United States
The 21st century is an era of innovative economy. The development cycle of new technologies, new inventions and their industrialization has been greatly shortened. The role of scientific and technological progress in promoting economic growth has been greatly increased. Computers, The integration and widespread application of communication and storage information technologies have effectively changed the technological foundation of human society and accelerated the process of global integration. These technologies not only provide society with new forms of wealth and development momentum, breaking through the traditional model of relying on scarce natural resources and geographical conditions to achieve economic growth, but also put forward higher requirements for scientific and technological development and the construction of a national innovation system. For the first time in human history, knowledge resources have become the core of wealth creation. Therefore, if any country wants to take the initiative in the increasingly fierce competition in comprehensive national strength, it must increase its efforts in scientific and technological development, actively build a national innovation system, and seize the commanding heights of high-tech industrialization development. In this regard, the practices and experiences of the United States have important reference significance for our country and deserve careful study.
1. The science and technology policy and science and technology system of the United States
The United States is the most technologically developed country in the world today and has the largest team of scientists and engineers in the world. In the 1990s, 35 American scientists won Nobel Prizes in natural sciences, accounting for 61 of the total. Among the four major scientific and technological literature retrieval systems recognized in the world, the number of papers published in the United States accounts for nearly 40% of the total. The United States is also the country with the most patents in the world. In addition, the United States also leads the world in scientific research equipment and methods, scientific research level and potential, and high-tech industry development.
1. U.S. science and technology policy
The United States is a market economy country. Before the 1940s, the government rarely intervened in scientific research and left this work mainly to the market for regulation. . After the outbreak of World War II, due to the needs of the war, the U.S. government began to extensively intervene in scientific research and technological development. In 1940, President Roosevelt approved the establishment of the National Defense Research Board, which was changed to the Agency for Scientific Research and Development a year later, with scientist V. Bush as director. The report "Science: The Endless Frontier" published by V. Bush in 1945 has become a classic of U.S. national science and technology policy. In this report, V. Bush analyzed the revolutionary significance of the development of science and technology and its important role in national security, pointing out that "the government should assume new responsibilities in promoting the dissemination of new scientific knowledge and cultivating talents from young people." One of his important achievements in taking charge of the Bureau of Scientific Research and Development was the organization and implementation of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Through the implementation of this plan, he created a number of important research institutions and established the government's assignment of research work to the private sector. The U.S. mechanism for implementing national science and technology plans through interaction between government, business, and private research sectors.
During the Cold War, the U.S. government further strengthened the country’s technological development efforts and shifted its focus to the fields of national defense, atomic energy, and aerospace. By the 1990s, facing the new situation of increasingly fierce competition in the world economy after the end of the Cold War, the Clinton administration emphasized that the focus of national security had shifted. In the future, national security would depend on the overall strength of the economy and technology. To maintain the hegemony of the United States, it must Prioritize maintaining the strengths of American scientific research and education. In "Science and the National Interest" co-authored by President Clinton and Vice President Gore, technological progress is vividly compared to the engine of economic growth, and scientific research is the never-exhausted fuel of the engine, and it is clearly stated that "maintaining Leadership at the frontiers of all scientific knowledge; Promote linkages between basic research and national goals; Encourage partnerships between government, industry and academies to drive investment in basic science and engineering and the efficient use of physical and human resources and financial resources; to create the best scientists and engineers of the 21st century; and to improve the scientific and technological literacy of all Americans." The five main goals of science and technology policy. Focusing on the above goals, the Clinton administration has further increased investment in science and technology across the United States, formulated a guiding plan for R&D (research and development) funding to reach approximately 3% of GDP, and encouraged industry, academia, and various social forces*** Participate in the development of science and technology.
While providing comprehensive guidance and coordination, the government, on the one hand, vigorously promotes the "Advanced Technology Plan" and encourages the transformation of basic research results into commercialization and industrialization. On the other hand, it focuses on the development of crucial scientific and technological projects that cannot be regulated by basic research and market mechanisms. , thereby enhancing the scientific research potential of the United States, further strengthening the role of science and technology as an economic engine, and promoting the economic growth of the United States.
2. The science and technology system of the United States
According to the principle of separation of powers, science and technology in the United States is regulated by the Constitution and regulations. In Congress, the Senate's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology play an important role in the formulation of national science and technology policy. There is no dedicated science management department in the U.S. government. The president coordinates national science and technology work through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the President's Science and Technology Advisor. In 1993, in order to strengthen the leadership function of the government, the federal government established the National Science and Technology Council, which is chaired by the president and composed of leaders of major government departments. At the same time, the President's Science and Technology Advisory Committee was also established to attract people from academia and industry to participate in scientific and technological decision-making. There are departments and bureaus responsible for science and technology affairs in various government ministries, and they are divided into responsibilities by a deputy ministerial level leader. The government has also established some independent departments to manage science and technology work, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. In addition, semi-official and unofficial institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the Smithsonian Institution also have a great influence on the research, popularization and development of science and technology.
