Strengths

American policy makers are highly adept at rising to new challenges. Many of the brightest policy minds in the world are involved in this resolve, and because of the impact American economic shifts have had on the world, the U.S. enjoys international cooperation in developing effective policy.

From their earliest beginnings, free thinkers seeking opportunity have contributed to American innovation, and those inspiring leaders, among them Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, have shaped the direction of innovative thought, creating an environment where innovative ideas can flourish. Beginning with innovations such as discoveries in the field of electricity by Benjamin Franklin, inspired American thinkers have built a long history of American innovations:

Throughout the development of these American innovations, U.S. national policy has aided the fostering of innovative thinkers through personal freedoms and civil liberties, as well as through strong governmental support through solid national infrastructure development. Many of the innovators benefitted financially, developing their ideas into large national firms. This capacity to strengthen and grow the

economy by encouraging the development of large industries from humble beginnings is a staple of the American innovation system.

Many of the independent inventors throughout American history succeeded in part from the social, economic and educational environments that U.S. policy helped create. These innovators benefited from progressive civil liberties, advanced

educational establishments and the freedom for individuals with radical ideas to realize their dreams. This is and has been the American Dream (Adams, 1931), where

innovators are free to dream big dreams, turning small operations into major industries.

This system draws on the strength of the nation‘s expansive, integrated domestic capital labor market as well as on an institutional and economic infrastructure, capable of quickly reallocating national resources. A culture of innovation is bolstered by a highly-developed and competitive higher education system with significant public and private establishments.

These innovative capabilities are strengthened by highly-developed and extensive science and technology establishments, supported nationally with specific objectives ranging from space exploration to health, the environment and national security.

The United States also has a managerial structure that is open to adopting innovative management practices, as well as a political system that recognizes the importance of innovation.

Over the past two hundred years, these strengths have helped build the United States into one of the foremost leaders in the field of innovation. The ability to adapt is key among these strengths, and in the coming years, innovation policy will need to adapt considerably to the changing globalized world to ensure that future generations of Americans continue the tradition of American innovation.

The success of small business stimulation programs such as SBIR and ATP is helping to promote effective partnerships among entrepreneurs, firms and government agencies, exemplifying the ―best practice‖ principles behind successful U.S.

innovation initiatives.

Support for innovative development is rising in Congress. Former Rep.

Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), then-Chair of the House Science Committee helped to create a ―National Innovation Summit‖ in 2006. The purpose of the summit was to bring together the nation‘s best and brightest minds to help develop a blueprint for the future of American science and innovation. Efforts such as these in Congress are helping to build a strong commitment to innovation in public policy.

Tax incentives are also helping to foster innovative investment in the private sector. American policy initiatives continue to serve as models for foreign countries, and developing nations often turn to the U.S. for help in shaping their respective national policy structures.

The national policies providing personal opportunity have been the guiding light for all American innovation, and they have been a founding principle of the nation, inspiring many of the world‘s great thinkers.

While the strength of American innovation lies in the creativity of its

population, public policy is largely responsible for shaping the national environment which fosters creativity, as well as providing the opportunity for creative ideas to succeed. Policy makers in the United States recognize that innovation policy remains the key to global competitiveness, and they are increasingly evaluating the

foundations that foster innovation in the globalized world.

This commitment to understanding the dynamics of innovation has enabled the United States to adapt to the cycles of major change in industry throughout the history of the nation. This commitment continues to extend to the current shifting market environment.

An extremely valuable formulation on which to build an understanding of these changes and their current implications remains Vernon‘s (1966) original product cycle model. While significant attributes of this model change over time, the

fundamental foundation has remained the same, and American policy shapers have embraced this concept. Even before its formulation, American policy shapers recognized the importance of fully understanding innovative implications.

In a State of the Union Speech in 2006, then-President Bush called for a competitiveness initiative that would double the federal commitment to basic research programs in physics and engineering over ten years, improve K though12 education in math and science, and expand workforce training programs. He also proposed

reforming U.S. immigration to compete for the world‘s best and brightest high-skilled workers. The proposed legislation, ―Protecting America‘s Competitive Edge Act‖ is pending in Congress while policy makers consider all options for restoring the American economy. Policies of this order are strongly needed as more Americans look elsewhere for opportunity.

The growing concerns over American leadership in jeopardy have been developing for years as the United States attempts to address these issues, with the result that policy makers are reevaluating the effectiveness of ―best practices‖ policy formulation. In 2005, the U.S. Congress called for a National Academies⁸² assessment of the nation‘s competitive profile to identify concrete steps to ensure U.S. economic leadership in the future.