On Monday, MIT President L. Rafael Reif delivered recommendations on developing innovation-based growth in America to US President Barack Obama.
With Dow Chemical’s President, Chairman, and CEO Andrew Liveris, Reif co-chaired the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) 2.0, a presidential committee charged with identifying new ways to enable innovation, secure the talent pipeline, and improve the US business climate in response to a shrinking manufacturing sector.
In his remarks, Reif stated, “To reverse that trend, and to compete in an intensely globalized world, we need to take a big leap forward, fueled by innovation—and we need an innovation system that can deliver new manufacturing technologies and processes to get us there.”
The White House announced a series of measures to implement the committee’s recommendations:
Enabling innovation: $300 million will be invested in technologies critical to manufacturing competitiveness—advanced materials, advanced sensors for manufacturing, and digital manufacturing. In addition, “technology test beds” will be developed within federal research facilities as places where companies can design, prototype, and test new processes.
Securing talent: To create new apprenticeship programs and attract new talent to the manufacturing field, the Department of Labor will launch a $100 million American Apprenticeships Grants Competition.
Improving the business climate: A $130 million, 10-state pilot program to aid small businesses will be developed. The program, through the Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, will provide small manufacturers with access to new technologies and tools to bring their products to market.
Read the full AMP 2.0 report.
MIT has engaged in advancing manufacturing policy for a number of years. Also on Monday, the Industrial Urbanism Symposium, sponsored by MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, discussed ways that new manufacturing can fit in with the evolution of cities and help shape urban spaces.
Read more about the symposium at MIT News.
We’ve been trying institutional support for innovation in the EU for several years. I don’t believe it can help anything. If an innovation does not have enough potential to pay its own costs, what is it for?