Robert Atkinson | President and Founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Robert Atkinson

President and Founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

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Robert Atkinson
Biography

As founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), recognized as the world's top think tank for science and technology policy, Robert D. Atkinson leads a prolific team of policy analysts and fellows that is successfully shaping the debate and setting the agenda on a host of critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. He is an internationally recognized scholar and a widely published author whom The New Republic has named one of the "three most important thinkers about innovation," Washingtonian Magazine has called a "tech titan," Government Technology Magazine has judged to be one of the 25 top "doers, dreamers and drivers of information technology," and the Wharton Business School has awarded him the "Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award." A sought-after speaker and valued adviser to policymakers around the world, Atkinson's books include Big is Beautiful: Debunking the Mythology of Small Business (MIT Press, 2018); Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012), and The Past And Future Of America's Economy: Long Waves Of Innovation That Power Cycles Of Growth (Edward Elgar, 2005). He also has conducted groundbreaking research projects and authored hundreds of articles and reports on technology and innovation-related topics ranging from tax policy to advanced manufacturing, productivity, and global competitiveness. He has testified before the United States Congress more than 30 times. President Clinton appointed Atkinson to the Commission on Workers, Communities, and Economic Change in the New Economy; the Bush administration appointed him chair of the congressionally created National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission; and the Obama administration appointed him to the National Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy Advisory Board. He also has served as co-chair of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's China-U.S. Innovation Policy Experts Group; as a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and on the U.S. State Department's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information. Atkinson is a member of the Markle Foundation Task Force on National Security in the Information Age and serves on the boards or advisory councils of the Internet Education Foundation, the NetChoice Coalition, the University of Oregon's Institute for Policy Research and Innovation, and the State Science and Technology Institute. Additionally, Atkinson is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Electronic Government and the Journal of Internet Policy; a member of the Global Innovation Forum Brain Trust; a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; a fellow at the Columbia University Institute of Tele-Information; and a fellow of Glocom, a Tokyo-based research institute. Atkinson was previously vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute, where he directed the Technology & New Economy Project. He wrote numerous research reports on technology and innovation policy, covering issues such as broadband telecommunications, e-commerce, e-government, privacy, copyright, R&D tax policy, offshoring, and innovation economics. Previously, Atkinson served as the first executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC), a public-private partnership whose members included the state's governor, legislative leaders, and both corporate and labor leaders. As head of RIEPC, Atkinson was responsible for drafting a comprehensive economic development strategy for the state and working with the legislature and executive branch of government to successfully implement each element of a 10-point action agenda. Prior to his service in Rhode Island, Atkinson was a project director at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, where, among other projects, he spearheaded The Technological Reshaping of Metropolitan America, a seminal report examining the impact of the information technology revolution on America's urban areas. As a respected policy expert and commentator, Atkinson has testified numerous times before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and he appears frequently on news and public affairs programs. Among others, these appearances have included interviews on BBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, and NBC Nightly News. Atkinson holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he was awarded the prestigious Joseph E. Pogue Fellowship. He earned his master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Oregon, which named him a distinguished alumnus in 2014.

Robert Atkinson
Featured Video

Current: The Global Race for Medical Breakthroughs

Time 01:53

Robert Atkinson
Featured Keynote Programs

Navigating the Political Economy of the Next Tech Wave.

In this talk Atkinson discusses the emerging technology wave based on connectivity, automation and intelligence and the political and societal pitfalls facing companies going forward. He talks about how companies need to respond if they are to be innovative, including anticipating the opposition, shaping the issue first, articulating the societal value proposition and getting out in front with solutions

Big is Beautiful
Why Big Firms Drive Economic and Societal Wellbeing

For over a half century, small business has been widely seen as synonymous with all that is good. But in the past few years this morphed into a view that holds that large businesses are inherently problematic or even bad. Based on his new book “Big Is Beautiful: Debunking the Myth of Small Business” Atkinson shows how on a host of economic and societal indicators that large firms on average outperform small. He argues that it is time for policy makers to embrace “size agnosticism” and treat all firms alike, regardless of size.

Technology, Innovation and the Future of Manufacturing

Manufacturing is poised to be transformed by a suite of emerging technologies, including Internet of Things and 5G; AI-enhanced robotics, and new materials and 3D printing. Atkinson will discuss these opportunities, how U.S. manufacturers are responding, and what their main challenges are, including public policy and competition from China.

The Task Ahead of Us
Transforming the Global Economy With Connectivity, Automation, and Intelligence

The next wave of digital innovation is coming. Countries and firms can welcome it, prepare for it, and ride it to new heights of innovation and prosperity, or they can ignore the changing tide and miss the wave, only to be left behind treading water. Atkinson will discuss these opportunities, what the business, competition, and public policy challenges are and how to best respond.

Robert Atkinson
Featured Books

Innovationby Robert Atkinson

Innovation

by Robert Atkinson
 Big is Beautifulby Robert Atkinson

Big is Beautiful

by Robert Atkinson

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