Exploring Innovation with Firm Level Data

About the Report: The Conference Board has recently undertaken a project on innovation and competitiveness, with funding from Microsoft Corporation. The goal of the project is to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on the nature of innovation, and its role in stimulating economic growth and improved living standards in the U.S. The project draws on experts across the academic, corporate, and policy arenas, in addition to The Conference Board’s own analysis, surveys, and focus groups of the business community. Such experts met in February 2007 to present and discuss various aspects of the innovation process and measurement thereof. Each presenter wrote a summary piece focusing on his respective area of expertise. These summary documents underpin the content in Innovation and U.S. Competitiveness; however the conclusions drawn are those of The Conference Board alone. These papers are retained for reference in The Conference Board Economics Program Working Paper Series.