By Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe
Stronger tax incentives for research and development, increased collaboration between the public and private sectors to boost innovation and workforce development, and strategic investments in research and infrastructure – these are some of the recommendations a distinguished group of leaders in science, industry, and higher education have for policy makers to maintain the United States’ leadership in science and technology.
The group’s Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST) offers a roadmap for modernizing the American science and technology (S&T) enterprise and for maintaining American leadership in the face of rapidly advancing competitors, such as China. The VAST task force came together last year to identify major factors inhibiting S&T innovations in the United States and to make recommendations to the incoming administration and Congress for strengthening the sector.
An initiative of the Science and Technology Action Committee, the nonpartisan group is composed of more than 60 individuals and includes AAU President Barbara Snyder, Arizona State University President Michael Crow, Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels, and University of Michigan President Santa Ono.
The VAST roadmap argues that “the full power of America’s science and technology enterprise” can be unleashed by reducing inefficiencies in the nation’s S&T sector, building a dynamic workforce, and driving technological breakthroughs.
The group claims that America’s S&T enterprise is inefficient because too many of our efforts and investments in research and scientific talent “operate in isolation, bounded by sectors, industries, disciplines, and geographies.” The task force argued that companies, universities, and governments must work together to speed up the transfer of technology from universities and government to industry and fund S&T “economic hubs” that lead to high-paying careers. The group also recommended making changes to the tax code, especially the Research & Development Tax Credit, which allows companies to deduct certain research expenses from their income taxes.
The task force also recommended reforms in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) education to reduce barriers to entry and creating more career pathways in science for all Americans. Given the rising demand for international talent, the group also recommended expanding employment-based visas.
Many studies show that the United States is fast falling behind China in key technologies. The task force urged more government funding for research in fields such as artificial intelligence, materials science, and quantum computing to reestablish itself as a leader in technological breakthroughs. “The U.S. has lost or is losing its competitive advantage in a growing number of these critical fields – often overtaken by China. Federal support for fundamental discovery research needs to be strengthened and stabilized to realize our potential future groundbreaking discoveries,” the report said.
Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe is editorial and communications assistant at AAU.