The nation’s governors have decided they want to play a major role in ensuring the states are at the cutting edge of innovation.
And the question on everyone’s mind is: Should we be concerned?
At last week’s meeting of the National Governors Association, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano (D), NGA incoming chair, released “Innovation America.”
According to the governor, “To be competitive as a nation, we must prepare our young people to meet the real demands of the job market.” She went on to say, “The goal of my Chair's initiative is to educate our students to be innovators, and to carry that spirit of innovation through their university experience and into the workforce. Math and science education teaches true problem solving skills that, in turn, will increase our nation's capacity for innovation in virtually every field.”
In other words, the governors see this as an opportunity to start doing an even better job of public education.
Well, there is certainly room for improvement. Unfortunately, they’ve been heavily involved in education for years with little to show for it.
In addition to more involvement in education, the governors hope to:
- Raise national awareness of the urgent need to embrace innovation as the U.S. path to maintaining competitiveness;
- Share examples of best practices and provide a "tool box" of effective policies and strategies;
- Present each governor with an economic profile specific to their state, including high growth innovation centers and science and math proficiencies;
- Host regional learning labs and workshops to help states improve education in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math; and
- Create new science and math academies to improve student achievement and grow a workforce in emerging occupations.
We don’t doubt the governors’ sincerity. And some of these elements, done well, could be beneficial.
But the NGA’s agenda says precious little about the key ingredients to spur an innovative state.
- Is the state encouraging competition in education?
- Are taxes low, making the state an attractive place to set up a business?
- Is it easy to set up a small business, or do piles of restrictions get in the way?
- And does the state, both in word and deed, strongly support intellectual property?
Promoting innovation means creating a business- and IP-friendly climate that encourages innovators—mostly small start-ups, sometimes by the university professors themselves—to take the plunge from thinking about innovation to doing it. And then getting out of their way.