From: Teryn Norris <teryn@thebreakthrough.org>
Date: Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 9:26 PM
Subject: Invitation to Innovation Policy Event
To:
shengar@aol.com
Dear Erich,
Barack Obama's recent statement that his first priority as president will be a new Apollo investment project for clean energy represents a tremendous and historic commitment to change by our national leadership.
The danger for Obama and the Democratic leadership is not that these investments are too bold and expensive, but that they are too small and timid. As Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman stated this week in the New York Times:
"F.D.R. thought he was being prudent by reining in his spending plans; in reality, he was taking big risks with the economy and with his legacy. My advice to the Obama people is to figure out how much help they think the economy needs, then add 50 percent. It's much better, in a depressed economy, to err on the side of too much stimulus than on the side of too little."
Now is our opportunity to act boldly and reinvent America. But which investments should we prioritize? How can these investments not only jumpstart the economy with short-term stimulus, but also make the long-term investments in innovation and productivity we need to drive the American economy for decades to come?
We invite you to join us in exploring these questions on December 1st in Washington DC, where the Breakthrough Institute is co-sponsoring an event to examine these issues with some of the country's top experts on innovation policy. Event and RSVP details can be found below. We encourage all of you that are able to attend this exciting event.
Hope to see you there!
Teryn Norris
---------------
How Will a New Administration and Congress
Support Innovation In An Economic Crisis?
A briefing sponsored by the Economic Policy Institute, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Breakthrough Institute, University of California Washington Center, and Ford Foundation
Monday, December 1, 2008 - Washington D.C.
How much will an Obama Administration and the new Congress invest in efforts to unleash broader technological innovation in the United States? Does the economic crisis pose greater opportunities for investing in policies to spur technological innovation? What areas of federal innovation investment should be strengthened to help the U.S. rebuild its economy while still fostering advances in computers, nanotechnology, biotechnology, health, renewable energy, and other new industries? What institutional changes are needed to make innovation policy more effective?
Join business, technology, congressional, and academic leaders from around the country to answer these and other questions at a Washington D.C. briefing sponsored by the Economic Policy Institute, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the Breakthrough Institute, and University of California Washington Center and the Ford Foundation.
The day-long meeting will launch with release of a new report by Fred Block and Matthew Keller from the University of California, Davis that examines the role of the federal government in promoting innovations, the extent to which weaknesses in the U.S. system has affected deployment and implementation of new technologies, and what steps a new administration should take to ensure that the federal government plays a supportive and important role in innovation to foster global leadership. David Douglas of Sun Microsystems will join Victor Hwangof T2 Capital and Nicole Biggart, Dean of the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis, to react to the report and offer their perspectives on what pressing challenges face an incoming administration for expanding innovation capacity to help put people back to work, build new industries, and strengthen U.S. competitiveness.
The day-long conference will also focus on innovations to promote energy independence and sustainability, and the political and economic obstacles facing creation of a world-class innovation system in the United States. (See full agenda below.)
When: Monday, December 1, 2008
9:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Where: University of California, Washington Center
1608 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.
Agenda Highlights:
9:30 a.m. - Noon - Rebuilding the U.S. Innovation System
Nicole Biggart, Dean, Graduate School of Business, University of California, Davis
Fred Block, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of California, Davis
David Douglas, Senior Vice President, Sun Microsystems
Victor Hwang, Managing Partner, T2 Venture Capital
Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
1:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. - The Green Challenge: Investing in Innovation for Energy Independence and Sustainability
John Irons, Research and Policy Director, Economic Policy Institute
Robert Pollin, Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and author of Center for American Progress Green Recovery Report
Andrew Revkin, Reporter, New York Times
Daniel Sarewitz, Director, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University
Michael Piore, Professor MIT and author of Innovation--The Missing Dimension
Michael Shellenberger, President, Breakthrough Institute
3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. - Overcoming Political and Economic Obstacles: Can the U.S. Create a World Class Innovation System?
Robert Berdahl, President, American Association of Universities
Ron Hira, Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology and author of Outsourcing America
Richard Nelson, Professor of Economics, Columbia University
Sean O'Riain, Professor of Sociology, National University of Ireland
Marc Stanley, Director of the Technology Innovation Program, U.S. Department of Commerce
RSVP for this December 1st conference online at:
Burness Communications: New & Noteworthy: Save the Date: How Will a New Administration and Congress Support Innovation In An Economic Crisis? or by sending an email to
events@burnesscommunications.com. For more information, please contact Staci Gorden at Burness Communications at 301-652-1558.
