We often falsely assume that all cultures encourage or even recognize the human urge to create and innovate. Some say that America is creative and innovative despite its governments’ policies, while others say that it is creative and innovative precisely because of them. In either case, our governments’ policies can and do create incentives that influence innovation in labs, markets, institutions, and societies both at home and abroad.

Here are some of the questions that this project explores:

• What are different ways of thinking about or describing creativity and innovation? What are their dimensions?
• What policy or societal goals might affect creativity and innovation? And should we promote only certain kinds of innovation?
• What concerns might we have about creativity and innovation?
• How might our public policies address these concerns?
• What different policy possibilities might we develop for creativity and innovation? And how can we make policy for things that do not yet exist?