Depicting Innovation in Information Technology

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The very success of the industry sectors that produce information technology (IT) and the pervasiveness of IT products and services in daily life can obscure the interacting roles that industry, government, and academia play in conducting IT research and translating results into new products, services, and industries. This project will update earlier illustrations of such phenomena such as how much industry builds on government-funded university research, the long incubation periods sometimes needed for research to be translated into major industry activities, the steady work and funding required to get from initial exploration to large-scale commercial deployment, the interdependencies between research advances in different subfields, and the complex nature of the IT research "ecosystem." This project will also build on earlier work by adding updated examples of research investments and impacts. A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee will update the "tire tracks" figure published in CSTB's 2012 report Continuing Innovation in Information Technology. Drawing on a literature review, input from experts, and suggestions solicited from the relevant communities, it will identify emerging research areas and significant new industries, products, and firms. Using a graphical approach similar to that used in 2012, it will depict the interconnections across research areas and with the creation and evolution of IT industry sectors. It will illustrate the roles of industry, academia, and government in computing innovation and the development of IT products, services, and industries and consider if and how these roles may have evolved since the last report. In addition to presenting established computing research areas and industry sectors, it will also consider emerging candidates in both categories. A National Academies report will be prepared containing the figure together with a review of lessons learned about the structure and nature of information technology research and its impacts. Two derivative products will be prepared: (1) a brochure containing the figure and a summary of the report's analysis and (2) a Web interactive infographic that links the figure to more detail on selected topics and connections drawn from earlier Academies work and other sources.