Virginia named one of the top 10 states for encouraging innovation

Virginia is ranked among the top 10 states in the nation on a scorecard that grades  support for entrepreneurs and growing businesses.

The inaugural Innovation Scorecard developed by the Arlington-based Consumer Electronics Association examined how the legal, regulatory and business climates of the 50 states and the District of Columbia welcomed and encouraged innovation during 2014.

“The future of growth and economic prosperity in this country is most vibrant in places where policies and political climates serve to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude that is part of our American DNA,” Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, said in a statement. “Our hope is that states will use our Scorecard as a measurable guidepost to improve their policies supporting innovation.”

In addition to Virginia, the states receiving the highest grades are Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia.

The CEA report issues grades on10 categories, including: right-to-work laws; policies that support new business models; tax friendliness; Internet speed; and size of the tech workforce.

Key findings include:

• Delaware leads the nation in providing the fastest average Internet speed, at 16,200 kbps;

• The District of Columbia leads the nation in tech jobs per capita;

• Massachusetts and California bring in the most venture capital investment dollars, more than $500 per capita, in the U.S; and

• Massachusetts, California, Washington, Connecticut and Delaware received higher R&D investment than other states.

Virginia received a grade of A+ for having right-to-work laws; A for having fast Internet; B for welcoming new business models, having a high per-capita tech workforce, attracting investment, granting STEM degrees and maintaining innovation momentum; B- for being tax friendly; and C+ for entrepreneurial activity. The commonwealth did not receive a grade for innovation-friendly sustainable policies.

CEA said the Innovation Scorecard will be annually updated to reflect states’ evolving policies and any changes in measuring innovation. The complete scorecard, featuring category rankings, state-by-state profiles and an explanation of CEA’s methodology can be found at CE.org/scorecard.

CEA is a  technology trade association representing 2,000 members involved in the $223 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.