Capitalizing On New Needs And New Opportunities

This report addresses a topic of recognized policy concern. To capture the benefits of substantial U.S. investments in biomedical R&D, parallel investments in a wide range of seemingly unrelated disciplines are also required. This report summarizes a major conference that reviewed our nation's R&D support for biotechnology and information technologies. The volume includes newly commissioned research and makes recommendations and findings concerning the important relationship between information technologies and biotechnology. It emphasizes the fall off in R&D investments needed to sustain the growth of the U.S. economy and to capitalize on the growing investment in biomedicine. It also encourages greater support for inter-disciplinary training to support new areas such as bioinformatics and urges more emphasis on and support for multi-disciplinary research centers.

The global economy is characterized by increasing locational competition to attract the resources necessary to develop leading-edge technologies as drivers of regional and national growth. One means of facilitating such growth and improving national competitiveness is to improve the operation of the national innovation system. This involves national technology development and innovation programs designed to support research on new technologies, enhance the commercial return on national research, and facilitate the production of globally competitive products. Understanding the policies that other nations are pursuing to become more innovative and to what effect is essential to understanding how the nature and terms of economic competition are shifting. Building the 21st Century U.S.-China Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovation studies selected foreign innovation programs and comparing them with major U.S. programs. This analysis of Comparative Innovation Policy includes a review of the goals, concept, structure, operation, funding levels, and evaluation of foreign programs designed to advance the innovation capacity of national economies and enhance their international competitiveness. This analysis focuses on key areas of future growth, such as renewable energy, among others, to generate case-specific recommendations where appropriate.

This report addresses a topic of recognized policy concern. To capture the benefits of substantial U.S. investments in biomedical R&D, parallel investments in a wide range of seemingly unrelated disciplines are also required. This report summarizes a major conference that reviewed our nation's R&D support for biotechnology and information technologies. The volume includes newly commissioned research and makes recommendations and findings concerning the important relationship between information technologies and biotechnology. It emphasizes the fall off in R&D investments needed to sustain the growth of the U.S. economy and to capitalize on the growing investment in biomedicine. It also encourages greater support for inter-disciplinary training to support new areas such as bioinformatics and urges more emphasis on and support for multi-disciplinary research centers.

Generating leads and landing new business are critical to the growth and long-term success of any type of service business. Rainmakers who are able to consistently gain new business by using their selling skills to convert prospects into new customers are difficult to find. Recruiting rainmaking professionals from other organizations is expensive and for many businesses has been largely ineffective. Every executive and manager of a service business understands the importance of the ability to generate leads and landing new customers are the critical components to a successful business. This book is written for managers and leaders who want to transform their professionals from doing work to effectively marketing and selling and bringing in new business. Divided into three comprehensive parts: Charting a new course; The fundamental success models; and Building your business, this book will show you how to: Help professionals overcome fear of selling Acquire the right sales capabilities Market and sell within your comfort zone Setting and achieving big goals Leverage existing customers to acquire new ones Build accountability across the business

Although the United States is currently capitalizing on its investment in science and technology effectively, there remains much room for improvement. This volume identifies the ingredients for success in capitalizing on such investments to produce national benefits, assesses current U.S. performance, and identifies future challenges. The book cites specific examples and examines several cross-cutting issues. It explores the possibility that the national research portfolio is losing diversity as a result of less long-term research in critical fields such as networking and materials. It also examines the implications of imbalances in the supply of and demand for science and engineering talent in emerging interdisciplinary fields such as bioinformatics.

Although the United States is currently capitalizing on its investment in science and technology effectively, there remains much room for improvement. This volume identifies the ingredients for success in capitalizing on such investments to produce national benefits, assesses current U.S. performance, and identifies future challenges. The book cites specific examples and examines several cross-cutting issues. It explores the possibility that the national research portfolio is losing diversity as a result of less long-term research in critical fields such as networking and materials. It also examines the implications of imbalances in the supply of and demand for science and engineering talent in emerging interdisciplinary fields such as bioinformatics.

One of the project’s last activities was to organise a meeting with those who took an active role as facilitators, and who helped guide the series of capitalization processes which the project supported in different parts of the world. This was planned to complement the online discussions that had been going on between them – and together discuss the conditions, requirements or the factors underpinning an effective facilitation process. The meeting helpedvalidate many of the issues identified during the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the different capitalization processes in which manypersons were involved. It also helped identify what is needed now to support the processes already initiated and to be completed, or to start new initiatives. The narratives included in this publication served as inputs for the discussions at the meeting. Written by those who were actively and directly involved in the different steps of the project, they show the main issues they faced during the training workshops and also in the field, and the main lessons they drew as participants, facilitators or as experience capitalization “champions”. Although based on concrete cases, the fears, observations or ideas included in each one of these articles will be easily recognised by those playing a similar role. They are therefore a good complement to the facilitator’s guidebook recently published by CTA.