Research and Development
Research and development is the work of discovering knowledge and turning it into useful products, methods, and services. Government plays a large part by paying for research, running laboratories, and setting rules for who owns the results. Universities, national laboratories, private companies, and federal agencies all take part.
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Topics in Research and Development
Funding and sharing
R&D Funding covers who pays for research and how money is distributed, and Technology Transfer covers how discoveries move from public labs to private use. Innovation Ecosystems covers the networks of schools, firms, and investors that bring ideas to market.
All Articles on Research and Development
How a South Korean Shipbuilder Plans to Revive American Shipbuilding
The United States possesses the world's most powerful navy, yet it faces a profound industrial crisis. The domestic shipbuilding capacity that forged its fleet…
When the Government Can Take Your Federally Funded Invention: A Guide to Bayh-Dole Act Rights
Every year, the U.S. government pours tens of billions of taxpayer dollars into research at universities, nonprofit institutes, and small businesses across the country.…
The History of NIST: The National Institute of Standards and Technology
Your smartphone knows the time down to a billionth of a second. Your credit card transactions are protected by codes that would take supercomputers…
The History of U.S. Federal Funding for Academic Research
The partnership between the federal government and American universities is one of the most transformative policy decisions of the 20th century. This strategic alliance,…
Inside America’s Military Tech Revolution
The U.S. Department of Defense is racing to rebuild itself for a new kind of warfare. Guided by the stark reality that China and…