Assessing the Impacts of Changes in the Information Technology R&D Ecosystem : Retaining Leadership in an Increasingly Global Environment

The U.S. information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) ecosystem was the envy of the world in 1995. However, this position of leadership is not a birthright, and it is now under pressure. In recent years, the rapid globalization of markets, labor pools, and capital flows have encouraged many strong national competitors. During the same period, national policies have not sufficiently buttressed the ecosystem, or have generated side effects that have reduced its effectiveness. As a result, the U.S. position in IT leadership today has materially eroded compared with that of prior decades, and the nation risks ceding IT leadership to other nations within a generation. Assessing the Impacts of Changes in the Information Technology R&D Ecosystem calls for a recommitment to providing the resources needed to fuel U.S. IT innovation, to removing important roadblocks that reduce the ecosystem's effectiveness in generating innovation and the fruits of innovation, and to becoming a lead innovator and user of IT. The book examines these issues and makes recommendations to strengthen the U.S. IT R&D ecosystem. Table of ContentsFront MatterSummary1 Defining the Information Technology R&D Ecosystem2 Information Technology: The Essential Enabler for the Information Society3 The Changing Landscape of the U.S. Information Technology R&D Ecosystem: 1995-20074 A Globalized, Dynamic Information Technology R&D Ecosystem5 Findings and RecommendationsAppendixesAppendix A: Biosketches of Committee Members and StaffAppendix B: Workshop Agendas