The most recently-passed federal legislation to address COVID-19 included funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to accelerate testing. The provision, added by Sens.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is implementing a rule that relaxes restrictions on crowdfunding through next February, according to a Federal Register notice published today. The net result of the temporary rule is to accelerate the timeline for a company to access capital through crowdfunding, at the expense of some public access and investor information.

In early March, we shared that organizations who use a web address ending in .ORG should be aware that a management change could result in registration fees for domain names doubling.

As college students close out highly disrupted spring semesters, higher education institutions across the country are trying to determine what the fall semester will entail, which has proven to be tricky at best. On campus or online instruction, hybrid plans and increased protections for students’ wellbeing are all topics administrators are grappling with in the midst of the pandemic. Meanwhile, prospective students are up in the air regarding their plans, as well, with a recent report revealing that domestic undergraduate enrollment for four-year institutions could decline 20 percent.

Frontline workers in Michigan who don’t have a degree may find a tuition-free pathway to college or a technical certificate, in the same manner as the G.I. Bill following World War II, while others states are also pursuing options for increased educational opportunities for workers who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is now accepting applications from eligible grantees for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) supplemental funds (EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance) intended to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled a one-stop-shop of federal programs that can be used by rural communities impacted by COVID-19. The resource guide lists programs that can be used to provide immediate and long-term assistance in support of recovery efforts for rural residents, businesses and communities through:

A new set of technology transfer strategies designed to incentivize rapid utilization of available technologies that may be useful for preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 infection during the pandemic has been established by a group including Stanford and Harvard universities and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The licensing strategies are meant to facilitate rapid global access of available technologies to help fight the pandemic.

SBA released data on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) this week for all approved loan activity through April 13 and told banks Wednesday night that the program is nearly out of funds. The data show more than 1 million loans worth more than $247 million approved across all states and territories.

The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor for Q1 of 2020 shows just a few signs of investment activity slowing down. The high and low ends of the VC spectrum appear particularly robust, with the number of angel (653) and mega (62) deal counts both almost exactly on track to match 2019’s figures.

In early April the Department of Labor announced a $42.5 million grant opportunity for the Youth Apprenticeship Readiness Grant Program. The program is to support the development of new or expanding registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) for youth, including quality pre-apprenticeship programs that lead to a RAP.

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SSTI is launching a new initiative to improve innovation policy across the country with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. To achieve the goal of improving innovation policy, SSTI will be working with its members and other entrepreneurial support organizations to cultivate new policy champions from the ground up.

As the world begins to emerge from the “Great Lockdown” and governments increasingly turn their efforts towards reopening economies, many will look to past recessions for lessons on recovery. This edition of Useful Stats examines the rate of real GDP recovery by state following the recessions of 2001 and 2008.

A new Pew study sheds light on how states utilize budgeting tools in response to natural disasters. The study identifies five key tools used by states — statewide disaster accounts, rainy day funds, supplemental appropriations, transfer authority, and state agency budgets — and discusses eligibility and restrictions around each.

The largest increases in per capita income for metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) within the United States have occurred primarily within the Western, Mountain and Great Lakes states, according to data recently released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Nearly every MSA experienced greater income levels in 2018 when compared to their 10-year average.

A bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators have introduced bills that would make a five-year commitment to increase America’s investment in R&D by $100 billion, while also investing $10 bi

Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) named Mojdeh Bahar as the new associate director for innovation and industry services (ADIIS).

Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) will be led by the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA). CyManII will lead a national consortium with partners from industry, universities, and three DOE National Laboratories (Idaho, Oak Ridge, and Sandia). Its focus: to make U.S.

Join us for a special SSTI webinar on June 9th, when U.S. Economic Development Administration representatives will share information regarding $1.5 billion in economic development grants available for coronavirus response and recovery efforts at the local, state and regional levels. The EDA team also will discuss the pending innovation and entrepreneurship challenge component of the funding. Join us to learn more about qualifying for grants, which types of project support/assistance will be funded, how to apply, and more. There will be time for Q&A at the end of the presentation.

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.

Advances in science and technology have lifted the United States out of past economic downturns, and Americans are eager for a new commitment to research and innovation to be made now. Even at the outset of unprecedented economic conditions, more than 90 percent of the electorate supported expanded efforts to strengthen the key elements of a knowledge-driven economy.

These are among the findings of a recent poll conducted by GQR and TargetPoint Consulting for SSTI.

SBA began offering a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on April 27, and SBA’s data indicate this round is better distributed across businesses and the states than the first. As of May 8, round two has approved $189 billion across nearly 2.6 million loans, 55 percent more than in all of round one. The average loan size in round two is $73,488, which is a significant drop from the first round’s average of $206,022.

A recent economic-impact study by Summit Consulting and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research analyzed the overall effect of projects undertaken by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) on the U.S.

While few will be able to escape the resulting hardships of the current economic downturn, America’s most economically vulnerable communities — those where household finances were already unstable and work scarce — will be hit hardest by the recession currently underway.