Work
Innovation Advocates helped the Council on Competitiveness launch a major innovation and technology initiative. The engagement includes project management, policy analysis and messaging. Working with Fortune 500 corporations, the Defense Department, leading research universities, and national laboratories, the initiative aims to:-- recommend legislative and regulatory reforms to enable greater commercialization from federal research
-- enhance U.S. talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
-- implement new modes of public-private-university collaboration in research and commercialization
Innovation Advocates is working with the Task Force on American Innovation to secure federal research investment in the physical sciences and engineering. The engagement includes strategy, message development, and web presence. This alliance of business, universities, and scientific societies works with Congress and the Administration to grow investment in the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, and key accounts at the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The founder of Innovation Advocates, Chris Mustain, played a prominent role in the resurgent US political support for science, technology and innovation. He served on the core team that organized the National Innovation Initiative and produced its final report; helped craft legislation based on its recommendations; and lobbied Congress and the Administration to enact the America COMPETES Act. Upon passage, Mr. Mustain became a leading figure to secure appropriations for the programs under the COMPETES Act, working primarily through the Task Force on American Innovation. During the 2008 Presidential race, he worked with both candidates' campaigns to sustain support for innovation.
Data is the lifeblood of today's digital economy. Mr. Mustain was a central player for many years in the effort to preserve international commercial data flows while still respecting national norms and laws relating to individual privacy. He brought together US and European officials in a dialogue that led to the Safe Harbor Framework and worked with international organizations including APEC and the OECD to advance understanding of US laws and regulations. Mr. Mustain also helped establish privacy trustmarks and online best practices, recast how business associations explained US laws and regulations, and shaped numerous US federal and state data protection proposals. 