Innovation Foundation

Creation of a National Innovation Foundation (NIF), “with the sole mission of promoting innovation” to help keep America competitive in a technology-driven and knowledge-based global marketplace, is recommended in a report from the Brookings Institution and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

The report notes that “federal innovation programs that do exist operate in an ad hoc manner” and “treat innovation as a byproduct of other goals.”

They propose an annual budget of $1 billion for the agency to:

1) catalyze industry-university research partnerships
2) expand regional innovation-promotion
3) encourage technology adoption
4) support regional industry cluster
5) emphasize performance and accountability, and
6) champion innovation