Daniel Goetzel is currently a The practitioner in residence at the Reimagining the Economy Project project of the Harvard Kennedy School. Before his work in Harvard, he was director of the Directorate of Technology, Innovation and partnerships of the National Science Foundation. He also wrote a DAY One policy note focused on promoting the next generation of small business leaders. The following part is an oral history of the establishment of the regional NSF innovation engines – a key element of the law on chips and historical sciences.
The chips and science act was promulgated on August 9, 2022. It was the largest industrial technology and political program in modern history, investing hundreds of billions of dollars in American research, manufacturing and competitiveness.
When the government announces flagship programs like this, an invoice signature or a ribbon cup is often all that the public sees. They rarely see the silent and often disorderly work which continues in the creation, passage and implementation of major legislation. This piece is an attempt to change this by digging in the chips and science act and the NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Motors) program.
While a large part of the media coverage and the debate on the bill focused on the incentives of several billion dollars to large companies such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel, The Chips and Science Act had a complementary concentration and an investment of several billion dollars in economic development and the economy, extending from fleas and storage of batteries and biotechnology. An investment vehicle that came out of the bill was the National Science Foundation Regional innovation enginesA program up to $ 1.6 billion to create the future industries in communities that have been historically ignored in past technological booms.
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