How Does Your State Rank on the Innovation Scale?

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Innovation Is Key

Innovation is crucial to sustainable economic growth, but for innovation to occur businesses must have both the incentive and the capacity to invest.

As innovation is key to the United States’ economy as a whole, many U.S. states are showing off while others are falling short when it comes to patents, R&D, venture capital and academics.

So which states are excelling in innovation and which ones are lacking, you ask?

Patents

The top states in patents per population include:

  1. Wisconsin
  2. Washington
  3. Texas
  4. Utah
  5. California
  6. Massachusetts

The bottom five patented states include:

  1. Alaska
  2. Mississippi
  3. Tennessee
  4. West Virginia
  5. Wyoming

Venture Capital

The top states for venture capital are:

  1. Massachusetts
  2. California
  3. Utah
  4. Washington
  5. Colorado

The lowest are:

  1. Arkansas
  2. Alaska
  3. Hawaii
  4. Wyoming
  5. Iowa
  6. South Dakota

R&D Spending

The leaders in R&D spending are:

  1. Delaware
  2. Michigan
  3. California
  4. Connecticut
  5. Massachusetts

The states that spent the least on R&D include:

  1. Arkansas
  2. Wyoming
  3. Louisiana
  4. Alaska
  5. Mississippi

Academics

As for academics, the top states include:

  1. New Mexico
  2. Maryland
  3. Rhode Island
  4. Massachusetts
  5. Alabama

The lowest academic rankings were for:

  1. Louisiana
  2. Arkansas
  3. Delaware
  4. Wyoming
  5. Nevada

If you are a U.S. based company conducting R&D you may be eligible for the federal and/or state research tax credit. Please contact a Swanson Reed representative to find out further information.

An Unlikely Tech Hub Rising in Northern Louisiana

Research and Development

State agencies and leaders in private industry are working together to turn what locals call the I-20 corridor – Monroe, Shreveport and Ruston –  into a prominent, self-sustaining tech ecosystem for capable professionals and internationally relevant innovation.

One of the first major public-private collaborations started in 2007 with the creation of the National Cyber Research Park and the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, which hugs the Red River across from Shreveport.

The center has tried to deliver more tech employers to the region, including IBM, the Computer Sciences Corporation and CSRA, a tech services provider for government.

At a cybersecurity convention in Louisiana on March 8th, the center’s executive director and president, Craig Spohn, spoke to why the region has been behind, despite the headquarters being in Monroe.

“A single-employer community limits the attraction because people have nowhere to go other than that one organization,” siad Spohn.

Bill Bradley, senior vice president of cyber engineering and technology services at CenturyLink, welcomed the region’s new entrants and the thousands of jobs they have added.

The workers who have filled them are “bringing up children who will stay in the area they grew up in,” he said. “Those things have positive benefits for our state.”

If you are a local company performing research and development activities in Louisiana and are interested in claiming the R&D tax credit on the state or federal level, please contact a Swanson Reed specialist by clicking here.

Huge Handouts for Louisiana Biotech Startups Thanks to Local Biofund

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The New Orleans BioFund, a low-interest loan program targeting biotech startups, has loaned $3 million to more than a dozen local startups.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development provided the first round of funding in late 2012 for the loan program. Loans ranged from $50,000 to $250,000 and went to small businesses in the 12-parish area affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The BioFund, based in the New Orleans BioInnovation Center downtown, have helped create 185 full-time equivalent jobs in south Louisiana through its investments in 15 startups.

The BioFund said the initial HUD funding is fully loaned out and is now being revolved for continued investments. The fund plans to move to a micro venture capital model moving forward.

Startups will be able to exchange ownership in the company for financing or secure a short-term loan. The fund will also offer loans that can be converted into ownership shares in the company at a later date, known as convertible debt financing.

Recipients of BioFund investments include Advanced Polymer Monitoring Technologies, a Tulane University-incubated company that has developed technology to improve industrial polymer production and pharmaceutical drug development. The startup received multiple investments to help it develop its technology.

InnoGenomics Technologies, which develops products for use in human forensics, used a BioFund loan to hire new staff and bring its first forensic testing kits to market. The startup is now exploring potential uses for its products in diagnosing certain cancers.

If you are a local company performing qualified research in Louisiana and are interested in claiming the research and development tax credit, click here to speak to one of our representatives for more information.