Successful technology innovations require these processes to be blended into an integrated whole. There may be a change brewing, as policy makers become more aware of the effect of growing competitive forces in international commerce on the nation's economic vitality. At last, the political leadership has begun to engage much of the public in a discourse on the need for a national innovation strategy. Daman's earlier entreaty was realized through a high-level meeting on innovation in Washington late last year. ASME's current Fellow at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Patrick Quinlan, was one of the arrangers of the summit.
Partnerships help transform knowledge into products.
Neal Lane, the president's science advisor, invited ASME to attend and to provide comments on priorities for federal innovation reform. Most of the ASME recommendations, combined with input from several other organizations, served as the basis for defining the summit's agenda. For example, ASME suggested that partnerships among federal and state governments, as well as among government, the private sector, and academia, are essential to assisting industry in transforming knowledge into products. Two sessions at the conference dealt with fostering such partnerships. Discussion of standards was not limited to this session alone.