In terms of technological innovation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, established under the Trade and Competition Act of 1988, plays an important role. By establishing a regional manufacturing technology transfer center, the institute organizes research institutions and enterprises to jointly implement advanced technologies and promotes cooperation between the government and enterprises. Currently, there are such centers in every state across the United States.
In terms of operating mechanism, the government’s science and technology plans and budgets must be submitted to the two houses of Congress for review and approval, and can only take effect after being signed by the president. The government organizes and leads national science and technology activities in accordance with the law and through science and technology plans, budgets, contracts, and organizational evaluations. The most important legislation directly related to science and technology activities is the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization and Priorities Act passed by Congress in 1976. This basic science and technology law has been revised many times so far.
The United States legally divides all institutions into three major categories: government institutions, non-profit institutions and for-profit institutions. Federal and state laws governing these three types of institutions, such as the Government Agencies and Employees Act, the Model Nonprofit Institutions Act, etc., are all valid for the technology sector. In addition, the science and technology parts of tax laws and special laws also apply to science and technology departments. It is worth pointing out that the U.S. patent system and intellectual property regulations play an important role in encouraging inventors to develop and utilize their patents.
American science and technology institutions can be divided into four major systems: federal government system, enterprise system, institution of higher learning system and other non-profit systems. Within the U.S. federal government system, national laboratories are the main scientific and technological backbone. The famous ones include Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are currently about 800 national laboratories in the United States, and their annual funding accounts for about 1/3 of the total government funding. The U.S. government attaches great importance to the transformation of scientific and technological achievements from federal laboratories and has passed various bills to encourage the transfer of technological achievements to industry.
The scientific and technological work of enterprises occupies an important position in the United States. About 3/4 of R&D work is completed by the corporate sector, and 3/4 of scientific researchers are distributed in corporate scientific research units, which also absorb more than 60% of the country's total R&D funding. In corporate R&D work, large enterprises play an important role, among which Bell Labs and others enjoy a high reputation. Since the 1970s, the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in scientific and technological development has also increased significantly. Especially in the development of science and technology industrial parks, small and medium-sized enterprises and their technological innovation activities have played a decisive role.
Universities are the main bases for basic research in the United States.
Among the more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States, there are more than 300 comprehensive universities with graduate schools, including MIT, Stanford University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Cornell University, University of California at Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, etc. Research universities are leaders in scientific research. Due to the fragmented funding sources of higher education and research in the United States, universities are full of competition for faculty, students, and research funds. At the same time, universities have a tradition of close ties with industry.
2. Silicon Valley, the epitome of the U.S. technological innovation system
Since the 1950s, with the development of information and communication technology, biotechnology, new materials, new energy, aviation and With the rise and development of high technologies such as aerospace and marine technology, American industrial enterprises, universities and government departments began to establish laboratories around universities to engage in high-tech research and development in order to more conveniently utilize the research power of universities, and then spawned start-up companies. , forming a high-tech industry cluster and becoming a high-tech industrial park. Among them, the famous ones include the "Stanford Research Park" in the west, later known as Silicon Valley, based on Stanford University, and the suburbs of Boston in the east, including the Route 128 area based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This trend is still in the ascendant. However, due to various reasons, many parks have died midway or failed to recover. Only Silicon Valley has always led the trend of the world's high-tech industry development.
Silicon Valley is located in northern California, stretching from San Mateo County in the north to Santa Clara County in the west. It is a 1,500-square-mile strip of land with its center in Pala Alto and a population of 2.5 million. After 40 years of development, Silicon Valley has now become an important gathering place for the information technology industry and biotechnology industry in the United States. By the 1990s, Silicon Valley's R&D personnel accounted for 11% of the total workforce, 2.5 times the national average. In 1999, the average value created by employees in Silicon Valley was US$115,000, while the US average in the same year was US$78,000. In 1999, 72 companies were listed for the first time in Silicon Valley, and $13 billion of venture capital poured into the region, accounting for 1/3 of the total venture capital in the United States. In addition, Silicon Valley continues to set world records for the speed of wealth accumulation. Compared with the long and painstaking efforts of traditional companies, it took Yahoo only two years to reach a market value of US$1 billion, and Netzero only took 9 months. time. Through these rapidly appreciating companies, Silicon Valley has cultivated a large number of knowledge-based billionaires.
