Making in America : from innovation to market / Suzanne Berger with MIT Task Force on Production in the Innovation economy.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-238) and index.

Introduction: How to move innovation into the economy -- What happened to manufacturing -- Scaling up start-ups to market -- Main street manufacturers and innovation -- Lessons in scaling from abroad: Germany and China -- Trends in advanced manufacturing technology research -- Jobs, skills, and training -- Building new pathways from innovation to the market.

How America can rebuild its industrial landscape to sustain an innovative economy.
America is the world leader in innovation, but many of the innovative ideas that are hatched in American start-ups, labs, and companies end up going abroad to reach commercial scale. Apple, the superstar of innovation, locates its production in China (yet still reaps most of its profits in the United States). When innovation does not find the capital, skills, and expertise it needs to come to market in the United States, what does it mean for economic growth and job creation? Inspired by the MIT Made in America project of the 1980s, Making in America brings experts from across MIT to focus on a critical problem for the country.

MIT scientists, engineers, social scientists, and management experts visited more than 250 firms in the United States, Germany, and China. In companies across America—from big defense contractors to small machine shops and new technology start-ups—these experts tried to learn how we can rebuild the industrial landscape to sustain an innovative economy. At each stop, they asked this basic question: “When you have a new idea, how do you get it into the market?” They found gaping holes and missing pieces in the industrial ecosystem.