Inventions bring fame, while innovations bring fortunes. Inventions don’t solve a customer problem. Innovations take inventions to the next level by adding commercially viable technologies, elegant user interfaces, and focusing them on solving a customer problem. That is what innovation is all about, creating value by solving customer problems. — Don Dodge

I just read the House Democrats’ Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America #1. It was a great read and I recommend you read it ASAP.

An agenda focused on innovation is very important and developing incentive programs are crucial to the implementation of the plan. I’ve always thought that raising awareness is the best way to develop support. In a situation like this, it would be interesting to see some real numbers when the agenda states “The rest of the world is increasing its capacity, its investments, and its will to catch up with us. We cannot ignore this challenge.”

I’m a full supporter of innovation awareness. But, it must be practiced at every level (schools, business start-up, and corporation R&D). Schools need to implement school programs, such as the EAST program, which allow students to be innovative. Competitions, extended learning opportunities, and group collaboration (between schools) help increase innovation. To do this, we need educators that are motivated and continue to push the bar. Our science, math, and technology classes need to be application driven and theory driven.

Start-up, knowledge based companies need start-up and operational capital. Individuals or corporations that intend to fund that capital need incentives. The cure to cancer is helpless if nobody knows about it.

Medium and Large companies need to continue to invest in R&D and urge cultural collaboration with foreign countries.

The talent, intellect, and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people have made this nation the leader in economic and technological advancements… America’s global leadership in technological advancement and innovation is being seriously challenged by other countries. The warning signs could not be clearer. The rest of the world is increasing its capacity, its investments, and its will to catch up with us. We cannot ignore this challenge. Americans again must innovate in order to create new thriving industries that will produce millions of good jobs here at home and a better future for our children.

The plan the Democrats have laid out is large but I’ve highlighted a few things that they mentioned:

1. Educate 100,000 new scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in the next four years by proposing a new initiative, working with states, businesses, and universities, to provide scholarships to qualified students who commit to working in the fields of innovation.
2. Place a highly qualified teacher in every math and science K-12 classroom by offering upfront tuition assistance to talented undergraduates and by paying competitive salaries to established teachers working in the fields of math and science; institute a “call to action” to professional engineers and scientists, including those who have retired, to join the ranks of our nation’s teachers.
3. Create a special visa for the best and brightest international doctoral and postdoctoral scholars in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
4. Make college tuition tax-deductible for students studying math, science, technology, and engineering.
5. Double overall funding for the National Science Foundation, basic research in the physical sciences across all agencies, and collaborative research partnerships; restore the basic, long-term research agenda at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to conduct long-range, high-risk, and high-reward research.
6. Create regional Centers of Excellence for basic research that will attract the best minds and top researchers to develop far-reaching technological innovations and new industries, and modernize existing federal and academic research facilities.
7. Modernize and permanently extend a globally competitive R&D tax credit to increase domestic investment, create more U.S. jobs, and allow companies to pursue long-term projects with the certainty that the credit will not expire.
8. Bridge the “valley of death” that destroys innovative ideas before they become marketable products due to lack of financing and technical support by doubling funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), modernizing the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), and fully funding SBA 7(a) loans to ensure that American small businesses have the resources and technical assistance they need to successfully innovate.
9. Reward risk-taking and entrepreneurship by promoting broad-based stock options for rank-and-file employees.
10. Protect the intellectual property of American innovators worldwide, strengthen the patent system, and end the diversion of patent fees.
11. Require specifically-tailored guidelines for small public companies to ensure Sarbanes-Oxley requirements are not overly burdensome.
12. Provide universal, affordable access to health insurance, beginning with a 50 percent tax credit and multi-insurer pools to help small businesses provide affordable and comprehensive health care coverage for their employees.