Eight Ideas for Improving the America COMPETES Act

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (Atkinson) - Reauthorizing the American COMPETES Act provides an opportunity to continue policies the U.S. needs to compete in the innovation-based global economy, but more can and should be done.  In this report, ITIF President Rob Atkinson outlines eight ideas to improve the U.S. innovation system by leveraging non-federal resources and spurring education, technology commercialization, and institutional reforms at the federal level.

1. Fund Specialty Math and Science High Schools
2. Fund Joint Government-Industry STEM Ph.D. Fellowships
3. Allow Foreign Students Receiving STEM Ph.D.’s from U.S. Universities to Automatically Qualify for Green Cards
4. Create an SCNR Program (Spurring Commercialization of Our Nation’s Research) to Support University, State and Federal Laboratory Technology Commercialization Initiatives
5. Establish a Collaborative R&D Tax Credit
6. Fund Industry-University-Government Manufacturing Research and Deployment Centers
7. Form an Office of Innovation Policy in OMB (i.e., an Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for Innovation)
8. Create a National Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy Modeled on the National Broadband Strategy

In the last two decades, there have been at least three major changes to the U.S. economy. The first is that it has become truly global...The second big change is that innovation has become a more central driver of growth and competitiveness...The third big change is that the United States’ position as the global innovation leader has been lost...Absent robust policy changes, the United States will likely continue its relative decline in innovation performance. The result will be relatively slower growth in standard of living.

These three factors provide a compelling rationale for increased federal efforts to spur innovation. But as noted above, more funding is not enough. To be successful, we also need institutional innovation, and the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act provides a critical opportunity to do that.  DOWNLOAD PDF