A National Competitiveness Imperative:
A Call to Action for a New Tech-Driven Industrial Base and National Innovation Ecosystem 

Over the past two years—and building on the work and findings of the past 15 years—the TLSI convened five Dialogues under the leadership of its co-chairs Dr. Patricia Falcone, Deputy Director, Science and Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Dr. Sally Morton, Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enter-prise, Arizona State University; and Dr. Steven H. Walker, Former Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin. Participants—includ-ing CTOs and technology experts from tech-nology-intensive industry sectors, universities, national laboratories, and the federal govern-ment—discussed the unprecedented pace and scale of today’s technological advancement and the effects on U.S. competitiveness. 

• On June 29, 2023, Lockheed Martin hosted TLSI Dialogue 27 at its Palo Alto Advanced Technology Center. Participants explored the forces, challenges, and opportunities reshaping the U.S. defense industrial base, and ways to develop an adaptive and agile industrial base to meet U.S. economic and national security needs. 

• On September 21, 2023, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hosted TLSI Dialogue 28. Discussions centered around three key themes: changing the culture of research and innovation ecosystems, enhancing the innovation workforce in critical technologies and industries, and building innovation ecosystems through national domestic strategies. 

• On February 26, 2024, Arizona State University hosted TLSI Dialogue 29. Discussions focused on challenges and opportunities for building an agile, adaptive defense industrial base, and reshaping the U.S. innovation ecosystem for an era of rapid technological change. 

• On October 31, 2024, Lockheed Martin’s Global Vision Center hosted the 30th Dialogue—and 15th anniversary of the TLSI. This milestone further informed the TLSI’s Compact for America report, with the conversation focusing on priorities to strengthen the U.S. research security, to incent the commercialization of innovations, and to promote greater strategic partnerships to enhance the U.S. innovation ecosystem. 

• On April 2, 2025, Lockheed Martin’s Deep Creek and Waterton campuses hosted TLSI Dialogue 31. During the meeting, leaders examined the science and technology-related priorities established by the Trump Administration and ensured that the recommendations of the Compact align effectively with the nation’s scientific objectives. 

These five Dialogues, along with comprehensive research and fact-finding initiatives, serve as the foundation for the recommendations presented in the TLSI’s Compact for America. It was through these discussions that the TLSI concluded that revolutionizing and enhancing the U.S. innovation model is essential for maintaining national competitiveness, a conclusion built upon seven foundational insights: 

1. Intensifying Global Competition. Increasingly, technology-driven competition is becoming a critical factor in global geopolitical leadership, now equally as important to, and deeply entangled with, U.S. economic strength and military capabilities. Geostrategic competitors seek to disrupt the current world order by gaining an advantage in key future technologies, which threatens our economic competitiveness, military superiority, and geopolitical influence. The United States’ ability to innovate rapidly and at scale is vital for overcoming this competitive challenge and maintaining our position as a global leader. 
   
2. Accelerating Technological Change. The pace and scale of technology-driven disruption are unprecedented. Traditional models for developing and commercializing new technologies are no longer sufficient to meet today’s rapid demands. There is a need for more adaptable, collaborative, cross-sectoral frameworks that facilitate faster innovation cycles, attract more capital, and enable more seamless transitions from research to market. This is particularly important in the context of the defense industrial base and the criticality of deploying dual-use technologies. 
   
3. Evolving Landscape of Research and Development. While private-sector-led research and development is expanding, particularly in areas traditionally categorized as basic research, this concentration presents both opportunities and challenges. Ensuring a robust, complementary system of private and public funding and conducting of research and development is essential. 
   
4. Opportunity from Converging Platform Technologies. The convergence of transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced biosciences, advanced nuclear technology, next-generation semiconductors, etc. presents unprecedented opportunities for productivity and societal progress. To capitalize on these opportunities, cohesive strategies that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and focused federal and private investment in next-generation technologies are essential. 
   
5. New Successful Large-scale Innovation Models. Federal investment in research and development has proven to stimulate significant private investment and economic growth. As the President’s Science and Technology Advisor Michael Kratsios noted in his April 14, 2025, Golden Age of Innovation speech, “prizes, advance market commitments, and other novel funding mechanisms, like fast and flexible grants, can multiply the impact of government-funded research.” These creative solutions can be applied to artificial intelligence, quantum computing, nuclear fusion, advanced bioeconomy, and other national technology priorities—helping to de-risk long-term investment and unleash private sector participation necessary to dramatically accelerate innovation. 
   
6. Growing Demand for Tech Talent. The demand for skilled talent across various technological domains is at an all-time high. To sustain and enhance U.S. innovation, the United States must build a global-leading pipeline of talent by reimagining and radically expanding the U.S. system of K-12 and university education, as well as bolstering training, up-skilling, and private-public collaborative initiatives.
   
7. Shifting Global Collaboration and Priorities. The interconnected nature of today’s problems and the global economy necessitates a collaborative, but also secure, approach to innovation. 
   

Reasserting U.S. Global Technology Dominance 

The U.S. innovation model, rooted in Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report Science—The Endless Frontier, has fueled economic prosperity for decades and has been a cornerstone of the country’s standing in the post-WWII order. This system is supported by substantial federal investment in basic research and development (R&D), a strong intellectual property framework, and universities and national laboratories that act as innovation hubs. Together, these elements have fostered a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship that underpins every aspect of U.S. competitiveness. However, as successful as this model has been, today it is insufficient to meet the accelerated pace of innovation and the demands of the modern competitive landscape. 

This is a watershed moment for the U.S. scientific enterprise, and the United States must have a focused all-of-nation strategy to lead in these technologies, which will determine the global order. 

To meet the moment, a new model is needed for harnessing the power of innovation—that is, the non-linear interaction of imagination, insight, ingenuity, invention, and impact. The model must feature greater adaptability, a robust and efficient model for expanding basic research, a greater focus on applied research, extensive interdisciplinary and cross-domain collaboration, and a broadening of the number of people and places participating in and benefiting from the innovation economy. Key priorities should include investing in and deploying dual-use technologies, reducing bureaucratic hurdles, significantly enhancing workforce development to sustain a skilled talent pipeline, and leveraging public-private partnerships to expedite innovation in critical sectors. 

Moreover, the entire system must focus on efficiency and work to accomplish more with less, including by reducing administrative burdens and cultivating an environment that empowers researchers to pursue rigorous, evidence-based discoveries without hindrance. Additionally, the U.S. federal government must invest heavily in fundamental research while also strategically prioritizing technologies that will shape the country’s future global competitiveness. 

The TLSI has developed the recommendations presented in the next section to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness and reinforce the country’s defense industrial base. In so doing, U.S.-based scientific advancements and technological innovations will improve productivity, drive economic growth and, critically, improve the quality of life for all Americans.