Research and Innovation Policy : a Framework for Research-Based Industrial Policy in the United States

[eng] Under the Clinton Administration, the U.S. government began to focus on economic policies to encourage commercial innovation and the research base to support it. The principle policy tool is public-private partnerships, through which government funding agencies link national laboratories, universities and private firms in pairs. The most explicit program for government support of research in commercial firms is the Advanced Technology Program of the U.S. Commerce Department. It has proved ideologically controversial in the U.S., but represents a first attempt to reduce the risks associated with the transition of a technology-based commercial idea to first market entry. [fre] Sous l'Administration Clinton, le gouvernement américain a commencé à mettre l'accent sur des politiques visant à encourager l'innovation commerciale et les recherches servant de base d'appui. L'outil principal est le partenariat privé-public par lequel les agences de financement relient des laboratoires nationaux, des universités et des firmes privées. Le programme le plus explicite en ce sens est le Advanced Technology Program du Département Américain du Commerce. Ce programme suscite des débats idéologiques mais constituent une première tentative de réduction des risques associés au passage de l'idée fondée techniquement à l'innovation commerciale.