Yesterday, we started sharing some of the themes captured by your New Voices bloggers at the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Forum. Today we continue by sharing our notes from two of Friday's sessions.Also - be sure to check out the New Voices Twitter feed for direct quotes from the speakers.
Strengthening the U.S. Climate for Innovation
- Innovation is using new knowledge to generate payback.
- Innovation has accounted for half of U.S. productivity growth over the pat 50 years (see slide above, courtesy of Andrew Taylor of The Boston Consulting Group).
- Increased direct government spending yields results.
- Excellence in science and technology is not enough to be a world leader.
- We need to remove barriers and encourage creativity.
- We need new kinds of scientists and engineers with: communication skills, multicultural understanding, foreign languages, and training in psychology and the creative arts
- What can the U.S. do?
- Promote science & technology education
- Increase innovation spending
- Promote industry clusters & centers of excellence
- Remove bureaucratic barriers
- Promote intellectual property protections
- Cyber security is uncharted territory; there are no rules of war.
- There is a relationship between higher education and intelligence communities. One mechanism for collaboration is the NSHEAB - National Security Higher Education Advisory Board which works with federal intelligence community.
I'm not sure I agree with #5 - Promote intellectual property protections. Science advances much more quickly with free access to ideas and data. To remain competitive we need to make efficient progress, and re-inventing the wheel every time someone approaches a similar question is not efficient. For example, our advances in alternative energy have been greatly slowed by patents and protections compared to other areas of research.
ReplyDelete