Achieving an innovation nation
The U.S. economy retains myriad sources of innovative capacity — but not enough of the innovations occurring in America today reach the marketplace, according to a major two-year MIT study presented at an Institute conference on Friday. The report, by MIT’s commission on Production in the Innovation Economy (PIE), found that potentially valuable innovations occur throughout the advanced manufacturing sector — from academic labs to shop floors — and in companies of all sizes, from multinational conglomerates to specialized “Main Street” firms. However, there are still holes in the “ecosystem” of advanced manufacturing in the United States — gaps that particularly inhibit innovative smaller firms. The PIE commission suggests that new policies, partnerships and programs can help create innovation-based growth and jobs. “If we want to stay strong in innovation, we must regain our strength in manufacturing,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif said in his introductory remarks at the event.At...