U.S. economic policy will require a renewed focus on production and globally traded sectors in order to restore U.S. competitiveness, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Furthering the argument laid out in the recently published book Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage and in last year's report "The Case for a National Manufacturing Strategy", ITIF's Stephen J. Ezell and Robert D. Atkinson present 50 recommendations for federal reform to restore the U.S.' competitive edge.

The Department of Commerce announced the winners of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge, the Economic Development Administration-led competition seeking to help cities and regions develop a comprehensive economic development strategy. Greensboro, North Carolina, Hartford, Connecticut, and Las Vegas, Nevada each were awarded $1 million to assist in the refinement and implementation of their respective plans.

The Illinois Science & Energy Innovation Foundation, a $72.5 million investment fund approved by the state's General Assembly last year, debuted this week. While 70 percent of the fund will be used to educate consumers about smart grid technology, another $22.5 million, provided by utility companies, will support grants, loans and contracts to groups working on smart grid technologies, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Whether to attract federal grants, keep up with demand to graduate more highly skilled students, or advance the capabilities for research and exploration, universities are pushing for state funding to invest in science buildings and other infrastructure needed to expand research capacity and improve competitiveness. In New Jersey, a measure to approve $750 million in higher education borrowing to build and renovate campus facilities will go to the voters in November.

The U.S. economy is poised to create up to five million new manufacturing jobs by 2020 due to increasing demand for U.S. exports, according to new research from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Since 2006, U.S. exports have risen by 30 percent — far outpacing the growth in gross domestic product (GDP). BCG senior partner, Harold L. Sirkin, projects that the demand for U.S. exports will continue to grow, leading to an American Manufacturing renaissance between 2015 and 2020.

Unless Congress and the White House take action by the end of the year, across-the-board spending reductions will go into effect for all federal agencies as a result of provisions in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The budget sequestration would reduce defense discretionary funding by 9.4 percent and non-defense funding by 8.2 percent from the 2011 baseline.

Voters in 37 states will decide on more than 170 ballot measures this year, many of which are related to tech-based economic development (TBED). Tax measures seem to be dominating ballots this year, with questions relating to both decreases and increases for sales, property and income taxes. Several states are counting on voters to agree to temporary increases to help fill budget deficits and ensure steady funding for education.

On November 6, in addition to the presidential election, eleven state and two territorial gubernatorial contests will be decided. Seven of these races (Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) include a sitting governor running for re-election, while the remaining six (American Samoa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington) are open races.

There are only six days left before early registration ends on Monday, October 8. Register today and save at least $100 per registration. This year we are offering two full days of conference activities including 16 breakout sessions, four session tracks, three workshops and two networking receptions. Find out more at: ssticonference.org.

Though innovation and entrepreneurship was notably absent from Wednesday's presidential debate on domestic policy, presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have acknowledged the importance of technological innovation in stimulating the economy and bolstering U.S. competitive capabilities in the global economy.

The White House announced the Make it in America Challenge, a $40 million multi-agency initiative to help regions across the country provide the critical infrastructure, strategic planning, capacity building, technical assistance and workforce development resources necessary to foster insourcing by U.S. firms. Led by the Economic Development Administration, an interagency panel will make up to 16 awards to projects that encourage businesses to bring production back to or expand their operations in the United States.

A culmination of twelve months of data measuring the Illinois innovation economy finds improved economic growth in four sectors: dynamism, capital, talent, and business climate. Positive indicators include record growth in university startups and a significant increase in invention disclosures and patents awarded to Illinois universities. Additionally, venture capital funding reached a ten-year high of $1.4 billion in 2012.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

New energy plans unveiled by governors in Connecticut and Mississippi promise to capitalize on current strengths, build capacity for future projects, and encourage public-private partnerships to scale up clean energy projects and create jobs by attracting more R&D investment to the states. Connecticut's draft strategy proposes economic incentives to drive down costs of new technology and maximize the use of clean energy finance banks — an approach that is heralded as a model for other states in a recent policy report.

Register by Monday, Oct. 15 to Save $100! SSTI has extended early registration for our 16th Annual Conference in Atlanta until Monday, October 15! Register now to save at least $100 per registration! Join the more than 250 people who already have signed up for the conference!

Join us for the biggest and best conference yet. This year we are offering two full days of conference activities including 16 breakout sessions, four session tracks, three workshops and two networking receptions.

Several federal agencies have joined forces to launch a new beta website that allows individuals to look at U.S. federal investments in science and engineering from two agencies — the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The R&D dashboard gives users the ability to search and download data on grants issued by the federal government to research institutions (investments) and on output activities (e.g., patents and publications) from federally funded research by state, congressional district and research institution.

Manufacturers across the nation celebrated National Manufacturing Day on Friday and the topic on many people's minds was reshoring.

Mobile app development is emerging as a bright spot in the U.S. innovation economy, according to a report commissioned by CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Application Developers Alliance. The groups estimate that more than 500,000 jobs have been created in the U.S. based on app development since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007. This count includes IT-related jobs in service of app development, non-IT jobs at app companies and jobs in the local economy supported by app developers.

As the private company SpaceX sends its first cargo delivery to the International Space Station, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced close to $500,000 in matching grants in three areas to assist with space transportation infrastructure.

The Air Force Research Laboratory announced that it will commit up to $2.2 million, plus up to an additional $2.2 million in matching funds collected by the recipient organization, to establish a National Nano-Bio Manufacturing Institute for Defense Aerospace, a virtual public-private partnership to spur collaborate research in industrially-relevant nano-bio manufacturing technologies and establish developmental roadmaps for the aerospace manufacturing community. Existing or near-established nonprofit organizations, including institutions of higher education, are eligible to apply.

Angel investment activity continues to recover from the crash that hit startup capital markets in late 2008, according to the latest report from the University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research (UNH CVR). During the first half of 2012, the number of ventures receiving angel funding grew by a modest 3.7 percent over the same period in 2011. Healthcare remains the dominant target of angel investments, comprising about a quarter of angel dollars into the first half of the year.

At the upcoming SSTI Annual Conference in Atlanta, SSTI staff will present on the role foundations have played in support of Venture Development Organizations (VDOs), accelerators, and other regional economic development organizations. Through research and interviews with various foundations, SSTI staff have identified nearly 200 examples of foundation grants to organizations that support a regional innovation system.

In 2012, Big Data has become one of the hottest topics in the news and the minds of both government and business leaders. Big Data is the collection and analysis of data that is too big, growing too fast or is too complex for existing information technology systems to handle.

As a part of its Compendium of Evidence on the Effectiveness of Innovation Policy intervention, the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research released a report entitled Fiscal Incentives for Business R&D. The authors advocate how a fiscal incentive for R&D, particularly a tax credit, can be a "flexible instrument that can foster the connectivity within a national innovation system."

At SSTI's 16th Annual Conference, you will have the opportunity to explore comprehensive, flexible programs and innovative, "lean" models to support and cultivate faculty entrepreneurs. Join National Science Foundation's Rathindra "Babu" DasGupta, the University of North Carolina's Judith Cone and Marnie LaVigne from the University at Buffalo as they discuss what universities need to do to create a class of Faculty CEOs. Learn more about this session...