Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris writes that major investments in public sector R&D are needed for private sector investment in innovation.
"The cost of early research is extraordinarily high, often prohibitively so. The most significant strides we've taken in innovation in this country have, as a result, been largely the product of substantial federal investment in R&D. The early discoveries, the early inventions have rarely arisen exclusively in a private-sector environment. But with a concerted national effort, these innovative ideas can find the funding--and the resources--to become viable. Government R&D investments have resulted in the early phases of countless critical innovations. Companies like Dow have then worked with the government to take on some of the risk, to further develop the products, and to ultimately commercialize them.
Other countries are now following that model. They are spending substantial sums of money in focused R&D, providing the space for innovation that has no equivalent in the private sector. Those investments attract businesses like Dow. We want to be at the center of innovation--and the center of innovation is increasingly moving offshore.
The United States should substantially increase it's R&D budget, and should focus specifically on industries--like clean energy--where success in innovation has the greatest potential to result in valuable products, high-paying jobs, and sustainable economic growth."
-- Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical, in "Make it in America: The Case for Re-Inventing the Economy"
