Four states have been selected to participate in a Policy Academy designed to help grow and strengthen manufacturing in their states. State teams will begin meeting on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. with policy experts to develop or further refine strategies to bolster manufacturing. The four participants chosen for the Policy Academy are Kentucky, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Utah.

Whether measuring the nature of the economy or determining the impact of economic development programs, finding the right indicators and metrics is critical. And a new set of questions is arising for economic development practitioners: Who gets credit for impact when multiple organizations provide services to the same company? When impacts may be long-term, what is the best way to gauge success in the short term? These and other questions will be explored during the conference session on Measuring Impacts: Where We Stand and Where We Need to Go at this year’s annual SSTI conference.

John Lettieri, co-founder of Economic Innovation Group (EIG) and its senior director for Policy and Strategy, and Pamela Lewis, the director of the New Economy Initiative (NEI), have joined the speaker line-up of the SSTI Annual Conference, Innovation with Purpose: Shaping Future Opportunities, as part of the Bold Ideas for Innovation with Purpose opening plenary session.

In less than a week, about 300 professionals, stakeholders, policymakers, and others working to encourage economic prosperity through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship will gather in Columbus to hear and share the latest news, trends and advancements at the SSTI Annual Conference. It is fitting that the conference is being held in Columbus this year, as the city itself is being recognized for its activity and growth. Columbus recently was named by Money magazine as the Best in the Midwest in their Best Big Cities ranking. It also placed first in the Midwest for visitor satisfaction and in the top 10 overall, according to another recent survey.

Columbus, OH – Celebrating the 10^th anniversary of its Excellence in Technology Based Economic Development awards, SSTI today announced four winners driving prosperity in their states and regions through innovative approaches to growing their economies and creating high-paying jobs.

The federal FY 2018 budget process is well underway, and SSTI members have participated in record numbers to ask Congress to prioritize funding for the Regional Innovation Strategies program. Member organizations, working with SSTI and The Sheridan Group, co-signed 60 appropriations requests to congressional offices and helped to secure 39 signatures on a “Dear Colleague” letter by Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Randy Hultgren (R-IL).

The 2017 SSTI Creating a Better Future Award provides the perfect opportunity to show other practitioners, as well as policymakers, the success you have achieved at creating a better future for your region through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. To be eligible, submit a brief application that highlights one of your organization’s most successful initiatives. Award categories encompass research; entrepreneurship and capital; competitive industries and economic opportunity; and, recognition for the most promising initiative. Check out the categories and more information at sstiawards.org.

Visit our SSTI awards resources page for the call for applications, writing samples, and to listen to the information call.

Don’t delay – deadline for applications is May 26.

Building Bridges for a Better Future serves as the theme of this year’s conference, taking place Sept. 13-15 in Washington, D.C. “We chose the theme after hearing from our members and others in the field about the importance of reaching outside of our traditional networks and imagining what the future may hold for those in the innovation economy,” said Dan Berglund, SSTI president and CEO. “We’re excited to hold the conference in the nation’s capital, and share the stories of successes, along with the challenges, that stakeholders in science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship are facing.”

The SSTI Excellence in TBED awards program is back! SSTI wants to provide you with a national platform to share your organization’s success stories and be recognized during this year’s 2017 Annual Conference as a leader in the economic development field. Tell your story by submitting an application in one of this year’s awards categories.

The Senate Commerce Committee approved Wednesday the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (AICA), a reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. SSTI thanks Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) for his leadership in successfully offering an amendment to increase the authorization level for the Regional Innovation (RI) program to $30 million, which provides support for local innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth. SSTI also recognizes Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Sen.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Columbus, home to SSTI’s 2016 Annual Conference, has won a $40 million grant from the agency, beating out five other cities in the Smart City Challenge.

You talk about your program often, tout its successes (?) and share with stakeholders your program’s impact. Why not let the entire country in on your good work? The SSTI Excellence in TBED awards program can provide your organization with that national audience of your peers!

External validation through an Excellence in TBED award certifies the superior quality of your initiative, lending independent credentials to your program as stakeholders and funders consider future investments. SSTI’s open call for applications for the 2014 awards program is April 16. Share with us the important work you are doing to support regional economies through efforts to: expand and commercialize research, increase access to capital, build entrepreneurial capacity, and improve the competitiveness of existing industries. We’ll also recognize a newer initiative for a creative approach in design or implementation.

Practitioners in the technology-based economic development field often face questions about what they do, or what the field entails. The answer can be a challenge. Is it attracting high-quality jobs and businesses to an area, finding capital to finance science and tech startups, STEM education support, educating a new workforce, bringing research ideas to the marketplace, partnering with other organizations to achieve all those goals? It can be a mouthful, and it can be difficult to convey all those ideas in simple terms.

On March 1, 1996, the first edition of the SSTI Digest was sent to a select group of fewer than 60 state tech-based economic development leaders. The original subscribers received the Digest via fax every Friday because Sprint offered unlimited, free calls and faxes each Friday. Since these early days, the Digest has grown to thousands of subscribers from across the country as well as hundreds of subscribers from several countries.

Last summer, SSTI and JumpStart Inc. conducted a survey of tech-based economic development (TBED) organizations on how groups use and invest in information technology tools. The goal of this survey was to gather a greater understanding of the basic challenges TBED organizations face with regard to information technology, as well as their self-identified strategic goals and whether they believe their IT spending priorities are helping them achieve these goals.

SSTI Excellence in TBED award winners produce real results that are changing the landscape of their communities, expanding infrastructure to grow high-tech sectors and improving the competitiveness of their regions. Their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed in the broader innovation community. Over the past couple of months, award winners have grabbed headlines – and funding – for their impressive work. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker stopped by Clemson University’s Center for Automotive Research to tout its success in workforce development. In St. Louis, Monsanto recently awarded $2.5 million to BioSTL to support bioscience startups and, in Arizona, a $1 million grant will help fund ASU accelerator programs.

Help us spread the news about the program! SSTI’s open call for applications for the 2014 Excellence in TBED awards is April 16.

A limited number of printed original copies of Innovation U 2.0 are available. The publication identifies the 12 best practice universities at generating economic impact from their intellectual capital. SSTI wants to share them with our community and will randomly select FIVE winners from our Facebook fans. Hurry! Winners will be announced on Facebook Friday, April 11. https://www.facebook.com/ssti.org

Registration is now open for the Excellence in TBED awards informational call. The purpose of the call is to share tips on writing a better proposal, explain the program in greater detail, and answer questions. Advice from past judges of the awards program also will be highlighted. Learn more and register at: http://www.sstiawards.org/. 

Visit www.sstiawards.org to sign up for the May 7 call to learn more about the 2014 awards program and for helpful hints on writing an outstanding application. This could be your year to capture national recognition for your local, state or regional innovation efforts. Check out the latest adventures of SSTI’s Traveling Vase. 

Registration is LIVE for SSTI’s 2014 Annual Conference, Regional Prosperity Through Innovation, and we want you to be there! For a limited time, we are offering an early registration rate of only $575 for members, $520 for multi-member and $675 for all others.