Pillar 1: Accelerate Technology Translation, Scaling, and Commercialization—Shorten the Time for Technology Maturation and Market Integration 

Recommendation 1: Expand use-inspired research across the U.S. R&D enterprise to meet the nation’s economic and security needs. 

The “Endless Frontier” science and technology model that emerged in the post-WWII environment is no longer sufficient in serving contemporary needs. A siloed approach to techno-industrial policy—characterized by the perception of universities as dominant research hubs, the commercial sector operating largely independently within markets, and the government relegated to specific missions—must evolve in response to the complexities introduced by the convergence of platform technologies. To accelerate technology and innovation in the United States, greater integration and collaboration across sectors and an expanded focus on and greater federal investment in applied research is required. The following action would support this goal: 

1. The federal government, in collaboration with industry leaders, the research community, and organizations dedicated to driving societal progress, should undertake a concerted effort to identify the most pressing economic, national security, societal, sustainability, and government mission challenges facing the nation.
   
2. This comprehensive assessment of challenges, once prioritized by the most critical problems or needs, should then be addressed by a multidisciplinary, multidomain community of leaders. 
   
3. By catalyzing collective action, the federal government and institutional leaders can align research and development efforts, program investments, and resources to drive meaningful solutions. 
   
4. This process should also identify opportunities for a robust market presence for the private sector, enabling the development of commercially viable solutions that can drive innovation and economic growth. 

Recommendation 2: Expand investment and activities focused on the rapid scaling of critical technologies. Efforts should prioritize driving technological advancement and removing obstacles to swift deployment and scaling.

Expanding beyond the research and technology community, engagement is needed across all stakeholders and institutions within the innovation ecosystem to accelerate the commercialization of new technologies and ideas. The following actions would accelerate the commercialization of innovation in the United States: 

1. Engage university and national laboratory researchers, industry, and other non-governmental partners at the beginning of federally funded pilots and demonstrations. Early engagement will help researchers better understand industry requirements for manufacturing and commercialization, identify potential applications and industry uses, and provide mechanisms for cost-sharing and the de-risking of pre-competitive technologies. 
   
2. In pre-competitive consortia focused on critical technologies, engage downstream stakeholders that will ultimately be needed for commercialization and deployment at scale. For example, a pre-competitive consortium on autonomous vehicles could have auto manufacturers, vehicle safety and regulatory experts, legal and insurance companies, etc., in addition to researchers and technology developers.
   
3. The federal government should assess the potential regulatory impacts after key research and technology development projects (e.g., the accelerated timeframe for the release of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines)—exploring if and how the regulatory regime needs to adapt. 
   
4. Establish a corps of “Tech Reg Sherpas” to help small companies with innovative technologies navigate the regulatory system. 

Recommendation 3: Ramp up engagement, develop new pathways and interfaces, and reduce the transfer time to move new technology faster from developers in universities and national laboratories to users across industry. 

To match or drive the pace of change, quickly seize emerging technology and market opportunities, scale innovations faster than our competitors, and deploy solutions to global grand problems more quickly, the following actions should be implemented: 

1. Marquee federal research sponsors should place greater emphasis on researchers collaborating with industry, technology translation, and commercialization as a priority for gaining R&D awards and other support. 
   
2. Where appropriate, allocate a small percentage of federal research grant funds specifically for technology transfer activities to incentivize both funding agencies and grantees to prioritize technology transfer, promoting the commercialization and practical application of research findings. 
   
3. Launch a comprehensive education campaign to raise awareness and institutionalize best practices on the benefits of technology transfer, providing targeted training to researchers, universities, and businesses. 
   
4. Expand cooperative extension for research and technology translation across other industry sectors and user communities. Extension services would connect university faculty to local businesses, community organizations, interest groups, and citizens, disseminating new knowledge and technology, and providing practical education to targeted audiences. Under this model, research faculty would engage with businesses and other potential users to better understand their needs, including current and future research priorities, while community organizations, industry partners, and local government agencies identify where infrastructure investments, education, and skill-building efforts are most needed. These extension centers can be used for both commercial and non-commercial translation. 
   
5. Build common test capabilities. Of particular interest would be common centers for space testing (e.g., electronics radiation testing), hypersonics testing (hi-temp and hi-enthalpy), and chip design (micro-foundries or foundries that can batch process 10-1,000 widgets to allow researchers better development opportunities without requiring use of a large foundry production line). 

Recommendation 4: Secure the United States’ position as the unrivaled world leader in critical and emerging areas of technology, and their convergence, by expanding investment, encouraging multidisciplinary research collaboration, and fostering the development of innovation ecosystems. 

The convergence of AI with other enabling technologies—such as biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, and advanced computing—holds the potential to open a new age of discovery and innovation. This convergence of technologies underpins innovative production models, which increase both efficiency and customization.

1. The federal government should enhance the creativity and effectiveness of public research and development funding to clearly reflect national priorities in fields such AI, quantum technologies, biotech, and next-generation semiconductors. 
   
2. Innovative funding mechanisms, advanced market commitments, and flexible grants should be used to maximize the impact of government-funded research, help de-risk large-scale and long-term investments, and catalyze greater private sector investment.