In the latest edition of the Global Innovation Index, the United States came home in 3rd spot.  Over the years the Index has been produced, the US has always maintained a presence in the top 10, underlining the innovative potential of the country.  It’s a potential that new research from Rice University suggests might be ebbing away due to complacency.

“The United States became a world power—economically, militarily and culturally—in significant part by placing a high priority on innovation, fueled by advances in science and technology,” the authors say. “This priority, in turn, required investing in R&D, especially fundamental research conducted in universities and national laboratories across the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.”

Losing top spot

The authors highlight that China is expected to become the largest economy in the world by 2030, with science, technology, and innovation likely to play a growing role in that ascendency.  Indeed, they argue that in the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing the country has reached a tipping point in terms of R&D.

The report follows on from an earlier publication that was published in 2014 and chronicles the various pros and cons of innovation policy in that period.

“Recent developments are placing additional stress on the U.S. research system even as they underscore its indispensability in providing the fuel for American innovation and competitiveness as well as the know-how required to address the nation’s many societal challenges,” the authors explain. “As this report was being prepared, a major coronavirus outbreak was impacting thousands of lives in China, America and other parts of the world. Meanwhile, security concerns have led some policymakers to propose draconian restrictions on the very same foreign researchers on whom we have come to rely to fill the persistent domestic talent gap in science and engineering.”

The report joins forces with previous publications from the likes of GMAC and Harvard to highlight the damage immigration restrictions are causing to the country’s ability to attract talent.  Indeed, the policies are often prompting companies to offshore R&D facilities to countries where the brightest talent is rather than trying to attract that talent to the country.

The report the authors produced in 2014 outlined a number of recommendations, and the latest publication provides a status report on those, which focused primarily around the need to strengthen the country’s human capital and focus on various R&D priorities.

“The nation’s pre-K–12 public education system has been in crisis for decades, and the urgent need to improve student achievement was one of the seven priorities listed in the ‘Innovation: An American Imperative’ call to action that was supported by over 500 organizations across the country,” the authors wrote.

The report also urges greater public university funding so that a return to pre-2008 levels is seen.  They’re also critical of the recent tax imposed on the earnings of endowments that they believe is excessively punitive and inhibits the work universities do in terms of both tuition and research.

The report is part of a growing number that express concern that America is heading in the wrong direction.  Will it be able to head the warning?