Continuous innovation is the biggest secret to success in Silicon Valley. The organic combination of technological innovation, entrepreneurial entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial enterprises, institutional environment and support systems has enabled Silicon Valley to always maintain strong vitality and lead the development of the world's high-tech industry.
1. Technological innovation
Silicon Valley has successfully seized the opportunities of the four technological waves in the world's information industry since the 1950s, and remains at the forefront of the IT industry. The first time was in the 1950s, when companies such as Hewlett-Packard took advantage of the U.S. defense industry's massive demand for electronic products to promote rapid corporate expansion and establish Silicon Valley's technology infrastructure and supporting industries. The second time was the invention of the integrated circuit in 1959, which led to the rapid growth of the semiconductor industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Famous companies such as Express, Intel, AMD and National Semiconductor emerged during this stage. The third time was the industrial development of personal computers since the mid-1970s, with Silicon Valley leading the way again, with the emergence of 20 computer companies such as Apple Computer and a more complex workstation industry led by companies such as Sun Microsystems. The fourth time is the Internet. The commercial development of the Internet and the creation of the World Wide Web in 1993 opened up new development prospects for Silicon Valley. Netscape, Cisco and 3com have become leaders in the Internet revolution. At the same time, since the 1990s, with the breakthrough of biotechnology, the biotechnology industry has become a new high-tech industry hotspot, and Silicon Valley has attracted biotechnology companies to settle here with its unique sensitivity and advantages. By 1998, Silicon Valley's biotechnology market capitalization ranked first in the United States.
2. Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial enterprises
Silicon Valley’s strength is based on high-tech, but it does not include all high-tech achievements. Even in the IT industry The international Internet technology is also the first to break through in other regions. So it's not just high technology that makes Silicon Valley unique. Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ventures gathered here also play a vital role. In addition to talent and ability, successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley also have a unique characteristic, which is their high entrepreneurial spirit and the courage to introduce new products, new processes, and new methods into industrial production and the market at the first time. . HP, Apple, Yahoo and other companies were all founded by two young people who started from scratch. These examples are no coincidence. Entrepreneurs not only have high-tech backgrounds, but also have a strong desire to promote new technologies to the world by creating businesses. For them, the process of creating a business and the vision of sharing new technological achievements with the entire world are The true ideal of entrepreneurship. In addition, the characteristics of entrepreneurial enterprises such as flexible structures, promising prospects, high returns, and strong subject awareness have further stimulated entrepreneurs' eclectic sense of innovation. The organic combination of entrepreneurs' ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit is the decisive factor that creates the glory of Silicon Valley.
3. Institutional environment that encourages innovation
The United States has a set of national laws and regulations on securities, taxation, accounting, corporate governance, bankruptcy, immigration, and R&D. They are decentralized and decentralized, but closely linked and highly complementary. This system is market-oriented and encourages competition, especially innovative enterprises. For example, setting up a company in Europe takes, on average, 12 times longer than in the United States, and is three times more expensive. At the same time, contrary to most countries, the United States has always constrained large companies in the market according to antitrust laws, such as IBM and Microsoft in the computer industry. In addition, the government also promotes the development of the computer industry represented by Silicon Valley by formulating company operating rules, purchasing company products, and funding research and development funds. Finally, it should be pointed out that although the United States has always flaunted trade freedom, it still exerted pressure on Japan in the mid-1980s to maintain the share of American semiconductors in the Japanese market.
4. Professional innovation support system
In Silicon Valley, all support services are provided for new high-tech enterprises, including venture capitalists, bankers, lawyers, headhunting companies, Accountants, consultants, and a host of other professionals. Among them, the venture capital industry plays a decisive role. High-tech enterprises are different from traditional enterprises that have many real assets. Their main assets are creativity, human resources, technology and market knowledge, and they are more risky. At the same time, due to the rapid development of high technology, time is particularly important for entrepreneurial companies to seize the commanding heights of the industry. An important condition for Silicon Valley's success is a venture capital industry that understands technology and knows how to structure deals and investment portfolios to provide rapid financing for startups. Successful companies such as Cisco, Genentech, Intel, Sun Microsystems, and Yahoo all grew rapidly with the support of venture capital. Venture capital has also reaped huge returns from successful high-tech companies. In 1998, a total of 1,824 companies in Silicon Valley's two major industries, information technology and life sciences, absorbed US$12.5 billion in venture capital.
In addition, the free flow of high-quality labor, a social atmosphere that encourages risk-taking and tolerates failure, an open business environment, and the interaction between industry, academia, and research have also played an important role in the development of Silicon Valley. promotion effect.