American business executives are enthusiastic about innovation prospects globally, according to a new survey released today by the Council on Competitiveness, a finding that is consistent with the growing evidence of significant investments abroad in science and technology. On the home front, the survey found that executives are neutral to slightly positive about the innovation climate in the Untied States.

"This survey should serve as a wake-up call to business leaders across the United States," said Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President of the Council on Competitiveness. "Innovation is perhaps the single most important factor in maintaining the U.S. competitive advantage in global markets and in driving a higher quality of life in the long-run, and it must be integrated at all levels into our corporate cultures."

This Op-Ed is a clarion call to action for business leaders across Georgia and the entire southeastern United States.

"Regions across America that hope to encourage the development of innovation are not only competing with other areas in the United States, but against a global innovation climate that is robust and growing. Atlanta's rivals are no longer Birmingham and Chattanooga --- they now include Belfast, Beijing, and Bangalore. ... Picking up the pace of American innovation will be the single most important factor in our economic success in the 21st century. Our ability to do that depends on whether we will have the talent to compete globally, whether capital will flow freely to our ideas and businesses, and whether we are quick enough to reform policies that support innovators --- from our aging health care system to our outdated communications laws."

To read more of the Op-Ed, please click on the link above.

To view the Council's "2005 National Innovation Survey", please visit the Innovation Resources page on www.InnovateAmerica.org

The Council on Competitiveness will join Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and other committed stakeholders to launch the first regional summit of the National Innovation Initiative (NII) at Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Innovation Summit will kick off a series of events promoting regional events on a national basis as well as in the South. The Summit will gather CEO’s, university presidents, and labor leaders to discuss how to promote innovation in the Southern region's economy, institutions and culture in the 21st century.

The event will also serve as the Council’s annual meeting, culminating with a dinner to honor Duane Ackerman, our chairman.

The Council on Competitiveness co-hosted "Strategies For Global Prosperity: A U.S.-Japan Innovation Summit" as the culminating event of the 2005 World Expo. The summit brought together two of the world’s most innovative nations through launching a dialogue between U.S. and Japanese private sector thought leaders to discuss major innovation challenges, trends and opportunities facing our two countries. The participants discussed ways in which our two countries can work together to share ideas and best practices to strengthen national and regional innovation ecosystems. Participants identified ways to integrate seamlessly large, emerging economies - that are increasingly focused on innovation-based growth strategies - into the global trading system. Complementing the Council’s strategic goal to carry forward the NII recommendations internationally and engage Asian thought leaders in the global innovation dialogue, the Council hopes this summit will launch an annual bilateral discussion series that provides a framework for future relations with other Asian countries.

For more information on the Council's International Initiative and our activities, please visit our website: www.compete.org

The Council on Competitiveness co-hosted with the Dutch Prime Minister and senior EU officials a transatlantic innovation summit to discuss the major barriers to and opportunities for innovation-based growth in the US and EU—both of which face similar political and macro-economic forces, similar financial constraints and a similar intensification of competition on a global scale. The conference’s action-oriented program included speakers from the highest level, including a Council on Competitiveness-led delegation of US CEOs, university presidents and senior government officials.

Experts debate the rapidly changing political and societal landscape surrounding Innovation and Intellectual Property...

More than 170 delegates from over 30 countries, including Mr. Chad Evans, Vice President, Council on Competitiveness, debated the rapidly changing political and societal landscape surrounding innovation and intellectual property - timely, and sometimes controversial issues for the research and development-based plant sciences industry. The need for incentives to encourage innovation and the legitimate protection of intellectual property rights was reinforced, while demonstrating the plant sciences industry's commitment to openness and dialogue with a variety of stakeholders.

Speaking on "The value of innovation in today's society", Chad Evans, who spearheads the Council's National Innovation Initiative, focused his remarks on the the importance of intellectual property as a driver of the innovation economy.

is on tap to be held this April 22nd at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. The meeting is the capstone of the Council's Economic Development Administration (EDA)-supported two-year initiative to catalyze innovation-based economic development strategies in regions across the United States.

There are two main goals for the summit: sharing best practices from the seven regions the Council has studied during the past two years and linking regional lessons to the broader national innovation agenda, outlined in the Council's National Innovation Initiative (NII).

The meeting will be a working session of economic development leaders from the private, public, educational and non-profit sectors . We hope that participants will learn from each other as well as contribute to the Council's effort to implement the regionally relevant recommendations from the National Innovation Initiative report: Innovate America: Thriving in a World of Challenge and Change (available on the Council homepage).

Dr. David A. Sampson, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, U.S. Department of Commerce and Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President of the Council on Competitiveness, have agreed to give keynote addresses at the event. The meeting will also feature highly interactive discussions with leaders from initiative regions sharing lessons from their efforts to implement innovation-based economic development initiatives.

The U.S. needs to overhaul its education system to encourage innovation...