Build ‘Em and They’ll Come
Thomas Friedman’s recent opinion piece in the New York Times focuses on the Obama Administration’s efforts to create eight innovation hubs across the U.S. in order to find solutions to the most pressing energy issues facing the country and the planet. Friedman described the plan as “the most exciting, moon-shot-quality, high-aspiration initiative proposed by President Obama that no one has heard of.”
So far, three of these hubs have been launched, but they have only been provided a limited amount of funding- $22 million for all three- for a period of one year. In his piece, Friedman relates a conversation he had with Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and Mr. Mahbubani’s disbelief that the U.S. couldn’t come up with the full $25 million needed for each of these centers.
The National University of Singapore is a member of the iBridge Network and Singapore is clearly a global leader in innovation that has been able to attract some of the best scientific minds in the world. They have the 43rd ranked GDP in the world, while the U.S. has the first. So, why can’t we find $25 million for each of these innovation hubs that could truly revolutionize the way we create and use energy while Singapore has no problem spending a billion on scientific research?
As we’ve recently pointed out, the Administration, specifically the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), has taken some major strides to bolster the country’s innovation economy. The administration is focusing on solutions that support moving innovations from the labs in which they are created into the commercial market where they can positively impact economic recovery and growth. What better way to do that than through these innovation hubs?
Congress is obviously facing major budget decisions and is also in the midst of a heated election year. But providing our country’s researchers with the opportunity to create game-changing solutions to energy problems must be a top priority. Fund the innovation hubs and the world could be thanking us for generations to come.
