Strategic Competition > Geoeconomic Statecraft
Strengthening the Innovation Ecosystem
Funding the Future, Securing Our Edge
"We must fund the future—or forfeit it."
Kennedy speaking at a University of North Dakota commencement.
🔹 Strategic Context
- This page is part of WISC’s Strategic Competition framework, applying geoeconomic statecraft through the STEAD model — integrating Security, Technology, Economics, Alliances, and Diplomacy — to secure U.S. leadership across critical domains.
Why Strengthening Innovation Ecosystems Matters
- America’s most strategic asset isn’t a technology—it’s a system: the ecosystem of research universities, federal labs, national innovation networks, and the talent that fuels them.
- This system has long been the backbone of U.S. global leadership. But today, federal R&D investment is lagging, STEM pipelines are strained, and the global race for scientific talent is intensifying.
- To win the future, the U.S. must renew its commitment to discovery and cultivate the next generation of innovators. That means reinvesting in basic and applied research, strengthening university-industry partnerships, modernizing immigration pathways for talent, and expanding access to STEM education at all levels.
- Innovation leadership is not automatic—it must be earned and renewed.
Strategic Priorities for Innovation Ecosystem Leadership
- Support Research Universities: Sustain the institutions that generate both knowledge and skilled talent
- Reinvigorate Federal R&D: Restore U.S. science investment to globally competitive levels
- Ensure Access to Compute: Provide researchers and startups with the computational infrastructure necessary for AI, advanced modeling, and next-gen discovery
- Expand STEM Pipelines: Build opportunity through K–12, higher ed, and lifelong learning
- Enable Talent Mobility: Attract and retain the world’s best minds
- Translate Discovery into Impact: Strengthen tech transfer and entrepreneurship ecosystems
- Align Innovation Policy with Strategic Objectives: Ensure that research investment and technology leadership initiatives reinforce economic security, democratic resilience, and long-term strategic advantage.
🏛️ Engaging Administration or Congress, 📰 Op-Ed / Article / Quoted 🎙️ Podcast ✍️ Policy Brief 👥 Roundtable / Event 🎤 Speaking 🎥 TV/Video 🌐 Global
- 🎤 Speech: America Must Awaken from Complacency to Win Tech Race - CNA (Center for Naval Analysis) - November 28, 2023
- 🎤 Speech: Does Freedom Depend on Technological Leadership? - Winter Night Club - Colorado Springs - January 21, 2021
Closing Principle
Innovation leadership must be earned anew each generation—or surrendered.
👉 Related Pages
🔷 Featured Insights
Research Universities Will Determine Who Wins the Tech Marathon - Wilson Center Policy Brief - March 3, 2025
America Must Awaken from Complacency to Win the Tech Race - Wilson Center Policy Brief - March 6, 2024