Internet-based Approaches to Reform Education and Improve Policy-Making Could Boost U.S. Innovation

In 1877, Thomas Edison drew a sketch of a device with a long tube with a crank at the end and a can-like enlargement in the center. The drawing was for a phonograph, a recording device that became the basis of the recording and music industry and enhanced the movie industry.

That a simple sketch—an idea—could ultimately generate such substantial economic payback exemplifies innovation, which speakers at the AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy said is on the decline in the United States and on the rise in other nations. The speakers, who were policy-makers, analysts and educators, described what is being done now to strengthen innovation in the United States and around the world.

In the second half of the last century and the beginning of this one, the United States led the world in creating innovative products, innovative processes, and innovative business models, said F.M. Ross Armbrecht, moderator of a Forum session on innovation. Armbrecht is the executive director of the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education. “That leadership formed the platform on which our present standard of living is based,” he said.

But recent reports show that United States is dropping in the list of innovative countries “It’s time to take this very seriously and examine the policy elements that support a leading innovation climate,” said Armbrecht, who also the chairs the AAAS Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy.

For more information on fostering innovation, read the full story.