Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus US Department Of
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Innovative & Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus U.S. Department of Commerce Prepared by: Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Economic Development Administration In consultation with: National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship February 2013 1 {This page intentionally left blank} 2 Table of Contents Forward Page 4 Letter from NACIE Co-Chairs Page 6 Acknowledgements Page 10 Executive Summary Page 12 Introduction Page 18 Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Page 24 Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship Page 29 Actively Supporting Technology Transfer Page 33 Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration Page 40 Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts Page 45 Conclusion Page 51 Appendix One Attached Appendix Two Attached 3 Foreword Over the last several months, the Department of Commerce’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been speaking directly to colleges and universities around the country to understand how they are nurturing and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. This effort was conducted in response to a letter that was marshaled by the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to the Department in 2011, which described how university-based innovation and entrepreneurship is blossoming, and outlining steps that the university community would like the US government to take to further nurture economic value creation in conjunction with universities. This report announced the results of those interviews and conversations in a report entitled, “The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Focus.” Innovation is a key driver of economic growth in the United States. At the Department, our agencies and bureaus are focused on nurturing innovation, developing advanced manufacturing in the United States, and increasing exports to the world. Innovation is a priority for the U.S. Department of Commerce because it helps American industry, universities, and research institutes to develop the next generation of technologies and increase the number of high-growth American startups. In 2009, the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship was created as part of the implementation of the America Competes Act. This council, comprised of some of America’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and university leaders, has been a tremendous asset to the Administration by providing ideas and feedback on policies that nurture innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the last two years, the Council, under the leadership of co-chairs Steve Case, Dr. Mary Sue Coleman and Dr. Desh Deshpande, has had a major impact on several Administration accomplishments including Startup America, the American JOBS Act, and a letter from university presidents that is the focus of this report. This letter, entitled, “Recommendations to Facilitate University-Based Technology Commercialization”, mobilized the higher education community. It provided a strategic framework for universities, colleges, and its partners in government, philanthropy, and business to think about university-based innovation and entrepreneurship. This framework has become part of the discussion on campuses everywhere as higher education thinks about its future and the desires of its students, faculty, and communities. Signed by 142 of America’s leading universities, this letter spawned similar efforts by community colleges, state colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU), and several government research labs. The Department’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship spoke directly to nearly every signatory of this letter. As expected, we found that universities and colleges across America are engaged in an exciting and comprehensive set of programs to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship among their students, faculty and communities with the goal of supporting industry and the regional economy. While their approaches vary based on geography, history and size, they are all committed to the innovation economy and the role of entrepreneurs in driving that economy. In addition, the universities are all strong partners of the U.S. government, its research agencies, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Moving forward, the Department will work collaboratively with our partners in higher education to develop a common agenda to support and nurture university-based innovation and entrepreneurship. The insights in this report will serve as a starting point in a long-term discussion about the roles of universities and the federal government in nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship to support America’s economy. 4 National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), and on behalf of the full membership, would like to thank the U.S. Department of Commerce for its follow up work with universities, national labs, community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Since its inception, NACIE has been very focused on the issue of the commercialization of federally- funded research, and the opportunity to create economic value and jobs in the United States through greater commercialization by our university, lab and corporate research partners. In April 2011, four of our members led the charge to engage universities directly in this effort. Through the combined efforts of Presidents’ Mary Sue Coleman, Bud Peterson, Michael Crow and Holden Thorp, and the outside support of several higher education groups, we submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce focused on university-based innovation and entrepreneurship. America’s higher education institutions are engaged in a variety of exciting programs to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship as part of the education of their students, faculty and alumni, and as a tool to leverage their assets to create economic value in their communities. The letter emphasized key steps taken by the higher education community to enhance those programs, and suggested ways in which the federal government could enhance it even more. While there are certain characteristics that all the universities share, this report highlights the diversity of programs across the United States in a way that reflects the diversity of size, geography, culture and research capacity of our higher education institutions. This report should be the start of similar outreach by the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal agencies to universities, federal labs and private companies to more deeply understand the nature of our innovation and our capacity to commercialize. In addition, NACIE looks forward to engaging more deeply on many of the ideas in this report and to promote those that can be replicated for greatest impact. We know that these activities will lead to greater innovation, commercialization, and broad-based entrepreneurship from our university communities. We look forward to continued involvement with the U.S. Department of Commerce and to making future recommendations in this area as well as other critical areas of importance to NACIE, including access to capital and the celebration of entrepreneurship in the United States. Co-Chairs Steve Case Dr. Mary Sue Coleman Dr. Gururaj Deshpande Chairman & CEO President Chairman Revolution LLC University of Michigan Sparta Gro 5 Members Tom Alberg Dr. Barron Harvey Managing Director Dean Madrona Venture Group Howard University School of Business James Andrew Krisztina Holly Senior Partner and Managing Director Former Vice Provost for Innovation Boston Consulting Group University of Southern California Tom Baruch Ray Leach Founder CEO Formation8 Capital Jumpstart Dr. Claude Canizares Kenneth Morse Vice President for Research, Associate Provost Managing Director Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneurship Ventures Dr. Curtis Carlson Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson President & CEO President SRI International Georgia Institute of Technology Robin Chase Michael Roberts Founder CEO Buzzcar The Roberts Companies RoseAnn B. Rosenthal Marcelo Claure President & CEO Chairman, President & CEO Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Brightstar Southeastern Pennsylvania Dr. Michael Crow Dr. Holden Thorp President Chancellor Arizona State University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Ping Fu Dr. Charles Vest Chairman, President & CEO President Geomagic National Academy of Engineering Dr. Christina Gabriel Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth President CEO University Energy Partnership Battelle 6 Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Nish Acharya Paul Corson Kari McNair Director & Senior former Deputy Director Research Analyst Advisor to the Secretary Gautam Prakash Brandi Parker Steven Rutz Senior Policy Advisor Senior Policy Advisor ELDP Research Team Heidi Lovett Saliha Loucif Shari Stout ELDP Research Team ELDP Research Team ELDP Research Team Asif Alvi Marc Liverman Kyle Ward ELDP Research Team ELDP Research Team ELDP Research Team Amy Nasr Nithyaa Venkataramani Felix Obi Intern Intern Intern Cassandra Ingram Bryan Clubb Lauren Dupuis Economist Intern EDA Management Analyst 7 Acknowledgements This report would not have been possible without a sustained effort by many individuals and organizations that deeply care about universities, commercialization, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Foremost, we at the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) would like to thank the National Advisory Council on Innovation