Making Value for America : Embracing the Future of Manufacturing, Technology, and Work

Globalization, developments in technology, and new business models are transforming the way products and services are conceived, designed, made, and distributed in the U.S. and around the world. These forces present challenges - lower wages and fewer jobs for a growing fraction of middle-class workers - as well as opportunities for "makers" and aspiring entrepreneurs to create entirely new types of businesses and jobs. Making Value for America examines these challenges and opportunities and offers recommendations for collaborative actions between government, industry, and education institutions to help ensure that the U.S. thrives amid global economic changes and remains a leading environment for innovation. Filled with real-life examples, Making Value for America presents a roadmap to enhance the nation's capacity to pursue opportunities and adapt to transforming value chains by widespread adoption of best practices, a well-prepared and innovative workforce, local innovation networks to support startups and new products, improved flow of capital investments, and infrastructure upgrades. Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive SummaryPrologueIntroduction1 The Manufacturing Value Chain in Transition2 Opportunities for Value Creation Presented by Digital Technologies and Distributed Tools3 An Ecosystem for Creating Value4 Creating a Prosperous Path Forward: Recommended ActionsAppendix: The Big Picture