Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
Improving Measures of Science,
Technology, and Innovation:
Interim Report
Panel on Developing Science, Technology, and Innovation
Indicators for the Future
Robert E. Litan, Andrew W. Wyckoff, and Kaye Husbands Fealing,
Editors
Committee on National Statistics
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Affairs
Division of Policy and Global Affairs
OCR for page R2
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National
Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National
Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report
were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
The project that is the subject of this report was supported by grant no. SES-0453930 between the National Science
Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations
expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations
or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-25389-5
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-25389-6
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington,
DC 20001; (202) 334-3096; Internet, http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2012). Improving Measures of Science, Technology, and
Innovation: Interim Report. Panel on Developing Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators for the Future,
R.E. Litan, A.W. Wyckoff, and K.H. Fealing, Editors. Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education, and Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, Division of Policy and
Global Affairs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
OCR for page R3
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars
engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their
use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has
a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone
is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of
Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the
selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal
government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national
needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M.
Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of
eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the
public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional
charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care,
research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad
community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the
federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has
become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of
Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities.
The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr.
Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
www.national-academies.org
OCR for page R4
OCR for page R5
Panel on Developing Science, Technology, and Innovation
Indicators for the Future
ROBERT E. LITAN (Cochair), The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO
ANDREW W. WYCKOFF (Cochair), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, Paris, France
CARTER BLOCH, Danish Center for Studies in Research and Research Policy, University of
Aarhus, Denmark
NICHOLAS R. CHRISMAN, Department of Geomatics Sciences, Université Laval, Québec,
Canada
CARL J. DAHLMAN, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
GEOFF M. DAVIS, User Experience Group, Google, Inc., Mountain View, CA
KATHARINE G. FRASE, Industry Solutions and Emerging Business, IBM Research, Yorktown
Heights, NY
BARBARA M. FRAUMENI, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine
RICHARD B. FREEMAN, Department of Economics, Harvard University
FREDERICK D. GAULT, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation
and Technology, United Nations University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
DAVID GOLDSTON, Natural Resource Defense Council, Washington, DC
MICHAEL MANDEL, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
JOHN E. ROLPH, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
LELAND WILKINSON, SYSTAT Software, Inc., Chicago, IL
KAYE HUSBANDS FEALING, Study Director
ANTHONY S. MANN, Program Associate
v
OCR for page R6
Committee on National Statistics
2011-2012
LAWRENCE D. BROWN (Chair), Department of Statistics, The Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania
JOHN M. ABOWD, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
ALICIA CARRIQUIRY, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University
WILLIAM DUMOUCHEL, Oracle Health Sciences, Waltham, Massachusetts
V. JOSEPH HOTZ, Department of Economics, Duke University
MICHAEL HOUT, Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
KAREN KAFADAR, Department of Statistics, Indiana University
SALLIE KELLER, IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute, Washington, DC
LISA LYNCH, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
SALLIE C. MORTON, Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh
JOSEPH NEWHOUSE, Division of Health Policy Research and Education, Harvard University
RUTH D. PETERSON, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Research Center, Ohio
State University
HAL STERN, School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine
JOHN H. THOMPSON, National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago
ROGER TOURANGEAU, Westat, Rockville, Maryland
ALAN ZASLAVSKY, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School
CONSTANCE F. CITRO, Director
vi
OCR for page R7
Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy
PAUL L. JOSKOW (Chair), President, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, NY
ERNEST R. BERNDT, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN DONOVAN, Chief Technology Officer, AT&T Labs, Dallas, TX
MARY L. GOOD, Donaghey College of Information Science and Systems Engineering,
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
RICHARD K. LESTER, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
WILLIAM F. MEEHAN, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
DAVID T. MORGENTHALER, Founding Partner, Morgenthaler Ventures, Cleveland, OH
ARATI PRABHAKAR, U.S. Venture Partners, Menlo Park, CA
WILLIAM J. RADUCHEL, Opera Software ASA, Great Falls, VA
KATHRYN L. SHAW, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
LAURA D’ANDREA TYSON, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
HAROLD R. VARIAN, Chief Economist, Google, Inc., Mountain View, CA
ALAN WM. WOLFF, Dewey & LeBoeuf, LLP, Washington, DC
RALPH J. CICERONE, Ex Officio, President, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC
HARVEY V. FINEBERG, Ex Officio, President, Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC
CHARLES M. VEST, Ex Officio, President, National Academy of Engineering, Washington,
DC
STEPHEN A. MERRILL, Executive Director
vii
OCR for page R8
OCR for page R9
Contents
Preface xi
Acronyms and Abbreviations xv
Executive Summary 1
1 Introduction 4
2 Concepts and Uses of Indicators 11
3 Measuring Human Capital 15
4 Measuring Innovation 20
5 Measuring Research and Development Services 27
6 Developing Subnational Datasets and Indicators 31
7 Improving Data Collection and Dissemination 35
8 Conclusion 45
References 46
Appendix A: Panel Workshop Agenda and Participants 50
Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and Staff 58
ix
OCR for page R10
OCR for page R11
Preface
Given the study’s broad disciplinary scope, our panel of experts collectively represent
more than a dozen fields, including computer science, economics, education, engineering,
finance, geography, mathematics, physics, political science, psychology, statistics, and visual
analytics. The panel also reflects the international nature of the topic, with members from
Canada, Denmark, France, and the Netherlands. One of our panel members is an expert on
science, technology, and innovation (STI) policies in Russia, Asia, Latin America, and the
Caribbean, and another was instrumental in developing the first set of innovation indicators for
African countries.
