Fostering Breakthrough Discoveries

These questions remain today. A number of factors indicate that US scientific leadership in basic and applied research is at risk. These include the estimate that 70% of world research and development (R D) is conducted outside the USA and that China is now the third largest investor in R D behind only the USA and Japan. The USA has also reversed its status as a net exporter of high-technology products, from a 54 billion surplus in 1990 to a deficit of more than 50 bilhon in 2001. 

A critical and often overlooked component of the ability to foster such revolutionary advancements is program management. Innovation is not aided by traditional project management requirements and their onerous enforcement can be devastating for innovation, especially those structures that were developed for lean manufacturing processes. Table 6.1 lists some characteristics of organizations that affect their ability to break through research barriers. 

Additional factors affecting breakthrough science include the level of work at interdisciplinary jnnctions and the ability for scientists to internalize a high level of 

Qualities of an organization that facilitate innovation and breakthrough discovery 

High differentiation, with sharp boundaries among subunits (departments, divisions, and colleges) 

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