What is Your Strategy for American Innovation?

Today I joined my colleagues Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council, and Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors in publishing an op/ed describing President Obama’s Strategy for American Innovation - a framework to secure our economic growth and prosperity.  It is built on three key pillars - that our Nation is at its best when we invest in the building blocks of innovation, includingour people, ideas and infrastructure; that we have rules of the road that promote market-based innovation, including strong intellectual property protection, research & experimentation tax credits, and a regulatory system that works; and in the spirit of “all hands on deck”, we catalyze breakthroughs for national priorities, including our race to win in a clean energy economy, a renaissance in American manufacturing through advanced technologies, and a quantum leap in educational technologies.

Now it is your turn. We want to hear your feedback on the Strategy for American Innovation.  You can submit your comments, feedback and questions via Slideshare.  In the coming days and weeks, we’re looking forward to a lively discussion on the Strategy for American Innovation and we hope you’ll be a part of it.

In addition, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, as part of his leadership responsibilities ascribed in the America COMPETES Act of 2010, released a request for information seeking your input on the President’s Strategy, and on a set of critically important questions, including:

Now it is your turn. How can the economic impacts of basic research funding be better measured and evaluated

• What obstacles limit entrepreneurship in America, and which of these obstacles can be reduced through public policy?
• What is the role of advanced manufacturing in driving American economic growth and international competitiveness?

For those of you keen to visit in person, we welcome your feedback and ideas directly as we travel outside of DC to hear from entrepreneurs and innovators in cities like Durham, NC, Austin, TX, and others—stay tuned for more information on these upcoming events!

We began this week celebrating and inspiring the American entrepreneur through the President’s Startup America initiative.  On Wednesday, I joined Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health IT, to celebrate the successful launch of the Direct Project, a simple but powerful standard, designed by and for the private sector, to enable the safe, secure exchange of health information between trusted parties when authorized by patients.  Yesterday, the President called for a new “Better Buildings Challenge” to spur state and local action on the regulatory environment needed to strengthen returns on retrofit investments.  And with today’s Innovation Strategy release, we have charted a course to ensure America can out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build the competition.

In the spirit of commonwealth, I’m confident that we can exceed our individual potential when we come together to meet a larger challenge.  Are you ready to win the future?

Aneesh Chopra is U.S. Chief Technology Officer