JANUARY, 2007

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REPORTS

EVENTS

Click on links for more detailed information

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REPORTS:

Innovation Inducement Prizes at the National Science Foundation

January 18, 2007

For a pre-publication copy or additional information contact Mahendra Shunmoogam, mshunmoogam@nas.edu, (202)334-2823.

Enhancing Productivity in the Information Age

February 23, 2007

Starting in the mid 1990’s, the U. S. economy experienced an unprecedented upsurge in economic productivity. Rapid technological change in communications, computing, and information management continue to promise further gains in productivity, a phenomenon often referred to as the New Economy. To better understand the source of recent productivity gains and the policy measures needed to sustain these positive trends, a committee of STEP members and other experts convened as series of workshops and commissioned papers on Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy. The final report in this series, Enhancing Productivity Growth in the Information Age: Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy, reviews the lessons learned from trends in telecommunications, software, semiconductors, and computer components and presents the committee recommendations for improving measurement capabilities and sustaining these technological advances. The report will be released on February 23, 2007.

For additional information please contact Mac McMullough, jmcmullough@nas.edu, (202)334-1529

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EVENTS:

The Dragon and the Elephant: The Development of Innovation Capacity in China and India

April 19-20, 2007

This meeting, originally announced for February 6-7, 2007 is being rescheduled in the spring. The new dates and registration information will be contained in the February newsletter.

The Gowers Report on Intellectual Property: Briefing by Ron Marchant, UK Patent Office
February 1, 2007

In December 2005 Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, initiated a broad review of UK intellectual property policy led by Andrew Gower. The Gower Report, published a year later, makes recommendations for significant changes in patent, copyright, law, administration, and enforcement at the National, European, and International levels. The National Academies’ Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) Board will be host to a discussion of the report with Ron Marchant, chief executive, UK Patent Office.

For additional information contact Mahendra Shunmoogam, mshunmoogam@nas.edu, (202)334-2823.

Improving Measurements of R&D, Innovation, and Competitiveness

January 24, 2007

The first meeting of the 110^th Congress Senate Science and Technology Caucus, chaired by Senators Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, and Lamar Alexander, R-TN, will feature immediate past STEP Board chair, Dale Jorgenson, who also led STEP’s New Economy Project. Other speakers include Steve Landefeld, director, Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Affairs; and Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBM vice president, technical strategy and innovation. Stephen Merrill, STEP executive director, will moderate the session.

For meeting time and location contact Ray Garant, American Chemical Society (co-sponsor of the meeting), (202)872-6063; or Melanie Roberts, Office of Sen. Bingamen, (202)223-0179.

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