Allocating 0.15 percent of agency research budgets to commercialization programs would generate $110 million per year to fund technology commercialization and innovation efforts. Half the funds could go to universities and federal laboratories for a variety of initiatives, including mentoring programs for research entrepreneurs, student entrepreneurship clubs and entrepreneurship curricula, industry outreach programs, seed grants for researchers to develop commercialization programs, etc. The other half could go to match state technology-based economic development (TBED) programs. These programs, such as the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center, assist researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs, and companies in turning advanced technologies and high-tech startup companies into growing companies.

This program would resemble the current Technology Improvement Program (TIP) operated by NIST but would have an even greater focus on broad sectoral consortia and would allow large firms as well as small and mid-sized ones to participate. To be eligible for matching funding, firms would have to: form an industry-led research consortium of at least five firms; agree to develop a mid-term (three-to-ten year) technology roadmap that charts out generic science and technology needs that the firms share; and provide at least a dollar-for-dollar match of federal funds. This initiative would increase the share of federally funded university and laboratory research that is commercially relevant. In so doing it would better adjust the balance between curiosity-directed research and research more directly related to societal needs.

To reduce the delays that currently plague the U.S. patent system, the PTO should be able to retain all patent fees and the PTO should have fee-setting authority to increase fees to meet budgetary needs. The current statute requiring USPTO to wait for a congressionally amended fee schedule is inflexible and does not allow USPTO to respond to increased costs.

Since it was revised over a decade ago, SBIC has been an effective tool. However, if all the program does is provide lower cost capital to venture firms investing in late stage and large deals, it is not fulfilling its purpose of addressing market failure or limitation. Congress should require that SBIC devote some share of funds (perhaps not less than 25 percent) to smaller deals (perhaps less than $2 million).

Through their fiscal policies, states play an increasing role in U.S. macroeconomic stability. Yet most have underfunded rainy day accounts. As a result, when national economic downturns hit, states raise taxes and cut spending, exacerbating recessions and slowing recovery. The federal government can put policies in place to ensure that state and federal budget policies are more harmonized. One way to do this is to tie the states' receipt of federal funds to their willingness to maintain much larger rainy day funds.

To boost U.S. international competitiveness and the number of good jobs, we need a more robust innovation policy. State governments can play a key role in this. In fact, all 50 states now have initiatives to promote technology-based economic development. However, because the benefits of innovation spill across state borders, states invest less in innovation-based economic development than is in the national interest.

More so than other high schools, math and science high schools produce benefits that local communities, and even states will not capture. Rather than be seen as solely the responsibility of local school districts, or even of states, they should be seen for what they are: a critical part of the nation’s scientific and technological infrastructure. Congress and the Administration should set a goal of approximately quadrupling enrollment at such high schools to around 250,000 students. This will require both the creation of a significant number of new high schools, and the expansion of others with room to grow. Moreover, these funds should go toward establishing MSHSs focused on underrepresented populations. States and/or local school districts would be required to match every dollar of federal support with two dollars of state and local funding. Industry funding would count toward the state and/or local school district match.

The fund would help encourage state legislatures to create specialized schools that are autonomous from the management of traditional schools.

Institutional partnerships are a key to success of Math and Science High Schools (MSHSs). Whether it’s the donation of research equipment, the opening of their facilities to students and faculty, or mentoring of students, technology-based companies can play an important supportive role.