What does bird migration have to do with regional innovation?
Carolina Chickadee
(Credit: Mr. Jamsey)
Recent Research: Is innovation district success the enemy of resilience?
Innovation districts have become a central tool in contemporary economic development, promoted for their ability to revitalize underused urban areas, attract high-growth firms, and strengthen regional competitiveness. Influenced by early work from Bruce Katz and colleagues at the Brookings Institution, many districts were intentionally located in formerly industrial or disinvested neighborhoods and initially delivered clear economic gains.
Times Higher Education finds interdisciplinary research drives university innovation
Serious birdwatchers know one finds the most variety in species where habitats collide, on the edges of domains. This also holds true for innovation, discovery, and scientific disciplines. Recent research shows that institutions that support interdisciplinary teams with strategic investments, institutional alignment, and collaborative ecosystems are more likely to create innovations that lead to patents, products, and companies.
Serious birdwatchers know one finds the most variety in species where habitats collide, on the edges of domains. This also holds true for innovation, discovery, and scientific disciplines. Recent research shows that institutions that support interdisciplinary teams with strategic investments, institutional alignment, and collaborative ecosystems are more likely to create innovations that lead to patents, products, and companies.
China's next goal: Global leadership in innovation
Long-time readers may recall the SSTI Weekly Digest article included in its May 30, 2005, edition, two decades ago, titled "China's Goal: Quadruple 2000 GDP by 2020." China made it by the way, growing 428 percent from 2000 to 2020, measured with purchasing power parity (PPP) in constant 2021 international dollars. The United States, for comparison, grew only 44 percent in the same period and has trailed China in GDP PPP on the international scale ever since sometime in 2021. As the chart using Word Bank data shows below, China has never looked back.
Recent Research: Do mergers and acquisitions spur more or less innovation?
With fewer than 1,000 Initial Public Offerings in any year, the most common exit strategy for investors in early-stage innovation firms is to find an acquisition opportunity. For the broader economic goal of encouraging innovation because it drives growth and societal progress, when large firms acquire smaller, innovative companies, does it promote innovation, or does it primarily help dominant players thwart possible competition and consolidate market power?
With fewer than 1,000 Initial Public Offerings in any year, the most common exit strategy for investors in early-stage innovation firms is to find an acquisition opportunity. For the broader economic goal of encouraging innovation because it drives growth and societal progress, when large firms acquire smaller, innovative companies, does it promote innovation, or does it primarily help dominant players thwart possible competition and consolidate market power? This is the central question of a recent research paper.
Why the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics matters for innovation policy
Note: The research careers for this year’s triple winners support the underlying arguments for public involvement in technology-based economic development. Well-designed and sustained public-private regional innovation initiatives—the work of SSTI and its member organizations—can make a positive difference for local competitiveness.
Note: The research careers for this year’s triple winners support the underlying arguments for public involvement in technology-based economic development. Well-designed and sustained public-private regional innovation initiatives—the work of SSTI and its member organizations—can make a positive difference for local competitiveness.
NSF plans for streamlined breakthrough innovation prizes
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) is inviting comments regarding the proposed collection of information for its Breakthrough Innovations Initiative application. According to the notice in the Federal Register, published on Sept. 19, 2025, they are launching this initiative “to enable researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs to apply unconventional approaches to create game-changing technologies and translate discoveries into tangible applications and products.”
Massachusetts Gov. requests $890.4M investment in TBED and innovation initiatives in five-year capital funding plan
Massachusetts’ Gov. Maura Healey recently proposed a multi-year funding strategy (Five-Year Massachusetts Capital Investment Plan (CIP) [FYs 2026-2030] that would include investment of $890.4 million, including general obligation bonds and private sector contributions, for many of the state’s TBED and innovation initiatives (programs are outlined below).
Recent research: Can regionally oriented innovation policies strengthen national competitiveness?
As policymakers consider how to invest limited dollars to stimulate R&D across the U.S. while other countries increase their investments, it’s important to examine whether newer regional policy approaches have the potential to increase national competitiveness versus traditional individual programs.
MassVentures report reveals the impact sustained, smart public innovation finance can have
In 1978, Massachusetts took a risk and made an $8.5 million investment into one of the earliest technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives in the world. The commonwealth, among the states hard-hit by the global manufacturing restructuring underway at the time, which led to the deep recession of the early 80s, knew it needed to try something different to restore its economy and its long-term competitiveness.