Exploring Innovation Frontiers Initiative

Council On Competitiveness, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to understand the over-the-horizon, transformative innovation models that will drive U.S. competitiveness in the coming decades. Focusing on new innovation models is of critical importance to national prosperity and economic security, as innovation is the primary driver of productivity and, thus, an effective vehicle to increase the U.S. standard of living. With increasing global, innovation-based competition and rising challenges in the U.S. innovation system, practitioners and stakeholders are facing difficult questions about how individuals, teams, communities and national institutions of knowledge creation and innovation will transform to support current and future U.S. innovation. Through progressive dialogue series, this project will help 1) craft a transformational innovation action agenda with national and regional stakeholders to position the U.S. as a global innovation leader for decades to come; 2) catalyze a larger movement to enhance U.S. competitiveness and economic growth by accelerating knowledge creation and the translation of science and engineering research into market reality; and 3) expand and improve public and private sector engagement by providing the opportunities for potential partners around the country to connect and collaborate. This project will provide an analysis that will synthesize and disseminate broadly the experiential knowledge of active innovation practitioners. The methodology is a series of expert dialogues across the U.S. underpinned by best-in-class reports and initiatives making the competitiveness case for strengthening innovation ecosystems. These dialogues will convene a diverse and representative mix of innovation leaders from industry, entrepreneurial community, academia, national laboratories and research institutions, and other stakeholders. The information will provide academicians with directions for future research in innovation, business leaders and strategists with insights to inform future business models, and policymakers with knowledge to enact public policies that create a supportive environment for sustained innovation-driven growth.