News & Updates

The Clarion Call, and partner infographic, is issued by the Council on Competitiveness to identify critical global economic transformations and put forth a set of recommendations for policymakers that would strengthen the United States’ economic foundation and allow for long-term, sustained growth.

The U.S. job market is undergoing a fundamental transformation. In 1983, when the U.S. economy supported roughly 100 million jobs, most positions were accessible to workers with no education beyond high school. By 2031, as the economy grows to an estimated 171 million jobs, nearly three-quarters of all jobs will require some form of postsecondary […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, The third edition of our 2026 "Competitiveness Conversations Across America," San Diego: Building the Next Economy’s Strategic Innovation Stack — Compute, AI, Energy, Bio, Autonomy, and Security, was as incredibly insightful and engaging as the past dozen. Under the vision of Council Executive Committee Member and UC San Diego Chancellor […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, The celebration of our Council’s 40th anniversary and the nation's 250th Independence Day is the right time to consider the extraordinary role innovation – encompassing imagination, insight, ingenuity, invention, and impact – has always played in America’s history of prosperity and global leadership.  As we noted in our seminal report, […]

Source: Grant Witness A new analysis of National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awards and funding trends raises concerns about the future of the U.S. research enterprise. The data indicate the NSF is on pace for its lowest level of research grantmaking in more than 50 years, with both the number of awards and the total […]

Photo: The Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on CompetitivenessPhoto credit: University of Nebraska System The next great U.S. innovation story is growing in Nebraska. In her latest Forbes.com article, the Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness, makes the case that America’s Heartland has many of the assets needed […]

During the Council's Summer 2026 Board, Executive Committee, and National Commission Meeting, Gallup Chairman and Council Executive Committee Member Jim Clifton opened the day with a challenge to the standard framing of U.S. economic health. The 4.3 percent official unemployment rate reported that morning, he argued, excludes a vast number of Americans who are, effectively, […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, As we move into summer, having paid our respects to America’s military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedoms, we continue to build momentum toward our country’s 250th birthday and our own 40th anniversary celebration this December. Please make sure to save the dates for this special edition of the […]

Left to right: The Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness, Dr. Darryll J. Pines, President, University of Maryland, College Park, and Dr. David K. Wilson, President, Morgan State UniversityPhoto credit: Exquisitely Composed Images What does it take to build the United States' next great innovation ecosystem? In Maryland, we saw an […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, The 2026 sprint continues! Coming off an incredibly successful Maryland edition of the “Competitiveness Conversations Across America” at the end of March, we pivoted fast to an early 2026 Board Meeting – combined with a special, virtual meeting of our Executive Committee and National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers. […]