Report Outlines National Innovation Strategy and Key Goals for Securing America’s Competitiveness in the 21st Century

The National Economic Council and Office of Science & Technology Policy recently released the guiding principles and priorities for the Obama administration’s innovation agenda.   “A Strategy for American Innovation: Driving toward Sustainable Growth and Quality Jobs” outlines three broad objectives and a number of specific action items which include: 

• Invest in the Building Blocks of American Innovation – a goal which specifies a number of key action items including the doubling of the R&D budgets of key science agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, and for investing 3 percent of the nation’s GDP in R&D in both public and private sectors.
• Promote Competitive Markets that Spur Productive Entrepreneurship – which calls for, among other things, an increase in access to capital for new businesses and the elimination of capital gains taxes on small businesses as well as providing training and mentoring to entrepreneurs.  
• Catalyze Breakthroughs for National Priorities – this includes doubling the nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years and investing in clean energy innovation through a ten-year, $150 billion fund for R&D and demonstration of clean energy technologies. 

Many of these initiatives have already received funding through the federal stimulus package.  But many more of the specific action items called for will require additional investments and support.  For the full details and all the action items it calls for,  see The National Innovation Strategy.