The presidential candidates have talked up the need to bolster America’s economic competitiveness, but so far their plans lack many details. A new report released by the Brookings Institution offers a possible road map: a new federal agency that would team industry and university to develop new, lucrative technologies.
The idea of expanding the federal government’s role this way proved controversial in the 1990s. Congress’ then-Republican leadership derided such an approach as “corporate welfare” and government intrusion in the marketplace. But the economy’s current struggles and the new Democratic leadership in Congress could lead to a reappraisal, said Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
The federal government should expand its role by creating a new agency, a “National Innovation Foundation,” modeled after the National Science Foundation, according to the new report, which Mr. Atkinson co-wrote for the Brookings Institution.
Other nations, like Finland, already have national agencies that perform a similar role and rely in part on university researchers, he pointed out in an interview. Those countries are individually spending several times what America now does through separate, uncoordinated programs scattered across federal agencies.
The report argues that American corporations are too focused on short-term economic returns to be willing to provide adequate money for risky research at the cutting edge of science that could yield commercially successful new technologies. Many public universities and state legislators want to foster such partnerships in order to resuscitate struggling local economies. But state governments are also struggling to finance such efforts.
Mr. Atkinson said his foundation recently shared the white paper with campaign staff members for Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama, and each campaign said they would consider it. In addition, at least one member of Congress has expressed interest in sponsoring a bill to create such a foundation, Mr. Atkinson said.
In their public statements, Senators Clinton and Obama have expressed support for a broader federal role in promoting economic innovation without specifically endorsing a new federal agency. Senator Clinton proposed a $50-billion “Strategic Energy Fund” bringing together academe and industry to develop clean, renewable energy sources.
Senator Obama’s economic plan supports job training and tax credits for research. Senator McCain’s economic blueprint also favors tax credits for research.
(The Chronicle published in this week’s issue a primer on wider policy issues related to competitiveness and innovation that the next president may consider.)