It is with extreme gratitude that the panel thanks the many people who made
contributions to this study. The staff at the National Center for Science and Engineering
Statistics (NCSES) at the National Science Foundation, under the directorship of Lynda Carlson,
gracefully gave us terrific input and insights, including clear directives on what they wanted to
learn from the study, as well as useful sources of information from their division and from other
sources. Robert Bell, Lawrence Burton, John Gawalt, John Jankowski, Nirmala Kannankutty,
Beethika Khan, Rolf Lehming, Francisco Moris, Jeri Mulrow, Christopher Pece, and Emilda
Rivers all contributed their knowledge and expertise to answering our questions.
The panel’s work benefited greatly from presenters and attendees at our open meetings.
The insights of the following individuals were critical for the framing of policy issues that are
relevant for our study: Jeff Alexander (SRI International); Patrick Clemins (American
Association for the Advancement of Science); Mark Doms (U.S. Department of Commerce); Kei
Koizumi (U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy); Christine Matthews (Congressional
Research Service); Dahlia Sokolov (U.S. House of Representatives); and D. Greg Tassey
(National Institute of Standards and Technology). Conceptual frameworks for STI indicators
were presented by Michelle Alexopoulos (University of Toronto) and Adam Jaffe (Brandeis
University).
Opportunities for advances in STI data collections and statistics, particularly among U.S.
federal agencies, were presented to panel members by B.K. Atrostic, Cheryl Grim, Richard
Hough, Dave Kinyon, Erika McEntarfer, and Mary Potter (U.S. Census Bureau); Ana Aizcorbe,
Maria Borga and Carol Robbins (Bureau of Economic Analysis); Laurie Salmon, Jim Spletzer
and David Talan (Bureau of Labor Statistics); David McGranahan and Tim Wojan (U.S.
Department of Agriculture); and Daniel McGrath, Jessica Shedd, Matthew Soldner, and Tom
Weko (National Center for Education Statistics). We also thank Rochelle (Shelly) Martinez and
her colleagues, and Katherine Wallman at the Office of Management and Budget for an engaging
discussion regarding synergies in the federal statistical system regarding measures of STI
activities.
Since international comparability is an important aspect of this study, the panel convened
a workshop of international researchers and practitioners in July 2011. The following individuals
presented dozens of STI measures and described opportunities and obstacles that NCSES should
anticipate as they further develop its STI indicators program: Shinichi Akaike (Hitotsubashi
xi
OCR for page R12
University); Howard Alper (Canada’s Science Technology and Innovation Council); Jayanta
Chatterjee (Indian Institute of Technology); Gustavo Crespi (Inter-American Development
Bank); Matthieu Delescluse (European Commission); Changlin Gao (Chinese Academy of
Science and Technology); Jonathan Haskel (Imperial College Business School); Hugo
Hollanders (United Nations University-Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on
Innovation and Technology); Brian MacAulay (National Endowment for Science, Technology
and the Arts); and Philippe Mawoko (The New Partnership for Africa’s Development).
The panel is exploring the use of microdata, particularly administrative records and web
tools, to create STI statistics. We heard from several experts in this diverse field of study at the
July 2011 workshop, including Carl Bergstrom (University of Washington); Stefano Bertuzzi
(National Institutes of Health and the STAR METRICS program); Erik Brynjolfsson
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Lee Giles (Penn State University); John Haltiwanger
(University of Maryland); Richard Price (Academia.edu); and Alicia Robb (Kauffman
Foundation).
