WASHINGTON—The 2007 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting closed with a plenary session highlighting the federal role in enhancing the competitiveness of states—and the nation.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and U.S. Representative Bart Gordon, also of Tennessee, leading competitiveness advocates in Congress, discussed the importance of innovation in increasing the competitive capacity of the United States and spoke about their efforts at the national level.

State governments fund the majority of public education, set graduation and teacher standards, fund a substantial part of the applied research and development taking place in public universities and pursue specific policies for improving infrastructure, facilitating entrepreneurship and promoting cluster strategies. At the same time, the federal government has a major role to play in addressing the competitiveness challenge.

"Governors are best-suited to take the lead in promoting innovation," said NGA Chair Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, "but creating an innovative nation will require cooperation between decision makers at the state and federal levels."

Also discussed at the plenary was a legislative proposal that would create a federal framework to assist regions, states, universities and the private sector in working collaboratively to accelerate the rate of U.S. innovation. The proposal focuses on three critical areas:

• Improving the math and science proficiency of all children in grades K-12 to increase the number and quantity of scientists and engineers who attend and graduate from college.
• Promoting innovation broadly throughout the state and targeting innovative regions that compete globally.
• Creating more flexible workforce programs.

"By emphasizing education, creating an entrepreneurial culture and building a more flexible workforce, we will be well-positioned to thrive in today's increasingly competitive global economy and respond to future challenges," said NGA Vice Chair Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. "We look forward to working with our colleagues at the federal level to address the need for innovation through our states and nation."

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Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation's governors and one of Washington, D.C.'s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and two commonwealths. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing and implementing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices. For more information, visit www.nga.org.