September 30, 2004
Fostering Competitiveness Through Innovation
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| IBM Vice President Nick Donofrio (left) and Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough (right) |
Formed in the mid 1980s, the council works to promote policies to encourage economic competitiveness. The council is comprised of 15 leaders from industry and academia, with approximately 200 experts advising them. “If the US is going to maintain its edge,” he said, “it needs to rethink its assets…. Today we have nothing we can take for granted… We need to look for new ways of doing business. We need to make sure that good companies seeking to build good jobs in the US… are given the tools to compete.”
“Innovation occurs at the intersection of invention and insight. It’s about the application of invention – the fusion of new developments and new approaches to solve problems,” Clough continued, quoting co-chair Sam Palmisano.
Describing the work of the council, Clough explained, “The objective is to build an actionable agenda that can be enacted over the next few years that will make a difference… no matter who is elected in the upcoming election…. ” Additionally, “Our products must have access to international markets in a fair way” as other countries introduce their own innovations. And it’s not just a matter of building our economy at the expense of other nations. “For the US to succeed… other countries have to be winners as well,” he noted.
Nick Donofrio of IBM took the stage following Clough’s remarks. “It’s really a unique time for the United States,” he said. “I think you need to put that in context; many countries around the world are working very hard on innovation.” The Netherlands, China and Australia, to name a few, have put forward aggressive initiatives to foster innovation. “We’re seeing challenges emerging from developing countries, from India and China, and from a resurging European Union. …It’s not just a cyclical change.”
“They are quickly replicating the historical advantages that have made the United States a place of innovation,” Donofrio continued. According to research commissioned by IBM, 91 million jobs will be created globally over the next 10 years, with 5.4million created this year; for the US, this will translate to 19.4 million jobs.
“But the question Americans are asking is where these jobs will be…. Many Americans see outsourcing as a threat, not as an opportunity.” Donofrio, however, offered a more positive outlook. “Every nation and every region will choose its own path and all of us will have a stake in the outcome. … Global prosperity will bring stability.” He continued, “How can we in the United States complain about other countries striving to raise the standard of living for their own people? We should be cheering them on.”
Donofrio noted that it’s common in policy discourse to confuse the roles of innovation and invention in our economy. “Innovation in this context, is not necessarily invention… Invention is the creation of something that did not exist before – a new thought, a new technology, a new idea. But how many of those inventions truly make a difference in our lives. Invention does not guarantee value. It is the application of invention… to solve real problems. That is the strength of invention.”
“By the nature of innovation in the 21st century, we have a new thought,” he continued. Today’s model is a dynamic one. In the past we built to forecast demand. To day we must work to build on-demand. We have to think in an interdepartmental, collaborative way… across boundaries, finding intersections between them: how can I make a product better? What does the customer value most? What features will spawn new value down the road?”
“We must approach innovation in terms of customer value… Do we have the right methods of bringing partnerships together? Are we investing in the physical sciences? Do we have the right policies? Are we encouraging governments around the world to embrace open standards? Are we protecting our intellectual property while at the same time promote collaboration and open standards? It is imperative for the nations of the world to develop a cohesive strategy for innovation.”
In order for the US to maintain and increase its competitiveness, the US must do more to encourage young people to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and math. Despite the fact that science and technology has always played a great role in country’s economy, college students’ interest in the sciences has either stayed flat or even declined. We must develop a new generation of young people with a range of skills, both technical and nontechnical. “One certainty is that the innovators of the future are those who will bridge the gaps between innovation, business and human relations.” Many of these new leaders, he said, will come from the US, but that does not mean we should discourage leadership coming from abroad. “We want to benefit from the diversity of talent from all over the world… The fact of the matter is that smart people live all over the world.”
Regarding federal investment in innovation, Donofrio asked, “Is government investing in the industries and disciplines… or is it locked in supporting antiquated industries, stifling innovation and development?” To succeed, he explained, we must work to make sure that the government stays ahead of the curve and recognizes the need to implement policies to foster growing industries and invest in new research areas.
“We want, as a team, to apply innovation to America’s greatest challenges and opportunities, whether its energy, education, healthcare or how we grow new markets,” he concluded. “The responsibility, for all of us, must be shared: by business, by academia, by the public sector…. We need to make innovation is at the heart of the national agenda.”