U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the members of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a group that will support President Obama’s innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship and identifying new ways to take great ideas from the lab to the marketplace to drive economic growth and create jobs.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) President and CEO RoseAnn B. Rosenthal was named to the council.
The National Advisory Council will help the administration develop a broader strategy to spur innovation and enable entrepreneurs to develop breakthrough technologies and dynamic companies, and to create jobs all across America.
American federal investment in the physical sciences and engineering research has dropped by half since 1970 as a share of gross domestic product. Since the beginning of his term in office, the President has taken significant steps to turn this trend around. The Recovery Act included $100 billion to support groundbreaking innovations in diverse fields, from healthcare IT and health research to smart grids and high speed trains.
Last fall, the President announced a National Innovation Strategy, which called for doubling the budgets of agencies including the National Science Foundation, to better support basic research at our nation’s universities.
The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will help build on this aggressive agenda. Members of the council include corporate leaders, serial entrepreneurs, university presidents, investors and non-profit leaders.
“We must get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders,” said Locke. “The leaders selected to the National Advisory Council will be a key component of America’s economic recovery.”
