Report Identifies Barriers to Small Innovative Company Growth
The Office of Advocacy has published a study examining the challenges holding back small innovators. Small Innovative Company Growth—Barriers, Best Practices and Big Ideas: Lessons from the 3D Printing Industry identifies 11 barriers that range from the individual level (e.g., academic debtload) to the systemic level (e.g., the reliable exchange of research advancements).
The report was written by Mark Harrison, the Office of Advocacy’s entrepreneur in residence, over a 12-month period. The report draws on input from numerous contributors and contains extensive links to news articles, research studies, and innovative programs. To plant it in the practical realm, the author examined the barriers specific to advanced manufacturing/3D printing, an emerging industry that has the potential to affect traditional economic patterns and produce breakthroughs in dozens of fields.
The report can also be accessed from the Office of Advocacy’s Innovation Initiative webpage.