Invest in S&T Research and Innovation in California.

Fund research on "California's Grand Challenges in S&T" that are identified by the Governor's S&T policy advisor.

• California's Grand Challenges in S&T are a way to rally public, private, university and industry support in strategic areas for research and innovation that are important to and will benefit California, such as clean energy. Strategic research funding in selected areas would, by design, leverage existing investments such as facilities, equipment, and computing that created the biotechnology, information technology, and nanotechnology industries, and jumpstart California's capacity for a competitive edge in these new research areas and in new, advanced manufacturing.

Create a "State Innovation Fund" focused on strategic investments in California that could provide matching monies and increase the likelihood of success of worthy projects from the state in national and international competitions.

• Establish a new, flexible, streamlined "innovation fund" of $50 M per year, managed by the new science advisor (or by a non-partisan group), to respond to fast-moving federal matching fund requests or to make seed investments in newly emerging scientific research opportunities of strategic interest to the state. Focus the initial investment in California's areas of existing strength such as energy, the environment, biotechnology, information technology and telecommunications.

Support and exploit existing state S&T assets.

• Maximize the potential of previous state investments and provide necessary operating funds of $40 M per year for the California Institutes for Science and Innovation that have proven successful thus far in showing more than a 2-1 return on investment. Require an industry led review after seven years of the state's return on its investment that is tied to certain economic benchmarks.
• Inventory California's existing assets (locations and capabilities) of advanced research instrumentation facilities (ARIF). Identify immediate ARIF needs and create a prioritized list of investment needs for the upcoming fiscal year to enable the state to compete effectively for federal dollars, and also to identify areas for strategic state investments.
• Create a common electronic grants portal. By Executive Order, require that all new state research-funding opportunities be listed in a common electronic portal. This site should be modeled on the federal site "grants.gov" and allow for easy keyword searching across agency solicitations.

Endorse policies that foster innovation through public-private partnerships.

• Examine and, as appropriate, revise state policies, such as conflict-of-interest laws, that inhibit creative collaborations between the public and private sectors, especially between researchers in state-funded universities and industry. Provide matching funds to industry for research that responds to state needs.
• Endorse legislation that provides clarity and reduces conflicts related to intellectual property derived from state-funded research and owned by state-funded research institutions.
• Develop tax incentives for industry investments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, such as industry support for high-quality professional development for science and mathematics teachers (on site, in universities or in informal learning centers); for contributions to science and mathematics teachers preparation in institutions of higher education; or programs to enhance K-12 academic preparation, especially for students in low-performing schools.
• Appreciating that much of the innovation in California comes from small companies and that they serve as an attractive S&T employment opportunity, set up a commission to audit the state's current support packages/services for small companies and find ways to simplify, enhance and effectively communicate improved initiatives.

Support tax incentives for R&D investment in California.

• Simplify the tax code by instituting an across-the-board tax credit (similar to New York) for industrial R&D conducted in California.
• Develop tax incentives for university-industry partnerships.
• Design a targeted business plan for the state to attract new investments in research and manufacturing, and new industries.

Details on the other recommendations: