ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Innovation measures the extent to which a community and its institutions are generating new ideas, and the market’s reception of these ideas.

In this year’s update, we find that while university research and development funding decreased in Tampa Bay, the region’s ranking at 16th place held steady. University Technology Licensing income fell by $4.5 million and dropped to 12th place. Our regional patent awards per 10,000 residents rose slightly, while the national average fell, but we remain at 17th among comparison communities for the fi h consecutive year. Small business awards for innovation and technology transfer research (SBIR/STTR) increased from $1.41 to $4.02 per capita, but the region still is awarded less than half of the national average and almost 10 times less than the best performing community, Raleigh-Durham, at $39.59 per capita.