BIF Research Advisor Bruce Nussbaum on the need for a national innovation policy

Posted by Chris Flanagan on June 3, 2008

BIF-4 co-host and BIF research advisor Bruce Nussbaum writes about America's need for a national innovation policy. In Time For a National Innovation Policy. McCain And Obama Need To Get Real Bruce challenges his readers - and our presidential contenders - to start a conversation in earnest on the need for a policy that goes beyond federal government support of technology, math and science.

Here at the Business Innovation Factory, we believe our entire nation must compete in an increasingly complex, global economy where innovation and knowledge are the primary drivers of growth. It is not technology that is getting in the way of progress in the areas that matter most: like health care, public safety, education, and quality of life. It's people. Humans and the organizations we live in are stubbornly resistant to change and do not know how to work and play nicely together across boundaries. What else are we missing? A roadmap for systems level experimentation.

What we need is a safe environments to experiment with new business models - particularly networked business models that cut across organizations, industries, and the public and private sector. Rhode Island has a unique opportunity to be an innovation hot spot by turning its small size into a competitive advantage. For organizations interested in developing new business models – specifically models that require the networking of capabilities across industries and disciplines – Rhode Island’s place power presents a unique opportunity for innovation. We can more easily develop an integrated understanding of an entire system and also provide an independent, neutral platform for experimenting with new systems. That's why we created the non-profit Business Innovation Factory - to deliver on this proposition

Getting back to Bruce's blog post, if you think he's on the right track, I would encourage you to also read John Kao's book Innovation Nation. Personally, I believe a great starting point for debate is understanding what other countries have successfully done in the recent past to claim their innovation edge. Kao's book is chock-full of such examples. (I also interviewed John earlier this year as part of our Research Advisor series. You can read it here.)

Read Bruce Nussbaum's post