"I believe in the information age the role of the government is to empower people with the tools to make the most of their lives, to tear down the barriers of that objective, and to create conditions within which we can go forward together."

- President William J. Clinton

"Technological leadership is vital to the national interests of the United States.  Most of the Federal Research and education investment portfolio enjoyed bipartisan support during the first term of the Clinton Administration.  I would hope that we can continue to extend this partnership with Congress across our entire science and technology agenda."

- John Podesta, Chief of Staff to President Clinton, Remarks on R&D Funding at the National Press Club, September 1, 1999

"Innovation - the transformation of knowledge into new products, processes, and services - involves more than just science and technology.  National policy and public institutions create and environment that can encourage or detract from firm's innovative activity."

- John Yochelson, President, Council on Competitiveness

"The federal and state governments must ensure the strength and adequacy of the knowledge base, the skills, and the institutions that promote economic trade and competitiveness and seek to remove disincentives to private innovation and risk taking.  This event will go some ways towards expanding the dialog between government and business on these points."

- Lewis M. Branscomb, Aetna Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Corporate Management, John F. Kennedy School of Government

"Industry's recent strong investments in R&D, particularly discovery research, and increased collaboration among industry, universities, and government labs, make this an ideal time to reexamine the innovation infrastructure and mechanisms for enhancing innovation in the United States as we anticipate even stronger global competition in the coming decades."

- Charles F. Larson, Executive Director, Industrial Research Institute


Welcome to.....
The National Science and Technology Council's Summit on Innovation: Federal Policy for the New Millennium.

Held on November 30 and December 1, 1999
at The George Washington University Marvin Center

Click here for:

· Summit Background Information
· Dr. Neal Lane's call for papers
· Issue papers received in response to call for papers
· RAND draft overview of issue papers
· Summit Agenda
· Archive of Breakout Group Presentations made on Day 2 of the Summit
· Archive of Speaker Presentations
· Summit on Innovation Discussion Groups
Background Information

The Federal role in supporting scientific and technological innovation is receiving growing attention. Recent years have seen a number of reviews and articles highlighting the Federal government's role in the innovation process. The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in association with several key national groups, convened a Summit on Innovation to explore the future direction and properties for federal support of innovation. The Summit on Innovation provided the NSTC with valuable public input, which will be useful as it develops Federal policy to enhance innovation into the new millennium. 

The Summit brought together high level experts on the innovation process from a broad range of organizations: business, government, non-profit institutions, and the research community. Drawing on these diverse perspectives, both obstacles to and opportunities for enhanced innovation was examined.

The NSTC is sponsor the summit in association with the Council on Competitiveness, the Industrial Research Institute, the Science and Technology Policy Institute at RAND, the State Science and Technology Institute, and the Woodrow Wilson Institute and the Center for International Science and Technology Policy at The George Washington University.

Issue Papers

In preparation for this event, Dr. Neal Lane, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, issued a call for papers. Issue papers received in response to that call may be viewed here. 


The National Science and Technology Committee would like to thank the following for submitting papers for the Summit:
Association of American Railroads
American Chemical Society
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
Lockheed Martin Corporation/ Venture Star LLC
Civil Engineering Research Foundation
American Statistical Association
Cato Institute
JBX Technologies, Inc.
Health Industry Manufacturers Association
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Intelligent Transportation Society of America
DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology Center
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
US Department of Commerce
Resources for the Future
National Research Council
National Institutes for Standards and Technology
Materials Technology Subcommittee, NSTC
Association of American Universities
Argonne National Laboratory
Society of Research Administrators
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Irving A. Lerch Chair, CSFR/AAAS
Federal Laboratory Consortium
National Commission on Entrepeneurship
Sandia National Laboratories
International Business Machines (IBM)
Dr. William L. Sharfman, Director of Judging, PACE Awards
Industrial Research Institute
Michael Crow, Columbia University
Prof. Rustum Roy, Pennsylvania State University
Nicholas Vonortas, George Washington University
James Morgan, University of Michigan
Nicholas Steneck, University of Michigan
Wesley Cohen, Carnegie Mellon University
Lewis M. Branscomb, Harvard University
Josh Lerner
Cecil Quillen, Jr.
Gerard Peregrin
George Heaton
National Governors Association
Urban Logic
Oscar Manley

 

A draft overview of these submitted papers, prepared by Science and Technology Policy Institute at RAND at OSTP's request as a tool for planning the Summit agenda, is also available online. This unreviewed and unedited draft is intended to further discussions begun by summit attendees and to more fully inform those unable to be present. This draft is a guide and is not intended to present statements either of substantive fact nor of policy. Comments on the draft overview may be directed to innovationsummit@rand.org.

Breakout Group Presentations

A series of policy formulation sessions were convened during the Summit that focused on issues culled from papers submitted in response to Dr. Neal Lane's request last August. These sessions were facilitated and led by experts in the given issue area. Each group presented the results of their sessions on day 2 at the Summit's final plenary meeting. The slides from the presentations may be viewed here

Additional information about the Summit can be obtained from by contacting innovationsummit@rand.org. Comments on any of these topics or on the Summit materials are welcome.

This site will continue to present information on the outcome of the Summit on Innovation as it develops. Please check the site periodically for updates 





At: The George Washington University
Marvin Center
800 21st Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20052
Click here for a map of The GW University and the nearest metro station.
This page was created on 10/16/99 and last modified on 10/29/99 by Jacob Lilly.
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