U.S. Department of Commerce Unveils Report Showing how Universities are Fueling Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Keep America Competitive

Report is result of university collaboration with Commerce's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The U.S. Department of Commerce today unveiled “The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Focus,” a report that shows how universities across the country are supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in order to strengthen the regional economy, create jobs and keep America competitive.

“The Obama administration is committed to fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurs, both of which are key drivers of U.S. economic growth,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “The report unveiled today provides an important look at higher education efforts to advance the innovation economy in communities nationwide.”  

In April 2010, over 140 leaders from higher education endorsed and submitted a letter to the Secretary of Commerce through the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), in which they committed to work more closely with industry, private foundations, investors, and local, state, and federal governments to enhance efforts to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of research results. The Commerce Department’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE), worked directly with colleges and universities around the country to compile the report.

Specifically, the report highlights university efforts to support innovation and entrepreneurship in five key areas:

• Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship;
• Encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship;
• Actively supporting university technology transfer;
• Facilitating university-industry collaboration; and,
• Engaging in regional and local economic development efforts.

The report unveiled today is a key step in the Department of Commerce’s efforts to understand exactly what America’s colleges and universities are doing programmatically and strategically to nurture innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship among students, faculty, alumni, and within their communities.

NACIE was created as part of the implementation of the America COMPETES Act, which President Obamasigned into law in January 2011. The Council that produced this report is comprised of some of America’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and university leaders.

To view the report’s full findings, visithttp://www.eda.gov/pdf/The_Innovative_and_Entrepreneurial_University_Report.pdf (PDF).

Fact sheet (PDF)