The House Committee on Appropriations advanced an FY 2022 funding bill that provides for substantial increases to many science and innovation programs.

Today, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced funding opportunities for the $3 billion Congress provided the agency in the American Rescue Plan Act. Funds are available through six distinct challenges, with separate goals and application processes/deadlines for each.

Falling demand for office real estate and public transit, greater need for flexible child care and requirements for reskilling are some of the insights gained into the future of Massachusetts’ workforce.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $60 million in funding for its largest-ever cohort of university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) to assist small- and medium-sized manufacturers in reducing their carbon emissions and lowering energy costs.

Vulnerabilities in the international networks that supply goods and services needed for finished products used by the Department of Defense were exposed to a higher degree during the pandemic, and became the subject of a congressional Armed Services task force. The bipartisan Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force was established to make the security of the U.S.

Earlier this week, the House science committee advanced a series of technology-focused bills, including a $7 billion authorization of regional technology hubs. This legislation completes the committee’s work to produce a companion to the Senate’s U.S.

The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Capital Monitor for the first half of 2021 reveals that the market is set to break a number of investing records, but strikingly, the record levels of investment activity are all being set by the later stages of investment. At the other end of the funnel, activity is increasing, but not at the same pace as the overall market.

With the continuing development of efficient technologies, energy consumption may drop 60 percent by 2050 while continuing to provide decent living standards, according to a new study. Research by the University of Leeds, published as Providing Decent Living with Minimum Energy: A Global Scenario in Global Environmental Change, developed a roadmap for lowering worldwide energy usage.

Utah and Maryland have climbed the ranks and moved into third and fourth place behind two long-standing leaders in the Information Technology and Information Foundation’s (ITIF) State New Economy Index. The index measures states’ structural capacity for successfully navigating a global economy that is increasingly driven by technological innovation.

In a recently revised working paper from the Center for International Development at Harvard University, the contemporary rise of populism is explained in a new light, that of unfair economic outcomes, often in the form of low social mobility.

In Washington and Brussels, lawmakers are increasingly vocal about expanding the application of antitrust rules within the tech sector.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced $43.3 million for 51 projects in the region’s coal-impacted communities. More than half of the awards will support recovery-to-work efforts or broadband initiatives. To date, ARC has awarded over $238 million and supported 293 projects.

In 2018, 5.8 million students at colleges and universities within the United States were either the children of first-generation immigrants or were immigrants themselves, which accounted for 28 percent of the total student population and was a noticeable increase from the 2.9 million enrolled in 2000. This data serves as the foundation of a new report from the Migration Policy Institute, Immigrant-Origin Students in U.S.

First-time beginning students looking to pursue post-secondary education tumbled this fall, showing a 16.1 percent decrease nationally when compared with last year’s figures, according to recently released data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That decline was even worse at community colleges, down 22.7 percent compared to a 1.4 percent increase the previous year.

Following President Joe Biden’s signing of the FY 2022 budget, yesterday the National Science Foundation announced the formation of the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate that was approved in the bill.

The Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC) released its 2022 R&D Index earlier this week. The 2022 R&D Index, which is one component of ISTC’s Illinois Innovation Index, assesses Illinois’s capacity for innovation and economic growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The last R&D Index released by ISTC was in 2019.

Among the key findings of the report:

Today the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awarded nearly $21 million for 21 projects impacting 211 counties through its POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revital

This month, President Joe Biden announced the final rule of his Buy American initiative, which includes increasing the mandated U.S.-made content for federal contractors from 55 percent to 75 percent over seven years and strengthening domestic supply chains for critical goods.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently awarded nearly $1.2 million to four institutions through its Advanced Manufacturing Technology Roadmap Program (MfgTech). Awards through this program will fund projects in industries and technologies such as microelectronics and biotechnology for up to 18 months to address national priorities for improving competitiveness and vaccine manufacturing capabilities. 

This week, the House science committee met to discuss the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The hearing comes as SBIR/STTR is both about to celebrate its 40th anniversary and is set to expire in less than six months without reauthorizing legislation. Members and witnesses focused the conversation on SBIR/STTR’s role in generating economic growth and on recommendations for improvements.

Despite the shutdown of many business and government activities during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of SBIR/STTR awards made to innovation-focused companies continued to increase over record-breaking 2019 levels, rising 3.7 percent. This edition of SSTI’s Useful Stats examines the total number of SBIR/STTR awards and the top awarding agency by state in 2020.

Two recent reports feature evidence demonstrating the importance of early-stage entrepreneurship for the United States economy. The first report from the Kauffman Foundation released four indicators used to track early-stage entrepreneurial development. The second report from the Economic Innovation Group studies how dynamic the U.S. economy is and recommends ways to increase the economy's dynamism, many of which center around startups and new small businesses. Both reports highlight new ways to measure early-stage entrepreneurship and offer ways to expand these businesses.

Earlier this week, legislation was introduced in the Senate that would rescind $2.3 billion from the State Small Business Credit Initiative. The purpose of the action would be to source funds for an additional $10 billion for new COVID expenses; the Senate proposal opts to reduce selected unspent funds from American Rescue Plan Act and CARES Act programs. The cut to SSBCI is targeted at states’ potential third tranches of program funds, as well as 40 percent of the overall SSBCI technical assistance funding.

Earlier today, the Economic Development Administration announced the 2022 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the Build to Scale program. State and local governments, nonprofits, institutions of higher education, National Labs and others are eligible to compete for a total of $45 million in funds to support new and expanded initiatives that support regional commercialization, entrepreneurship and capital formation efforts.

EDA has slightly restructured the program for this year’s competition, with two funding streams and two levels of awards for each.

As the country celebrates Women’s History Month two recent reports, one from the National Academy of Inventors and another from PitchBook, feature women’s achievements and offer recommendations to encourage more participation from women.