FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Action follows American Academy of Arts & Sciences report, Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream
The Association of American Universities today joined scores of other organizations as well as leaders of American business, industry, higher education, science, and engineering in an urgent call to action for stronger federal policies and investment to drive domestic research and development. Ten CEOs and other senior executives as well as 253 organizations signed “Innovation: An American Imperative,” a document aimed at federal decision makers and legislators. It underscores the findings—and warnings—contained in The American Academy of Arts & Sciences report, Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream.
The CEOs who have signed on to the effort are:
- Samuel R. Allen, Chairman & CEO, John Deere
- Norman R. Augustine, Co-Chair, Restoring the Foundation
- Wes Bush, Chairman, President & CEO, Northrop Grumman
- Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman & CEO, Merck & Co., Inc.
- Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President, & CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Charles O. Holliday, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc
- Joseph Jimenez, CEO, Novartis
- W. James McNerney, Jr., Chairman of the Board & CEO, The Boeing Company
- Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
- Jay Timmons, President and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers
Restoring the Foundation asserts, “There is a deficit between what America is investing and what it should be investing to remain competitive, not only in research but in innovation and job creation.” The report notes that the U.S. is failing to keep pace with competitor nations with regard to investments in basic research and development. America’s ascendency in the 20th century was due in large part—if not primarily—to its investments in science and engineering research. Basic research is behind every new product brought to market, every new medical device or drug, every new defense and space technology and many innovative business practices.
Over the last two decades, a steady decline in investment in research & development (R&D) in the United States has allowed our nation to fall to 10th place in R&D investment among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the report states. At this pace, China will surpass the United States in R&D intensity in about eight years.
These developments led a diverse coalition of those concerned with the future of research in America to join together in presenting the Innovation Imperative to federal policy makers and urging them to take action to:
- End sequestration’s deep cuts to federal investments in R&D
- Make permanent a strengthened federal R&D tax credit
- Improve student achievement in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM)
- Reform U.S. visa policy
- Streamline or eliminate costly and inefficient regulations
- Reaffirm merit-based peer review
- Stimulate further improvements in advanced manufacturing
Details on these action items, as well as a full list of signatories, are included in the full document, which is linked to above and posted on the websites of each of the following organizations:
- American Academy of Arts & Sciences
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Association of American Universities
- Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
- Battelle
- Coalition for National Science Funding
- Coalition for National Security Research
- Council on Competitiveness
- Energy Sciences Coalition
- Task Force on American Innovation
- The Science Coalition
Those interested in discussing this initiative on social media are urged to use #InnovationImperative.
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The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an association of 60 U.S. and two Canadian public and private research universities. It focuses on issues such as funding for research, research policy issues, and graduate and undergraduate education. AAU member universities are on the leading edge of innovation, scholarship, and solutions that contribute to the nation's economy, security, and wellbeing. AAU’s 60 U.S. universities award nearly one-half of all U.S. doctoral degrees and 55 percent of those in STEM fields.