Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a coalition of Chicago organizations and private businesses have announced plans to place at least 1,000 workers in manufacturing jobs. The mayor’s 2015 budget proposal, presented this week, includes $200,000 for the effort, with another $750,000 in funds and in-kind contributions from partners. Recent growth in the region’s manufacturing sector has created an urgent need for workers with specific training and apprenticeships, according to the mayor’s announcement.

Australian Minster Tony Abbott announced a $400 million AUD (approximately $352M USD) national Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda focused on building the country’s innovation economy, supporting apprenticeship and workforce programs that address the needs of industry, and promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.  The centerpiece of the agenda is a $188 million AUD (approximately $165.5M USD) initiative to create industry growth cente

Earlier this summer, President Obama announced that his administration would be taking executive action to reform immigration policy, working to improve the entirety of the immigration system by tweaking individual components. This week, at a startup incubator in Los Angeles, the President revealed at least one of those components: the H1B system.

James A. Anderson, the founder and CEO of Detroit-based retail consulting firm Urban Science, and his wife donated $25 million last week to support the entrepreneurial efforts of Wayne State University’s engineering and computer science faculty and students.

Over the past decade, two ideas have become more and more popular among innovation and economic development leaders. First, that maximizing collaboration between institutions, interest groups, stakeholders and communities is pivotal in building an innovation ecosystem that can succeed and grow over time. Second, that proximity matters, and by focusing on innovation networks at the regional or metro scale, rather than at the national or state level, initiatives can have a real, measurable economic impact. Though they seem complementary, these ideas are frequently in tension.

In Q3 2014, venture capital (VC) investments in the U.S. dropped by 30 percent from Q2 totals, according a new report from CB Insights. Q3 VC deal levels also dropped by 10 percent from Q2 totals. The severe drop, however, can be attributed to Q2 being the most successful VC quarter since Q1 2001. The good news is that the first three quarters of 2014 saw the U.S. VC investment total reach $33.75 billion – an increase of 59 percent compared to the first nine months of last year.

With Gov. Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Sen.

As part of Next Century Cities, a new bipartisan, city-to-city initiative, 32 cities and their elected leaders from across the United States are uniting to recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit-level Internet for economic development. The initiative enables participating cities to work together to learn about best practices in engaging and assisting communities in developing and deploying next-generation broadband Internet so that every community has the resources needed to succeed.

Commercial knowledge and technology-intensive (KTI) industries produced nearly one-fourth of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 ($3.8 trillion), according to a recently released National Science Foundation (NSF) Infobrief using Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Purdue University, the University City Science Center, and Washington State University announced the creation of new investment funds to support the growth of university-affiliated startups in their respective communities. These three recently announced commercialization funds all share a common trend – they will be managed or assisted in the management process via public-private partnerships.

On the heels of a recent memo from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) highlighting the difficulty middle-skill workers are having finding a route into the modern economy, reports from two tech hotspots suggest that local action is needed to ensure that tech success translates into widespread economic prosperity.

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will administer two new initiatives to bring clean energy technologies to market. Lab-Corps, a $2.3 million pilot program, will build on the National Science Foundation’s iCorps model to accelerate the development of cleantech discoveries and train lab researchers.

November 3, 2014, is the last day to submit an application for FY14 grants through the Economic Development Administration’s Regional Innovation Strategies program.  The current solicitation includes three different types of awards: i6 Challenge grants, Science and Research Park Development Grants; and, Cluster Grants to support the development of seed capital funds.

On November 4, 42 states will vote on 146 ballot issues across a wide array of issues. In addition to initiatives on gun control, bear baiting, and the minimum wage, several initiatives relevant to the TBED community are also up for decision. SSTI has gathered information on many of these and will discuss their results after next week’s elections.

The federal government should invest in strategic technologies and multi-agency initiatives to iincrease U.S. advanced manufacturing capabilities, according to a new report from the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee “2.0” is a cross-sector, national effort to secure US leadership in emerging technologies that create high-quality manufacturing jobs and enhance the nation’s competitiveness.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed a new law (HB 5273) that will allow for the creation of secondary markets through which intrastate crowdfunded securities can be listed, sold and resold. Under the new securities exemption, broker-dealers interested in establishing an exchange (online or in person) must apply and be registered with the state as well as follow rules of operation laid out in the legislation.

On November 20, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold its annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation in Washington, D.C. The forum will include a morning panel session and four afternoon breakout groups. During the morning panel, the SEC panel will kick off the event by tackling several topics including the hot-button issue of defining accredited investor. In the afternoon, attendees can register to attend one of four topic-specific breakout groups:

On Tuesday, 36 states held gubernatorial elections. Though it was a good night overall for incumbents, 10 new governors will take office next year. Republicans picked up four governorships that are currently under Democratic control, including Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts, while Democrats managed a win in currently Republican Pennsylvania. New governors will also take office in Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Texas.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a Request for Applications (RFA) for cities seeking economic revitalization through the National Resource Network (The Network), a public-private initiative that works with national experts and strategic partners to increase the economic competitiveness of cities and reverse population decline, job loss, and high poverty rates.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the solicitation for the second round of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) will be released in the coming weeks. Through this federal funding competition, regions from across the country will compete to receive the designation of manufacturing communities and receive the financial and technical support of 11 federal agencies to achieve economic growth and job creation through manufacturing.

In two recent academic journal articles from the United Kingdom (UK), the authors look at the characteristics that lead to successful entrepreneurs and startup firms. In both articles, the founders’ business experience – both corporate and entrepreneurial – was a strong indicator of startup success, sustainability, and job creation.

In case you missed it, the midterm elections were on Tuesday, resulting in Republicans taking control of Congress, several new governors, and five states endorsing minimum wage increases.

With about 82 percent of all U.S. state legislative seats up for election on Tuesday, Republicans took control of 11 chambers previously held by Democrats, according to the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL). As of Wednesday, state legislative chambers stood at 68 Republican and 30 Democrat, with Nebraska’s unicameral legislature as non-partisan.

The Department of Defense (DOD) released a federal funding opportunity (FFO) to establish an Integrated Photonics Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IP-IMI). Administered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Integrated Photonics Institute will assist in developing an end-to-end photonics ecosystem in the U.S. and support photonics-focused research and development efforts across the country (see related Digest article).

Three research-focused economic development organizations have released reports over the course of the last month detailing their progress in supporting economic growth, innovation, and beyond. The University of Massachusetts, the Georgia Research Alliance, and the Virginia Center for Innovative Technologies each use a different approach to measure their success and to communicate their impact to external stakeholders. The variety of releases demonstrates the range of approaches that organizations use to provide useful data in a format that attracts attention to their achievements.