With the recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the U.S. has made the most ambitious push in science-driven innovation in the 75 years since the days of Vannevar Bush’s Endless Frontier report and the creation of the National Science Foundation. Make no mistake: This is a watershed moment in the “new space race” between China and the U.S.

But this funding increase is only the first step. To supercharge America’s innovation prowess, we must build on the good existing aspects of the U.S. innovation system and develop a modern innovation ecosystem that will once again lead the world into the future. Doing so depends on proceeding with three core imperatives in mind.