Here’s the paradox: while federal investment in research wanes, industry is increasingly dependent on publicly supported research at the frontier.
You may be familiar with the now-famous study by Dr. Francis Narin and his colleagues at CHI Research. It was featured in the National Science Board’s 1998 Report on industry links to publicly funded research.
The study demonstrates the linkage between patents granted in the U.S. system and frontier research published in archival journals.
Where does the knowledge that drives innovation come from? It comes predominately from publicly-supported research.
Nearly two-thirds of the papers referenced on patents were published by organizations primarily supported by public funding..