National technical enterprise

I am basically optimistic about the present structure and future health of our national technical enterprise. Some recent trends provide cause for concern, and there are very real and complex problems that face us today. But there are underlying strengths and there are constructive actions being set in motion now, so that the tools for steady progress are available. I would like to develop these points in this paper. 

By our "national technical enterprise," I refer to those activities in the United States included in the roughly 50 billion to be spent in 1979, supporting the efforts of approximately 600,000 scientists and engineers. I have been asked to present an overall picture of this vast system of government, university, and industrial R D. This obviously cannot be done in a reasonable time by a straightforward review of the technical progress and plans of all the organizations involved. 

Our national technical enterprise must be in equilibrium within itself, i. e., it must possess an internal balance among the different forms of R D and among the functions performed by government, industry, and university. 

Our national technical enterprise must be In equilibrium with U. S. national objectives,... 

Our national technical enterprise must demonstrate Increasing productivity. 

Thus, at any given instance as today, our national technical enterprise consists of organizations each of which is working towards some national objective for which it was established or which evolved over the years by general public acceptance, as in the case of university and industrial research. There is, therefore, an inevitable mismatch between the priorities of existing technical programs and the current priorities of national objectives. 

Finally, I turn to my last criterion, namely, that our national technical enterprise must demonstrate increasing productivity. 

We must improve the mechanisms for cooperation and transfer of scientific and technical advances between sectors of our national technical enterprise, and from technical results to useful applications. 

The output of this R D must enter our society through the private sector. Manufacturing and distribution require private deci-sions--decisions to invest and decisions to buy. The productivity of our national technical enterprise depends not only on the successful research results, but on successful manufacture and sales. 

And so, let me summarize this somewhat rambling, yet abbreviated, view of our national technical enterprise. 

And the reason Is that all of the "Innovation Indicators" have been going down-hill since that time. I have compared various indicators that have been suggested as measures of the health of the nation s scientific and technical enterprise. 

Wang, L.K. Identification, Transfer, Acquisition and Implementation of Environmental Technologies Suitable for Small and Medium Size Enterprises United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna, Austria, 1995 Technical paper no. 9-9-95, 5 p. 

The first enterprises whose managers learn to develop, produce, and sell in national and often worldwide markets—that is, to commercialize new scientific and technical learning— become the initial builders of the high-tech industries. I term such enterprises first movers. They are not necessarily the first to produce and sell the new product. Instead, they are the first to de-... 

Four of the major oil and gas companies proved unable to enter the petrochemical industry profitably Mobil, Texaco, Occidental, and Blf-Atochem. Of these, the Mobil story illustrates the essential need for an integrated learning base if the products devised by the enterprise s technical capabilities are to be commercialized, thus reaching national markets. 

The National Health Insur c (Caisse Nationcd d Assurance Maladie - CNAM)/ Since 1945, CNAM, under the stqiervision of die Ministry of Health, has b n responsible for the conc ieasation of industrml accidents and the administration of occupational risks and occupational diseases. Its mission is also to prevent occupational accidents and occupational diseases by technical and financial means. CNAM administers the national hind for prevention which is based on contributions levied from enterprises. The prevention service and its regional offices and services is financed from this fund, as well as the work of INKS, the National Institute of Research and Safety. 

Nationally, the small business sector contributes disproportionately to job creation and economic growth. It has been reported that enterprises with fewer than 100 employees accounted for over half of the new jobs created during the period 1980-1986, although they employed only about 35% of the total workforce. On a regional level, small companies strengthen a local economy, and the Edison Program places considerable emphasis on providing technical and financial support to such companies, as well as to entrepreneurs and start-up companies. 

Pay special attention to construct research team, and concentrate the preponderant scientific manpower on tackling safety issues or to improve the safety technology and equipment performance by referencing the experience of international coal mine advanced science and technology. The nation should take active measures to encourage coal mine enterprises to adopt advanced technology and methods, take particular emphasis on basic research of mine gas disaster prevention to control vital coal mine disasters effectively. Increase safety input, ensure special fund for special use and improve the level of technical equipment to enhance the coal mine safety production level. 

The enterprise analyzes and compares the established requirements baseline against external constraints to ensure that the specified technical requirements correctly represent, and stay within, applicable national and international laws (including environmental protection, hazardous material exclusion lists, waste handling, and social responsibility laws) correctly state external interface requirements with existing or evolving systems, platforms, or products include applicable general specification and standard provisions affecting the development and adequately define competitive product capabilities and characteristics. 

The ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS) is an international organization with about 1,300 members dedicated to advancing health and safety in the chemical enterprise.CHAS provides technical programming at ACS national and regional meetings, produces its own journal Journal of Chemical Health and Safely), and has an active Listserv to benefit members worldwide who have questions about safety issues. It has members in a number of developing countries who occasionally post questions on the Listserv. 

J. Herbert Hollomon, Engineering s Great Challenge— The 1960s, in Engineering as a Social Enterprise, Hedy E. Sladovich, ed. (Washington, DC National Academy Press, 1991), 104—10 Lerner, Volunteers in Technical Assistance, 16, 24. 

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