NGA Reports Offer Guide to Innovation

Innovation and technology, two key components of NGA Chair Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano's Innovation America initiative, were the subject of much discussion during the National Governors Association's (NGA) recently concluded annual meeting. The two components are given even more attention in three new reports released by NGA during the meeting. With the reports' release, NGA has completed its series of publications - seven in all - that were produced as part of Innovation America, an initiative that places science, technology, engineering and mathematics education at its center.



The first publication, A Compact for Postsecondary Education, focuses on how states can better align postsecondary education with their economic needs. Investing in Innovation, the second publication, provides a snapshot of state investment in R&D and offers guidance on how to design successful R&D investments. The final publication, titled Innovation America: A Final Report, summarizes lessons learned over the course of Gov. Napolitano's initiative, paying special attention to the role of governors in establishing best practices.



Investing in Innovation, the focus of this Digest article, was produced by the Pew Center on the States in partnership with NGA. The report builds off of the notion that states must accelerate their efforts to attract jobs, money and a talented workforce, else "risk becoming economic backwaters." Specifically, it says, states must serve host to new idea discoveries, inventions and that "first big break" for these things.



Providing a backdrop for the situations within states, the report indicates the federal government had been responsible for providing most R&D dollars up until a few years ago. The slack left by the government subsequently has been picked up by the private sector, leaving it to the states and industry to work out their investment interests. The result? An increase in investment in R&D funds by states, ultimately to promote their interests in the innovation marketplace, according to the report.



Arizona, California, Indiana and North Dakota are among those states whose recent and substantial R&D investments are profiled in the report. In addition to case studies for these states and various others, the report offers six guidelines the authors say "are uniquely in the hands of governors, legislators and other policy makers" to ensure positive results. The guidelines include:

• Developing a statewide research and innovation strategy that both puts in place all of the components for innovation and aligns them in ways that provide advantages to in-state companies;
• Making investments to gain talent, build top-notch research enterprises and compete for federal dollars in areas where the state can be world-class;
• Encouraging, even mandating, collaboration among universities, the private sector and other institutions;
• Putting world-class professionals, not "political pals," in key positions;
• Creating an organization and consistent funding source that facilitates a continuity in R&D partnering and spending; and,
• Holding recipients of public investments accountable for delivering on promised benefits.

Reports produced during the Innovation America initiative, in general, were aided by a bipartisan task force of governors, chief executive officers and university presidents who offered advice on innovation strategies. All such reports can be found online at http://www.nga.org/center/innovation.