Unless new partnerships and less partisanship occur, America's status as the world leader of technological innovation is seriously threatened, warned authors of a report released by the Council on Competitiveness during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on April 10.

The report, Endless Frontier, Limited Resources: U.S. R&D Policy for Competitiveness, is the result of a 15-month assessment of U.S. research and development that drew on the insights of 80 of the nation's leading scientists, engineers, educators and entrepreneurs. The council project was co- chaired by Gary L. Tooker, chief executive officer of Motorola Inc., and Frank H.T. Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University and chairman of the National Science Board.

The end of the Cold War, globalization of the world economy and the drive to eliminate the federal deficit have brought about a period of wrenching change that must be addressed by creating innovative partnerships among the primary movers and shakers of R&D in this country: industry, government and academia, the report advises.

"The United States will not remain at the forefront of technology unless industry increases its contribution, the federal role becomes more stable and universities strike the right balance between their teaching and research missions," said Rhodes, according to a United Press International report. "We haven't been very effective at convincing our fellow citizens that this is the basis for all of our progress."

The report warns that decreased federal resources could place America's innovation system at "substantial risk" and decries the current polarized political debate about the role of the federal government in R&D. It calls for a national summit to begin to create a public consensus on what role the government should play in promoting and funding R&D.

"The Council on Competitiveness has issued a call for debate and action," commented Cornell President Hunter Rawlings. "As a major research university, Cornell plays an important national role in educating America's scientists, discovering new knowledge and developing technological innovation. I hope that we will begin a campus dialogue on the report and its recommendations to see how Cornell can best meet the challenge of maintaining America's technological leadership." The report lists broad recommendations for action by all three major sectors of technology and innovation: Government must continue to stimulate civilian research, foster research partnerships, create a business climate more conducive to private sector R&D, refocus federal research to today's missions and budget environment, and maintain its support of American universities, the report advises. The authors note that federal support declined from providing 70 percent of university R&D funding in 1970 to 55.5 percent in 1993.

Industry must also increase its contributions to R&D, as well as focus its research priorities and take timely advantage of the leading-edge results coming out of U.S. universities and government laboratories, the report recommends.

Academia, the report advises, should give priority to developing the nation's human capital in science and technology in emphasizing universities' teaching mission, and it needs to review policies to promote R&D partnerships.

"Perhaps no research institutions are so caught in the cross- currents of change as the nation's universities," Rhodes said. "Viewed by both industry and government as more vital than ever to the nation's future, they face a funding squeeze and growing, often contradictory, demands." Specific policy guidelines recommended for universities are: " "Graduate study should be restructured to open a broader spectrum of career opportunities to Ph.D. students and to develop a credible practice-oriented master's degree. . . . Education that is limited to a single sub-field does not equip . . . students adequately for either the academic world or the corporate world. Universities should work with industry to explore different emphases in graduate programs . . . Creating master's degree programs geared to the needs of the workplace would be particularly valuable." " "Do more to attract and keep students interested in science and engineering . . . (Bring) additional real world and teamwork experiences into the classroom and creating more industrial internships . . . pay more attention to the nature and quality of introductory science and engineering courses." " "Ensure that federal research grants are used in a way that enhances the quality of undergraduate and graduate education. Too often, the pursuit of federal research funding weakens, rather than strengthens, education. Universities must alter policies, particularly those of tenure and promotion, to counter this."