Monday, May 28, 2007
An Official Measure of Innovation
A U.S. government-sponsored brain-trust is developing a better set of metrics for innovation initiatives—and they're asking the public to help
How best to measure innovation has bedeviled the business community for years. But with the discipline garnering increased attention—and investments—creating an accepted system of metrics to evaluate its impact has become top priority. Now the U.S. Commerce Dept. wants in. On Apr. 13, it issued a Federal Register notice asking for public comment on a series of innovation measurements it might use to drive public economic and innovation policy.
The two-page document is the first tangible product of an advisory committee formed earlier this year by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. The panel brings together big names from big business, such as Steve Ballmer from Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM's (IBM) Sam Palmisano—along with some from the academic community, including Dale Jorgenson, professor of economics at Harvard, and Kathleen Cooper, dean of the College of Business at the University of North Texas.
See full Article.