Science and R&D
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As nations engage in a race for global advantage in innovation, ITIF champions a new policy paradigm that ensures businesses and national economies can compete successfully by spurring public and private investment in foundational areas such as research, skills, and 21st century infrastructure. In the area of science and R&D policy, ITIF promotes public and private investment in research and development through public funding for research at national laboratories and universities, tax incentives to encourage business R&D, and policies to spur technology transfer from lab to market.
Vice President, Global Innovation Policy, and Director, Center for Life Sciences Innovation
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
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Head of Policy, Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
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China Is Rapidly Becoming a Leading Innovator in Advanced Industries
There may be no more important question for the West’s competitive position in advanced industries than whether China is becoming a rival innovator. While the evidence suggests it hasn’t yet taken the overall lead, it has pulled ahead in certain areas, and in many others Chinese firms will likely equal or surpass Western firms within a decade or so.
Why Congress Should Restore Full Expensing for Investments in Equipment and Research and Development
The tax law allowing firms to fully expense their research and development (R&D) costs expired at the end of 2021, and full expensing of equipment costs will begin phasing out in 2023. This decreases firms’ incentive to invest in these key drivers of economic growth and competitiveness. Congress should restore and make permanent full expensing for these investments.
More Publications and Events
July 7, 2025|Blogs
Fact of the Week: The Biopharma Industry Invested $276 Billion in R&D in 2021, Significantly More Than Previously Estimated
Researchers estimate that R&D investment in the biopharma industries in 2021 was $276 billion, 170 percent greater than other commonly cited estimates.
June 30, 2025|Blogs
Fact of the Week: Reducing the Indirect Cost Recovery Rate at the NIH Could Result in a Decline in University Research Funding
Implementing a flat 15 percent indirect cost recovery rate at the NIH could result in a 20 percent decline in university research funding.
June 30, 2025|Reports & Briefings
Congress Should Fully Fund NSF’s TIP Directorate to Make America More Competitive Versus China
Congress has authorized $20 billion over five years to fund the National Science Foundation’s Technology Innovation Partnership, but lawmakers have appropriated just $410 million. To win the techno-economic war with China, America needs the TIP directorate to be fully funded.
June 29, 2025|Testimonies & Filings
Comments to Senators Heinrich and Rounds Regarding the American Science Acceleration Project
The American Science Acceleration Project (ASAP) is a timely effort to modernize the infrastructure that powers U.S. research. By improving how science is organized, resourced, and executed, ASAP can help unlock faster breakthroughs across a range of disciplines.
June 23, 2025|Podcasts
Podcast: mRNA and the Future of Personalized Medicine, With Andrew Geall and Deborah Barbara
Continued innovation and investment is vital to maintaining the U.S.'s leadership in the biopharma sector.
June 23, 2025|Blogs
Fact of the Week: China and the EU Invest More in Research at Government Institutions and Universities Than the US
In 2023, the United States invested about $175 billion in research conducted at government institutions and universities. That same year, the EU invested about $180 billion, and China about $200 billion.
June 23, 2025|Blogs
US Science Policy at a Crossroads
America needs a robust federal science and engineering enterprise now more than ever. But the scientific community’s rigid defense of the Vannevar Bush model and its full-throated embrace of ideological DEI has left it politically exposed.
June 16, 2025|Reports & Briefings
The Bayh-Dole Act’s Role in Stimulating University-Led Regional Economic Growth
Universities play a pivotal role in America’s technology economy, serving as a crucial source of research, inventions, patents, start-up technology companies, and regional economic and employment growth. The Bayh-Dole Act has played an instrumental role in spurring academic technology transfer activities that serve as vital drivers of American innovation.
June 2, 2025|Blogs
Fact of the Week: CHIPS Act Could Boost US Productivity With Gains Reaching 0.2 to 0.4 Percent After Seven Years
If fully funded, the R&D investments in the CHIPS Act could raise U.S. productivity by 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent over seven years.
May 29, 2025|Blogs
Fuel for Thought: A New Mechanism to Fund Canadian Innovation
Canada stands at a pivotal moment to leverage its natural resource boom into long-term industrial strength by tying faster permitting and land access to reinvestment in innovation. A modest levy on resource extraction could fund a new federal agency focused on turning Canadian R&D into real production and globally competitive advanced industries.
