Policymakers Can Help Get Research Out of the Lab and Into the Marketplace by Better Aligning Federal Investment With Local Assets

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration and Congress should ensure federally funded research more effectively results in U.S. innovation and jobs by better connecting national research and development activities to local economies, according to a new paper released today by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Brookings Institution’s Bass Initiative on Innovation and Placemaking.

The paper, “Localizing the Economic Impact of Research and Development: Policy Proposals for the Trump Administration and Congress,” argues that supporting innovation around the country should be a top focus for the incoming administration and new Congress.

“America leads the world in supporting scientific research, but we are not capturing enough of the benefits from that in the form of new companies and products,” said paper co-author and ITIF Vice President of Global Innovation Policy Stephen Ezell. “The federal government needs to take a much more active role to help move innovative new ideas out of the lab and into the economy. If America’s innovation economy is to function at its peak, policymakers need to put in place smart policies that effectively work in concert at the city, regional, state, and national levels.”

With significant new federal R&D funding unlikely given the current budgetary environment—despite substantial underinvestment relative to historical norms—the paper urges Washington to extract more return from its R&D investments by better connecting federal resources to firms, inventors, and others in the regions in which federal funds are disbursed and research centers are located.

“From the Department of Defense to the National Institutes of Health, the federal government can and should better align its research dollars with local assets,” said paper co-author and Brookings Bass Initiative Associate Fellow Scott Andes. “Doing so would not only boost the national and regional economies, but also improve the outcomes of the U.S. government’s defense, health, energy, and other research aims.”

The paper’s recommendations range from prioritizing innovation districts in federal R&D outlays to implementing federal innovation vouchers to connect small firms with research institutions.

Its 50 policy actions align with five major policy imperatives:

• Strengthen innovation districts and regional technology clusters;
• Bolster institutions supporting tech transfer, commercialization, and innovation;
• Expand technology transfer and commercialization-related programs and investments;
• Promote high-growth, tech-based entrepreneurship; and
• Stimulate private-sector innovation.

While the recommendations are directed at the federal government, many of the actions could also be pursued by states and should be better understood and advocated for by localities.

The full list of policy actions is described in detail here.