International Benchmarking and Partnering in Innovation Will Highlight Effort's Continuation

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.—One year after launching the Innovation America initiative, National Governors Association (NGA) Chair Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano intends to partner with key stakeholder organizations and build the capacity of her innovation agenda to ensure its success well into the future.

Recognizing that today's young people will be vying for jobs against their international peers and must be academically prepared to compete in this increasingly competitive market, NGA, in collaboration with Achieve, Inc. and the Council of Chief State School Officers, will soon launch an advisory group comprised of national and international experts, state school superintendents, and business leaders that will recommend action steps for states to compare their students' performance internationally and to ramp up their educational systems.

Gov. Napolitano also made note of partnerships with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Leveraging our efforts with those of organizations focused on fostering innovation will help bolster states' effectiveness in innovation, increase training workshop opportunities, and broaden innovation capacities across the nation," she remarked.

NSF will host a series of Regional Innovation Workshops to raise awareness about NSF activities in the states that are focused on innovation. In addition, NSF is creating a Web site to highlight thematic areas of common interest to states.

Gov. Napolitano will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce annual meeting in September, where a "Business Innovation Tool Box" will be released. The Tool Box is designed to help state chambers garner support and encourage the business community to match their work with the initiative's three key areas – science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; postsecondary alignment with states' economic needs; and development of regional innovation strategies.

Gov. Napolitano also pointed to plans to build innovation capacity from coast to coast. "By the fall," she explained, "all states will be invited to participate in a STEM learning lab that focuses on the success and lessons learned from Alabama's STEM initiatives." The workshop will allow states to exchange ideas and learn from each other as well as from national STEM education experts. In addition, NGA will create a STEM Communications Toolkit to assist states in talking with key stakeholders – including business groups, educators, parents and students – about the importance of STEM.

Innovation America's continuation also will include advancement of a compact for postsecondary education – outlined in an initiative publication of the same name – and NGA sponsorship of a policy academy for six states to help them develop regional innovation strategies.

"We'll continue to build on the strong foundation set this year by the Innovation America Task Force so that, even as my colleagues turn to other topics important to the nation, our work in innovation continues to thrive and becomes a routine part of policymaking for the governors of today and for the leaders of tomorrow," Gov. Napolitano added.

"I want to commend Governor Napolitano for her leadership of this important initiative," NGA Vice Chair Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, co-chair Innovation America Task Force, added. "We both recognize that innovation and quality of life go hand-in-hand. The forward-looking partnerships and policies made possible by Innovation America will help our children, our companies and our country become more successful than ever before."

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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.