rising employment due to high-growth industries, according to a new report from Wells Fargo's Economic Group — Employment Dynamics and State Competitiveness. These states (i.e., Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Virginia and Texas) have been able to couple several high-growth industries with a skilled workforce to build their competitive advantage.

The Council on Competitiveness in partnership with Deloitte released Ignite 2.0: Voices of American University Presidents and National Lab Directors on Manufacturing Competiveness, the second installment of a three-part series on improving U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. According to the report, talent-driven innovation, education and advanced skills development coupled with research, science, technology and full life-cycle commercialization are the necessary drivers for a U.S. manufacturing resurgence.

President Barack Obama recently announced the creation of a national Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) to accelerate the development of manufacturing technologies at top engineering universities. The AMP initiative, which was developed based on recommendations from a report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), would leverage existing programs and proposals to invest more than $500 million in university and private R&D. The partnership is being called an "umbrella" for federal innovation programs.

Europe needs increased and "smarter" investments in both public and private research and development (R&D) to address the European Union's (EU) "Innovation Emergency," according to the European Commission's 2011 Innovation Union Competitiveness Report. The commission contends it is necessary to accelerate investments into R&D to achieve the EU's target of 3 percent of GDP being spent on R&D. EU members currently invest approximately 2 percent of GDP on R&D spending.

In a Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas, an 18-member committee comprised of experts in education and scientists proposes a foundation for new national K-12 science education standards. The report identifies core ideas in four areas that students should understand by the time they finish high school. The four areas include:

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released International Benchmarking of Countries' Policies and Programs Supporting SME Manufacturers — a new report that identifies and analyzes manufacturing support programs and practices for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have been implemented in ten foreign countries (i.e., Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom), in addition to those of the United States. The authors, Stephen Ezell and Robert D.

The White House released a "progress report" for Startup America—a White House and interagency initiative to "celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation." The report looks at public and private sector commitments in several key areas that will improve the environment for high-growth entrepreneurship. The report also provides status updates for current and future Startup America related initiatives.

Last week, the World Economic Forum released its annual Global Competitiveness Report, and once again, the U.S. fell in the rankings one more position to fifth place, representing a four-year decline from fourth place in 2010-11, second place in 2009-2010 and first place in 2008-2009. Switzerland held the number one spot for the second year in a row. The report indicates that while many structural features continue to make the U.S.

Most American (86 percent of survey respondents) believe manufacturing is "either important" or "very important" to our national economy, according to a new survey from the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte. Topped only by the energy industry, manufacturing finished as the second most important industry to the national economy.

A newly established policy academy providing guidance and technical assistance will help seven states improve their environment for innovation and align state R&D investments, workforce development and education systems with current and future needs of advanced manufacturing industries. The policy academy will help each state develop a plan or overcome barriers for putting a plan into action through a highly interactive team-based process that includes input from NGA, MEP, EDA, SSTI, private sector consultants, and research organizations.

With less than three months until the start of the 2012 legislative session for many states, governors and state economic development groups are working to define areas of investment seen as key to their state's competitiveness. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a job creation and growth agenda that prioritizes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to produce more graduates for a competitive workforce. Meanwhile, leaders in Mississippi and Virginia issued reports that identify industry sectors most likely to grow their states' economies.

American manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 skilled positions — even as unemployment numbers hover at historic levels — according to Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing, a new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. This annual skills report provides a stark snapshot of the manufacturing sector's inability to find qualified workers.

The Canadian government must focus its research and development (R&D) support efforts on "the goal of growing innovative firms into larger enterprises, rooted in Canada but facing outward to the world and equipped to compete with the best," according to Innovation Canada: A Call to Action — a new report commissioned by the Honorable Gary Goodyear, the Canadian Minister of State for Science and Technology. The authors contends that Canada has a solid foundation to build its knowledge economy.

Just three months after unveiling a statewide regional economic development plan, Gov. John Hickenlooper released a new version of the document that speeds up timelines and adds more specific measurable outcomes to the plan's 24 job creation strategies. The governor also submitted a budget proposal for FY13 that calls for additional funds to help the Economic Development Commission attract high-wage jobs and support initiatives that address distinct market barriers in the energy sector.

To leverage the state's opportunities, Nevada needs to upgrade its diffuse economic development system to empower its regions more fully and set a statewide platform for new growth, finds a report commissioned by the state. Building on legislation passed earlier this year to reorganize and elevate the importance of the state's economic development activities, the report calls on the state to unify its operating system for 21st century economic development, support smart sector strategies in the regions, and set a platform for higher-value growth through innovation and global engagement.

"Fast-growing economies in emerging markets are outpacing more developed countries with respect to investment in innovation," according to Encouraging and Protecting Innovation — a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). A PwC researcher compiled the report utilizing survey data collected from over 200 global executives who attended the annual meeting of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. The report points out that Asia's emerging markets, mostly due to China, already invest more on R&D than the EU and Japan, respectively.

The European Union has implemented 30 of the 40 Innovation Union commitments according to State of the Innovation Union, a comprehensive progress report on the Innovation Union, the European Union's (EU) flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 growth strategy for the decade. By the end of 2011, the European Commission will have passed all six Innovation Union legislative proposals.

U.S. policy prescriptions for manufacturing are in disarray according to Make: an American Manufacturing Movement, a new report from the Council on Competitiveness. Policymakers, the report's authors contend, are bombarded with widely available reports and analysis that support one of three conflicting views (it is on steep decline, doing reasonably well or it is poised for growth) on the health and importance of U.S. manufacturing.