FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2023
The Ronald Reagan Institute Releases National Security Innovation Base
Report Card
Policy Tool Measures Critical Factors Across Innovation Ecosystem
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s Center
for Peace Through Strength released the inaugural National Security Innovation Base (NSIB)
Report Card – an innovative policy tool to measure the effectiveness, productivity, and resilience
of our nation’s innovation ecosystem and provide recommendations for improvement. The report
card will guide the dialogue at the Reagan Institute’s first annual National Security Innovation
Base Summit on March 14, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
“America’s ability to maintain our technological edge over our adversaries, especially China,
depends on our government’s ability to rapidly acquire and scale innovative technology across the
national security enterprise. Developing that technology requires a healthy innovation ecosystem
that supports technologists, investors, and researchers from our most innovative defense industry
and dual-use tech companies,” said Roger Zakheim, Director of the Reagan Institute. “The
Reagan Institute’s new report card is a first-of-its-kind tool to measure the health of that
ecosystem.”
Grading The Innovation Ecosystem
The Reagan Institute brought together innovators, policymakers, national security experts, and
business leaders to produce the NSIB Report Card assessing and grading the national security
innovation ecosystem across ten key indicators. Detailed assessments of each indicator can be
found here.
Customer Clarity D
International Alliances & Partnerships C-
Innovation Capital B-
Talent Base D+
Private Sector Innovator Base B
Innovation Leadership A-
Public/ Civil Innovation Base B-
Defense Modernization C
Government Alignment C
Pull-Through for Broader National Priorities B-
Signature Recommendations
Included in the report card are five signature recommendations crafted to improve the lower-
scoring aspects of the NSIB ecosystem. More information on these recommendations can be
found here.
1. Foster stronger relationships with the private investment community.
2. Scale up workforce development programs to increase domestic STEM
output and skilled trades.
3. Establish additional mechanisms to increase the foreign talent pipeline for
critical national security technologies.
4. Create additional technology-focused international alliances and
partnerships.
5. Make bigger, bolder, more flexible investments in new capabilities.
National Security Innovation Base Summit
The NSIB Report Card will guide conversations among thought leaders, policymakers, and
innovators at the Reagan Institute’s National Security Innovation Base Summit on March 14,
2023. Reporters wishing to cover the summit in person should RSVP here. Those wishing to
participate virtually can access the livestream here.
About the Reagan Foundation and Institute:
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is the sole nonprofit organization
created by President Reagan charged with continuing his legacy and sharing his principles -
individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy and national pride. The Foundation
is a non-partisan organization which sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and
Museum in Simi Valley, CA, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Presidential Learning
Center, The Air Force One Pavilion, the award-winning Discovery Center and the Reagan
Institute, which carries out the Foundation’s mission in Washington, D.C.
The Reagan Library houses over 55 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal
papers and over 60,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It
also serves as the final resting place of America’s 40th President and former First Lady Nancy
Reagan.
