innovation

This morning, NSF announced 44 development, or Type-1, awards from its first Regional Innovation Engines competition. According NSF’s visualization, 33 of the lead organizations are from academic institutions, with 13 of those from institutions that are not classified as R1s, and the remaining 11 leads from other types of nonprofits. The Type-1 awards provide up to $1 million over two years for the partners to work toward strengthening their regional innovation ecosystems, with an eye toward developing a stronger Type-2 proposal in the future. Congratulations to the SSTI members that received awards as lead organizations—including Emory University, Kansas State University, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Hawaii, University of Nevada Reno, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Austin, Washington University in St. Louis, The Water Council—and the many members participating as partners across the awards.

Despite being hit with a recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest 5-year impact report from Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) shows even higher growth than the previous five years. The most recent analysis, The Economic Impact of Ben Franklin Technology Partners, reveals that BFTP generated $400 million in tax receipts for the state and boosted Pennsylvania’s overall economy by $6.1 billion between 2017 and 2021, contributing to an overall boost of more than $30 billion since the program began more than 40 years ago.

For those readers who have seen their 53rd birthday, it was probably not a remarkable occasion. Perhaps it passed by without notice, and why should it? It isn’t regarded as a major milestone like 21, 50, 60 or 75.  What good is 53? It is often overlooked because we rarely run into it. We put 52 cards in a deck, but 53? We can’t deal with that.

Earth Day probably felt that way this year as Saturday, April 22, went by with fewer people marking its 53rd birthday than in previous years. Collectively, the gifts in its honor seem smaller, less meaningful.

In his budget proposal, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore proposed $10 million in funding for a new program that would provide grants of up to $2 million to defray specified costs associated with an eligible innovation infrastructure project; the projects are intended to support innovation in eligible technology sectors including advanced manufacturing; aerospace; agriculture; artificial intelligence; biotechnology; blue technology; cybersecurity; defense; energy and sustainability; life sciences; quantum; and sensor and robotics. The governor also proposed $1 million in new funding for the creation of the Maryland Equitech Growth Fund, which would use multiple investment vehicles including direct investments, grants, and loans leveraged with private capital to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship and to meet the goals of promoting equitable economic development in Maryland’s advanced technology sectors.

Differences in per capita innovation capacity between urban and rural regions are not as large as previously believed according to a recent working paper from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). The study’s conclusions reduce the difference by a factor of three.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hubs) program. The RFI will help the agency gather information from stakeholders to inform the design and administration of Tech Hubs designation, planning, and implementation awards.

After a busy election season that saw gubernatorial elections in 36 states, newly elected and re-elected governors delivered their annual State of the State addresses, kicking off new programs and reviewing the conditions of their states. SSTI reviews the speeches every year and covers news of new developments and initiatives the governors have highlighted as they relate to the innovation economy. New programs are laid out here in the governors own words as excerpts from their State of the State or budget addresses. Not all governors delivered a State of the State, and some that did may not have revealed new innovation-related initiatives and so are not included in our coverage. Common initiatives among the governors that touched on innovation included an emphasis on workforce, education and broadband; water issues for Western governors; and, clean energy.

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves called on business leaders to “lean into” partnerships with the public sector to strengthen the United States’ position as a global tech leader during remarks at a recent Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) summit. In his speech, Graves emphasized the crucial role that innovation in business models, human capital, and talent management strategies, including diversity and inclusion, play in driving U.S. tech leadership domestically and abroad.

Recognizing that innovation ecosystems require broad networks of partners working together and knowing that many institutions of higher education (IHEs) lack the research capacity to be able to participate in external partnerships, the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships invites proposals from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and two-year institutions with limited or no research capacity to apply for the support necessary to become equitable partners with teams competing under the current and subsequent NSF Engines program funding opportunities.

A report from ITIF exploring the factors involved in ecosystem strength found that states in Germany generally perform better than states in the U.S., Italy, and Canada in terms of globalization, knowledge economy, and innovation capacity.