Developing STI indicators at subnational levels is also an important part of this study. At
the July 2011 workshop, Rob Atkinson (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation),
Maryann Feldman (University of North Carolina), Andrew Reamer (George Washington
University), and Robert Samors and David Winwood (Association of Public and Land-grant
Universities) presented options for measuring STI activities at a variety of geographic scales.
Nicholas Donofrio (IBM) participated in a roundtable discussion with panel members
during the workshop. We greatly appreciate his insights from a business perspective on
measuring research and development and innovation. His comments reminded us that the role of
multinationals in the global STI system should be examined carefully and that entrepreneurial
activities at firms of various sizes deserve careful measure.
The panel also obtained input from several other science and technology policy experts,
including Aaron Chatterji (Duke University, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers),
Bhavya Lal and Stephanie Shipp (Institute for Defense Analysis-Science and Technology Policy
Institute), and Alessandra Colecchia, Gili Greenberg and Fernando Galindo-Rueda (Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development).
We extend a special thanks to Committee on National Statistics staff. The study director,
Kaye Husbands Fealing, provided valuable assistance to the panel in organizing the meetings and
preparing this report. Connie Citro, Tom Plewes, and Michael Cohen gave excellent guidance to
the panel and study director and helped facilitate some of the meetings. Stephen Merrill from the
Board of Science, Technology, and Economic Policy also participated in the meetings. We thank
Anthony Mann for outstanding administrative and logistical support to the panel. We also thank
our Mirzayan fellow Daniel Grady, whose expertise in systems dynamics and web tools
contributed greatly to the panel’s work.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse
perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National
Research Council’s RRC. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and
critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as
possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and
responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain
confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following
individuals for their review of this report: Michael Conlon, Director of Biomedical Informatics
and Assistant Director/CEO, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida;
xii
OCR for page R13
Martin Fleming, Chief Economist and Vice President, Business Performance Services,
International Business Machines Corporation; Susan Hanson, Distinguished University Professor
Emerita, School of Geography, Clark University; Joshua Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor of
Investment Banking, Harvard Business School; William D. Nordhaus, Department of
Economics, Yale University; Hal Salzman, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and
Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University; Albert H. Teich, Director,
Science and Policy Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Ward
Ziarko, Head of Unit of R&D Indicators, Belgian Federal Science Policy.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and
suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they
see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by
Lawrence D. Brown, Department of Statistics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an
independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional
procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final
content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Robert E. Litan and Andrew W. Wyckoff, Cochairs
Panel on Developing Science, Technology,
and Innovation Indicators for the Future
xiii
OCR for page R14
xiv
OCR for page R15
Acronyms and Abbreviations
AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science
America
COMPETES America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in
Technology, Education, and Science
APLU Association of Public and Land Grant Universities
BEA Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce
BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor
BOP balance of payments
BRDIS Business Research and Development and Innovation Survey
CICEP Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity
CIS Community Innovation Survey
COSSA Consortium of Social Science Associations
CRS Congressional Research Service
ERS Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
ETA Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
EU European Union
FTE full-time equivalent
GDP gross domestic product
ICT information and communications technology
IMF International Monetary Fund
IRS Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury
MIST Microbusiness, Innovation Science, and Technology
NAICS North American Industrial Classification System
NASSCOM National Association of Software and Services Companies
NCES National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
NCSES National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, U.S. National Science
Foundation
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NESTA National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts
NESTI National Experts on Science and Technology Indicators
NIH National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of
Commerce
NLM National Library of Medicine, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
NORC National Opinion Research Center
NSCG National Survey of College Graduates
NSF U.S. National Science Foundation
NSRCG National Survey of Recent College Graduates
xv
OCR for page R16
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OMB U.S. Office of Management and Budget
OSTP U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy
PISA Programme for International Student Assessment
R&D research and development
S&E science and engineering
S&T science and technology
SDR Survey of Doctorate Recipients
SED Survey of Earned Doctorates
SESTAT Science and Engineering Statistical Data System
STAR METRICS Science and Technology for America’s Reinvestment: Measuring the EffecT of
Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science
STEM science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
STI science, technology, and innovation
UNU-MERIT U.N. University’s Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on
Innovation and Technology
USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture
xvi
