研究与开发是对未来的投资。这意味着资本——所有实验室都需要有资金——但也意味着对人才及他们的知识和技能的投资。最根本的是，要有一个欢迎新创意的环境。

美国擅长于此，但每个国家都能够鼓励创新。

如何打造未来

美国的研发处于世界领先地位，政府、企业家、大学和其他方面每年对研发的投资额超过 4500亿美元。中国排名第二，近3400亿。按国内生产总值（GDP）计算，韩国和以色列的投资比例最高。

学者兼科技政策独立顾问约翰·艾立克（John Alic）说，在美国，企业承担很多创新。大公司如苹果（Apple）、谷歌（Google）、亚马逊（Amazon）、特斯拉（Tesla）、通用电气（General Electric）和3M都有自己的实验室，他们通过努力开发新产品和新服务，应对竞争日益激烈的全球市场。

根据美国商务部（Commerce Department）公布的数据，2014年，美国企业的研发开支比上一年增长了近一倍，这是自1996年以来速度最快的增长。今天在企业实验室研发的产品，很可能未来就会出现在你附近的商店里。

不仅需要资金

但艾立克说，仅投资于研发不一定能带来创新。 “它还与公司如何组织和管理资源有关。”

亚利桑那州立大学（Arizona State University）科学及社会学专业教授丹尼尔·萨尔维兹（Daniel Sarewitz）说，有效地沟通和转化知识“远比单纯投资数额更重要。”

政府资助的大学研究项目也有助于知识和技能的融合以及形成对新理念的开放心态，而这些都会促进创新。在区域科技中心——如硅谷（Silicon Valley）和波士顿（Boston ）128号公路科技走廊——附近，都有一流的研究型大学，这绝不是一个巧合。

换句话说，资金推动创新，但还不够。萨尔维兹得出的结论是，善于创新的国家要有成熟的有利创新的体制。在美国，这意味着：

• 发达的经济。知识密集型产业占美国经济近40％，这在所有大型经济体中居首位。
• 创业文化。加州的硅谷、纽约（New York）、洛杉矶（Los Angeles）和波士顿是许多初创企业和创业者的大本营。
• 有技术水平的劳动力。美国有80多万人拥有科学、工程学和卫生健康等研究领域的博士学位。
• 一流的高等教育。全球20所最具科研影响力的大学有16所在美国。
• 大量的风险投资。据安永会计师事务所（Ernst & Young）的数字，全球超过60％的风险资本投资在美国。

发明创新的最重要因素可能是原有的创新。发展一种技术并使之商业化会带来未来创新所需要的技能，并且将高学历和高技术的人才汇集到区域科技中心。

如何起步

那么，如果有创新传统的地方占有优势，其他地方怎样才能参与竞争？劳动力的教育素质是一个关键。另一个关键是，要有法律和规范做法，从而为创业和获得投资者的支持带来方便。在今天的全球化经济中，研发投资资金可以跟随人才流动，并且可以到任何有利企业文化的地方去。总部设在美国、日本和欧洲的跨国公司经常在中国和其他国家投资，因为在那里他们能找到所需要的人才和精神。

有些项目是由不同国家的科学家合作进行，研究成果彼此受益。例如，在国际空间站上，科学家相互交流知识，促进有益于未来创新的知识全球化。

Today’s computer, or solar energy panel, or AIDS medicine, began as yesterday’s research project. And tomorrow’s innovations — a paper battery for your smartphone or foods that treat diseases — are being developed today.

Research and development (R&D) is an investment in the future. That means capital — all those labs cost money — but also it means investing in people, in their knowledge and skills. Above all, it means an environment that is open to new ideas.

These are areas where the U.S. excels, but every nation can encourage innovation.

How to build the future

The U.S. is a world leader in R&D, with government, entrepreneurs, universities and others investing over $450 billion annually. China ranks second, at nearly $340 billion. South Korea and Israel invest the most as a percentage of GDP.

In the U.S., businesses are responsible for much innovation, says John Alic, a scholar and an independent consultant on technology policy. Large companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Tesla, General Electric and 3M have their own labs and work hard to develop new products and services for an increasingly competitive global market.

In 2014, U.S. corporate spending on R&D rose at almost twice the rate of the preceding year, the biggest advance since 1996, according to the Commerce Department. And what’s cooking in corporate labs is likely to end up in a store near you.

It takes more than money

But investment in R&D alone doesn’t always translate into innovation. “It’s a matter of how companies organize and manage relevant resources,” Alic says.

Communicating and transferring knowledge effectively, says Daniel Sarewitz, a professor of science and society at Arizona State University, is “much more important than absolute amount of funding.”

Government-funded research at universities also contributes to the mix of knowledge and skills — and openness to new ideas — that foster innovation. It isn’t a coincidence that regional technology hubs like Silicon Valley or Boston’s Route 128 technology corridor grew up near leading research universities.

In other words, money helps, but it’s not enough. Countries that innovate, Sarewitz concludes, have well-developed innovation systems. In the U.S., that means:

• An advanced economy. Knowledge-intensive industries make up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. economy. That’s the largest percentage of any large economy.
• An entrepreneurial culture. California’s Silicon Valley, New York, Los Angeles and Boston are home to many startup companies and entrepreneurs.
• Skilled workforce. The U.S. has more than 800,000 people with research doctoral degrees in science, engineering and health fields.
• High-quality higher education. Sixteen of the world’s 20 universities that produce the highest-impact scientific research are U.S.-based.
• Plentiful venture capital. More than 60 percent of global venture capital is invested in the U.S., says consulting firm Ernst & Young.

The most important ingredient in new innovation may be older innovation. Building and commercializing one layer of technology develops the skills needed to develop the next. It gathers highly educated and technically skilled workers in regional technology hubs.

How to get started

So if places with a history of innovation have an advantage, how do others get in the game? Educating the workforce is one key. Laws and practices that allow entrepreneurs to easily start businesses and investors to back them is another. In today’s globalized economy, R&D investments can follow talented workers and seek out entrepreneurial cultures no matter where they are found. Multinational companies based in the U.S., Japan and Europe routinely invest in China and other countries where they find the talent and spirit they need.

There are projects where scientists from different countries work together on joint projects and build on each other’s research. Scientists working on the International Space Station, for example, share knowledge and contribute to the globalization of knowledge that will fuel the innovators of tomorrow.