Economic Stimulus and Innovation Capacity at the Department of Energy

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

The research addresses a fundamentally important question -- namely how the federal government can accelerate the rate of progress in energy innovation. Over the last twenty-five years, the Federal Government has significantly expanded its role in supporting the private sector?s commercialization of new civilian and dual use technologies. However, as contributors to the ?science of science policy? have noted, the research community has not yet developed a set of effective metrics or even conceptual tools to track the relative effectiveness of different initiatives and funding strategies. The consequence is that there is still much work to be in done in identifying the ?best practices? for allocating Federal R&D dollars. Two key questions are addressed in order to advance the understanding of ?best practices?. The first is what types of resources and what types of capacities do agencies need to improve their effectiveness in moving technologies towards large scale deployment? The second is how do the agency?s patterns of network collaboration shift in response to the science investments? The answer to the second question is particularly important given that both technological breakthroughs and continuing industry development rely on the construction of complex collaborative networks that link government officials with businesses and with technologists in universities and federal laboratories The PI develops a comprehensive database on all of the agency?s initiatives for three distinct technologies: photovoltaics, advanced batteries, and cellulosic ethanol through the fir. The database will consist of data provided by the agency as well as interviews with agency and private sector officials. The resulting three rich case studies will inform a broader understanding of both success and failures during the implementation period. Such case studies are critical to developing a better understanding of the varieties of strategies pursued by government agencies and they also illuminate the complex web of collaborators in the private sector, in universities, and in federal laboratories. Broader Impact: The enhanced understanding of how public-private technology partnerships work is likely to lead to more effective partnerships that better promote technology commercialization. The timely and the "on the ground" analysis of the very substantial increase in funding for the DOE both generate knowledge of significant importance to our knowledge of the larger question of the role of the federal government in supporting innovation but yields immediate benefits for the DOE itself -- providing an opportunity for careful reflection and analysis in close to real time.