The presentation of the National Innovation Agenda will be the main focus of the National Innovation Initiative Summit today in Washington, D.C. The event is to be webcast live from approximately 8:30 am to 2 pm ET at www.compete.org. Presumably (hopefully!) the webcast will be archived as well.

I didn't even realize there was such a thing as the National Innovation Initivative until I read Business Week's Oct. 11 "Innovation Economy" special issue. Apparently this has been a year-long effort headed by IBM's Sam Palmisano and G. Wayne Clough, president of Georgia Tech, the goal of which was to come up with a National Innovation Agenda. The presentation of that agenda is the focus of today's meeting.

In case you want to tune in but can't devote your whole day to this, I've included the agenda below. I'll be following up here in IdeaFlow over the next few days.

Agenda

December 15, 2004
The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Amphitheater
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW – Washington, DC 20004

All times ET

7:15 – 8:00 am:
Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:15 am:
Welcome -- Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President, Council on Competitiveness

Introduction of National Innovation Initiative Leadership -- F. Duane Ackerman, Chairman, Council on Competitiveness, Chairman and CEO, BellSouth Corporation

8:30 am:

Presentation of National Innovation Agenda -- G. Wayne Clough, President, Georgia Institute of Technology and Co-chair, National Innovation Initiative, and Samuel J. Palmisano, Chairman and CEO, IBM Corporation, and Co-chair, National Innovation Initiative

9:00 am:

Discussion -- Thriving in a World of Challenge and Change

Discussion Leader: Susan Dentzer, The NewsHour; participants, Molly Corbett Broad, President, University of North Carolina; Michael J. Burns, Chairman, President and CEO, Dana Corporation; Sheryl Handler, CEO, Ab Initio; The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Vikram Pandit, President and COO, Institutional Securities and Investment Banking Group, Morgan Stanley; The Honorable Mark Warner, Governor, Virginia

10:15 am:

Break and Refreshments

10:45 am:

Discussion -- Imagining America’s Future

Discussion Leader: Charles M. Vest, President Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; participants, F. Duane Ackerman, Chairman and CEO, BellSouth Corporation; Mary Sue Coleman, President, University of Michigan; Denis A. Cortese, President and CEO, Mayo Clinic; W.J. Sanders III, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.; G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., Chairman and CEO, General Motors Corporation

12:00 pm:

Discussion -- Mobilizing for Success in the 21st Century

Discussion Leader: Deborah L. Wince Smith; participants, The Honorable Norman R. Augustine, Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Co-chair, National Innovation Initiative Advisory Committee; William R. Brody, President, Johns Hopkins University, and Co-chair, National Innovation Initiative Advisory Committee; The Honorable John Engler, President, National Association of Manufacturers; The Honorable Don Manzullo, U.S. House of Representatives; The Honorable C. Paul Robinson, President, Sandia National Laboratories; The Honorable Mitt Romney, Governor, Massachusetts

1:00 pm:

Next Steps: Implementing the Innovation Agenda -- F. Duane Ackerman, Deborah L. Wince Smith, G. Wayne Clough, Samuel J. Palmisano

1:15 pm:

Adjourn