and developments. The United States should monitor each country’s capacity to facilitate the cultural changes needed to achieve its global S&T innovation environment. These indicators are especially important for predicting future changes in S&T innovation environments. (Recommendation 10-4)

Key Recommendation. The most successful global S&T innovation environments will recruit S&T talent into attractive positions with excellent facilities and research support. The United States should track the quality and availability of research facilities and research support as a significant indicator of any country’s attractiveness to the world’s S&T talent. (Recommendation 10-5)

Key Recommendation. The United States should continue to gauge the efficiency of research, measured by the effective uses of research talent and research facilities, which portends the future of a county’s innovation environment. Efficiency ultimately guides the use of research talent and facilities. For instance, the monitoring of non-research responsibilities of scientists (such as administration and proposal writing) and the quality of research infrastructure could be incorporated into measures of efficiency. Highly efficient S&T systems support the most attractive research careers for talented S&T contributors. (Recommendation 10-6)

Key Recommendation. The U.S. government should assess, as a matter of urgency, the national security implications of the continuing global S&T revolution and the global dispersion of R&D. It should evaluate the impact of the decline in U.S. academic competitiveness at the primary and secondary levels, as pointed out in the 2007 report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, especially with regard to the sciences. Equally important, the assessment should seek mechanisms for sustainable U.S. government collaboration with the international community to uncover and exploit potential scientific and technological breakthroughs, wherever they occur, and to contain whatever threats they may portend. (Recommendation 9-1)