The Competitiveness Conversations Across America: Defining What’s Next in Place-Making Innovation

Session Overview

In 2024, under the auspices of the National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers, the Council launched the “Competitiveness Conversations Across America” series. These Conversations uncover and amplify best and next practices to expand the number of individuals and communities actively engaged in the U.S. innovation economy. This panel highlighted upcoming Conversations in 2025 and beyond — exploring topics ranging from AI and quantum, to the convergence of health and IT, to the growth of the green and blue economy, to the future of fusion, to the industrialization of “agile space.”

Key Session Insights

The “Competitiveness Conversations Across America” series was born out of the realization that not enough Americans and communities around the country were actively engaged and involved in the nation’s innovation ecosystem of growth. As Ancora L&G Chairman and CEO Mr. Josh Parker explained, by focusing innovation attention and assets into a few urban areas, much of the country was being left behind, unable either to contribute to American innovation or to reap its rewards. To expand the national innovation footprint, the Competitiveness Conversations convene regional and national leaders to uncover emerging ideas and best practices for place-based innovation that can be amplified for national scale-up.

2024 saw three successful Conversations, in Nashville, Boise, and West Lafayette. 2025 has an even more robust agenda, with Conversations planned in San Antonio, Boulder, Santa Fe, Boston, Salt Lake City, before finishing the year in Pittsburgh. These Conversations will explore AI, quantum, the convergence of health and IT, the future of fusion, and agile space, among many others. Each, however, will also focus on the creation of “place” in their regions, and how to build ecosystems that can grow and adapt nationwide.

When asked about what place meant for their regions, Innosphere Ventures CEO and CEO of the  CO-WY Engine Mr. Mike Freeman notes that, in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, “place” has expanded over time to include the three states of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. While some efforts remained hyper-local, others continue to grow the region’s geographic size, expanding the reach of the I-25 innovation corridor. This expanded regional view will be the focus of a 2025 Competitiveness Conversation in Boulder.

Similarly, University of Texas at San Antonio President Dr. Taylor Eighmy describes how South Texas’s sense of place was growing. At the same time, high levels of federal investment into national security infrastructure in San Antonio, including from the NSA, Pentagon, and defense contractors, are creating a national security space to rival the D.C. area. Dr. Eighmy’s school is investing in this growing area, inaugurating a new National Security Collaboration Center, with more yet to come. Securing U.S. critical infrastructure through innovation will be the topic of a Competitiveness Conversation Dr. Eighmy is Cohosting at the University of Texas San Antonio.

According to Vice Provost for Research at Tufts University Dr. Bernard Arulanandam, Massachusetts is dealing with the opposite question: how to take the vibrant and well-developed innovation ecosystem of Boston and spread it throughout the rest of the state and region. One answer started by the Massachusetts state government is the concept of “gateway cities,” where innovation-related investments are flowing to communities outside of Boston. Bernard invited everyone at the National Competitiveness Forum to attend the New England Competitiveness Conversation focused on the blue and green economies in June 2025.

Finally, Utah State University President Elizabeth Cantwell described how, despite the Salt Lake City metro area being one of the nation’s fastest growing, much of Utah remained very rural. Faced with water and climate challenges, like changes in the Great Salt Lake, these rural communities need the support of innovation tools. By engaging with these communities, not only does her university improve quality of life across the state, but it also brings an untapped well of innovators into the state’s ecosystem. Dr. Cantwell will Cohost a Competitiveness Conversation in Salt Lake City focused on health innovation in September 2025.

Turning to the idea of funding innovation ecosystems, Dr. Cantwell asked how investment capital could be brought to places like Utah where it would have an outsized impact. Mr. Freeman brought up the stark statistic that, when you exclude Silicon Valley and Boston, 85 percent of the venture capital going into innovation was imported from outside the region. His organization, Innosphere, has supported more than two hundred companies that raised one or two billion dollars in the capital-constrained Front Range ecosystem, but he wondered how much more they might have received had more local capital been available.

Dr. Arulanadam made sure to raise the importance of academic accelerators as drivers of regional innovation. In Boston, MIT’s Lincoln Labs have, with the additional support of federal funding, been highly successful in commercializing innovations. He warned, however, that the lumpy nature of federal funding limits the effectiveness of these accelerators.

Dr. Arulanandam shared more about Tufts University’s research enterprise. Once solely a liberal arts school, the university has doubled its research expenditure during his tenure, adding research schools, like the country’s only nutritional school. Tufts has leveraged its liberal arts heritage to bring communities and citizens along as they develop and implement new technologies and ideas.

The San Antonio ecosystem is heavily tied to the geopolitical relationship between the United States and Mexico, according to Dr. Eighmy. Investment flows both ways across the border, and any disruption brought on by tariffs and trade restrictions could be severe.

For Mr. Freeman, the transition from the startup and nonprofit space to running an NSF Engine has come with challenges, particularly in navigating the complex governance structures required to run an Engine. However, by partnering with Wyoming, he has increased the effectiveness of the Colorado-based initiative in realizing the Engine’s potential for the region. While building and managing such a diverse coalition of partners is “not for the faint of heart,” he said, the positive outcomes for the region are evident.

For Dr. Cantwell, the United States is already a “nation of innovators,” but we have a long way to go before becoming a “nation of collaborators.” In her view, innovation is baked into America’s identity. We are pioneers. But in the geographically dispersed country, distance is a limiting factor in forming partnerships. Technology has begun to bridge the gap, but technology is not a substitute for in-person meetings and partner proximity. According to Dr. Cantwell, the “technology of partnership” needs to be developed for places like Utah to reach their full potential as collaborations.

Dr. Arulanandam was concerned about access to talent. Boston attracts students and startups from around the world, so if immigration restrictions rise, the model for talent the region relies on will be strained.

Despite recent public questioning of the value of higher education, Dr. Eighmy felt that even among skeptics, its role as an incubator for innovation and a cornerstone of the ecosystem is evident. At this pivotal moment in the national dialogue about the value of universities, he advocated for messaging that highlights innovation as a fundamental aspect of higher education's mission.

To conclude, each of the participants highlighted their upcoming 2025 Competitiveness Conversation, which you may learn more about here.