On this episode of Talkin’ (Policy) Shop, Oren and Chris are joined by Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School, to discuss pre-competitive R&D consortia. At a time when America has lost its innovative edge, these consortia give government an opportunity to support industry while letting market forces work.

Pre-competitive R&D consortia allow firms that are normally competitors in the market to work together on a common technology platform, sharing the resulting IP from which they can develop products to compete against each other. The collaboration pools resources and expertise, and provides a site at which public policy can constructively subsidize investment without “picking winners and losers.” 

Further Reading

• American Compass policy brief: Pre-Competitive R&D Consortia
• On Research and Development (Willy Shih, American Compass)
• Pass the Chips, Please (Oren Cass, American Compass)
• A Guide to the Semiconductor Industry (American Compass)