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Innovating Innovation 1: What is Innovation?
Nigel M. de S. Cameron
Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies
Washington, DC
C-PET's first in our series of four roundtables co-sponsored by the Task Force on American Innovation pressed the question, What is innovation? Everyone's talking about it, but what is it we are talking about? We move on in the next few weeks to core aspects including risk and intellectual property. Bur first, what's the deal?
Rob Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) kicked off. OECD has defined innovation broadly. Business models as well as technologies, for example. But innovation faces challenges. It is rarely discussed in textbooks (he gave an example of a text author asked to remove the innovation chapter, since teachers routinely omitted it). Since it represents creative destruction, its enemies are soon evident: anyone defending the status quo. In Washington, it is assumed that "innovation just happens," like manna falling from heaven.
Marty Apple of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents offered a definition: a discovery or change that creates measurable positive value. He listed some of the (very many) changes in our everyday lives that innovation has accomplished in a mere 10 years. It lies at the frontiers of disciplines, where they meet. Our greatest risk is when leaders stop taking risks.
Doug Comer, Intel's Director of Technology Policy, offered examples: monotheism, cybernetics. The end-point is often not clear; the driver is imagination and vision. Now we have die-casting available in the garage for $10K; and app stores. Innovators have innovative ways of moving ahead. But we need ways of encouraging and not discouraging.
Some key points as the roundtable opened up:
� Large, small, medium-sized companies the major innovation incubators?
� France offers R and D tax credits worth 4.5 those of the USG.
� The United States has been 40th over the past decade in progress on innovation criteria; 40th.
� Perhaps other countries have the potential for greatness?! (Atkinson)
� Global dimensions - the roundtable profited from comments from Sweden (innovation is not just about STEM!), the U.N. Foundation, the World Bank, the director of the Iranian Interests Section
� What of China? Among other things, they could destroy Boeing by developing the third major aircraft manufacturer.
� Donlan of Barron's: "no-one knows where innovation comes from" - but what about a 100% tax shelter for reinvested corporate profits (me: a no-brainer?)
� Atkinson: the magic of the marketplace will not do it - alone; perhaps 50% of innovation goes to externalities, so are not captured
� Palafoutas of the Innovation Task Force: don't forget what happened to the British Empire, once the lone superpower; who knew during Victoria's long reign that in a few short decades the U.S. would be top nation?
I'm haunted by Rob Atkinson's "Washington thinks it's manna from heaven" remark. Time to educate, re-engineer . . . .