Building a New Foundation for Innovation

This study reports the efforts of a workshop to buildpartnerships between universities, industry, and governments. In 2000, the National Science Foundation (NSF) created the Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) program. The PFI is part of a larger NSF effort to build anew foundation for innovation based upon partnerships between university, industry, and local and regional governments that also will be responsive toemerging economic and social challenges facing the nation. In June 2001, a workshop held in Arlington, Virginia, brought together PFI grantees andrepresentatives from university and industry to consider the roles of thePFI and the NSF in the larger national innovation enterprise. This reportsynthesizes workshop discussions regarding innovation and sustainablepartnerships. The workshop revealed strong support for a formal evaluationof the PFI program and endorsed both an expanded NSF role in promotinginnovation and partnerships through the PFI and other programs and continued efforts by NSF to further diversify and better exploit synergies between its innovation-supporting programs.