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Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity: Summary of a Symposium (2012)

Chapter: Welcome-Charles Wessner

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Suggested Citation:"Welcome-Charles Wessner." National Research Council. 2012. Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity: Summary of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13249.
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Welcome

Charles Wessner
The National Academies

Dr. Wessner welcomed the participants, noting that some had travelled to wintery Washington, DC, from as far away as Brazil and Hong Kong. This symposium, he noted, is part of an ongoing study of State and Regional Innovation Policies by the National Academies’ Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP).1

STEP is not only assessing how well the states and regions in the United States is doing, Dr. Wessner explained, but also it seeks to understand the strategies of other nations. “The time when we had no need to look outside our borders to understand best practices in innovation has long since passed,” he said. For this reason, STEP is also undertaking a study of Comparative National Innovation Policies.

STEP has been particularly interested in the topic of innovation clusters. Here, the methods and experiences of various U.S. states as well as that of other nations offer valuable lessons on how to convert the $150 billion the federal government invests annually in research into new products and processes for U.S. and global markets.

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1 The STEP Board is conducting a series of symposia and workshops as part of a study called “Competing in the 21st Century: Best Practice in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives.” The goal of this study is to identify best practices of private and public programs to strengthen industries, advance new technologies, and meet critical national needs. For summaries of some previous symposia, see National Research Council, Innovation Policies for the 21st Century: Report of a Symposium, Charles W. Wessner, ed., Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2007, and National Research Council, Understanding Research, Science and Technology Parks: Global Best Practices—Summary of a Symposium, Charles W. Wessner, ed., Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2009.

Suggested Citation:"Welcome-Charles Wessner." National Research Council. 2012. Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity: Summary of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13249.
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Dr. Wessner thanked the National Academies’ partners in the regional innovation initiative for their contributions. Without the “inspiration and encouragement” of colleagues at the Association of University Research Parks, the meeting could not have been held, he said. He also thanked the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce, as well as the Heinz Foundation, IBM, and Dow Corning for their sponsorship.

Suggested Citation:"Welcome-Charles Wessner." National Research Council. 2012. Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity: Summary of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13249.
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Page 39
Suggested Citation:"Welcome-Charles Wessner." National Research Council. 2012. Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity: Summary of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13249.
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Page 40
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Responding to the challenges of fostering regional growth and employment in an increasingly competitive global economy, many U.S. states and regions have developed programs to attract and grow companies as well as attract the talent and resources necessary to develop regional innovation clusters. These state and regionally based initiatives have a broad range of goals and increasingly include larger resources commitments, often with a sectoral focus and often in partnership with foundations and universities. Recent studies, however, have pointed out that many of these efforts lack the scale and the steady commitment needed for success. This has prompted new initiatives to coordinate and concentrate investments from a variety of federal agencies to develop research parks, business incubators, and other strategies to encourage entrepreneurships and high-tech development in the nation's regions. Understanding the nature of innovation clusters and public policies associated with successful cluster development is therefore of current relevance.

Clustering for 21st Century Prosperity identifies best practices with regard to goals, structures, instruments, modes of operation, synergies across private and public programs, funding mechanisms and levels, and evaluation efforts. The committee, under the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) is reviewing selected state and regional efforts to capitalize on federal and state investments in areas of critical national needs. This review includes both efforts to strengthen existing industries as well as specific technology focus areas such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and advanced energy in order to better understand program goals, challenges, and accomplishments.

As part of this study, the committee is convening a series of public workshops and symposia involving responsible local, state, and federal officials and other stakeholders. Drawing from discussions at these symposia, fact-finding meetings, and commissioned analyses of existing state and regional programs and technology focus areas, the committee will subsequently produce a final report with findings and recommendations focused on lessons, issues, and opportunities for complementary U.S. policies created by these state and regional initiatives.

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