Sujai Shivakumar

Director and Senior Fellow, Renewing American Innovation Project
Sujai Shivakumar

Sujai Shivakumar directs the Renewing American Innovation (RAI) Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he also serves as a senior fellow. Dr. Shivakumar brings over two decades of experience in policy studies related to U.S. competitiveness and innovation. Previously, he directed the Innovation Policy Forum at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and led major studies of U.S. policies supporting advanced manufacturing, small business growth, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. He was also a lead contributor to a seminal National Academies study of strategies adopted by U.S. states and regions to foster entrepreneurship, drive technology transfer, and encourage regional high-tech ecosystems. He also helped prepare National Academy of Public Administration studies on laboratory technology transfer and the management of space situational awareness.

Reflecting his expertise in innovation policy, Dr. Shivakumar has testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and has been quoted in leading publications such as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. His academic background includes a doctorate in economics from George Mason University and service as an Earhart Foundation scholar at the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University Bloomington, where he authored The Constitution of Development (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and coauthored with Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom The Samaritan’s Dilemma: The Political Economy of Development Aid (Oxford University Press, 2005). During his tenure at the National Academies, he contributed to over 50 assessments of U.S. and foreign innovation programs.

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Toward a New Multilateral Export Control Regime

Halting Chinese progress in achieving advanced semiconductor capabilities calls for moving past the limitations of the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Commentary by Sujai Shivakumar , Charles Wessner , and Hideki Uno — January 10, 2023

Photo: Kadmy/Adobe Stock

Inclusive Innovation: Challenges and Paths Forward

In an era of increased strategic technology-based competition, the United States needs to more fully engage the talent found across its population. Greater inclusion taps the talents of more Americans and gives them a stake in the innovation economy.

Event by Sujai Shivakumar , Tom Guevara , and Andrei Iancu — December 6, 2022

Photo: Porqueno/AdobeStock

Manufacturing and Workforce

The Chinese government, and their agenda to steal competitors’ intellectual property, poses a significant long-term threat to the economic and national security of the United States

Commentary by Sujai Shivakumar — October 25, 2022

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Moore’s Law and Its Practical Implications

With competition for leadership in the semiconductor industry heating up, an understanding of the economic and policy significance of Moore’s Law is critical to supporting policies that advance the international competitiveness of the United States.

Critical Questions by Gregory Arcuri and Sujai Shivakumar — October 18, 2022

Photo: Fox Photos/Getty Images

Reshoring Semiconductor Manufacturing: Addressing the Workforce Challenge

Despite new investment in domestic chip-making, chip makers encounter a shortage of construction workers to build new facilities and a lack of qualified workers to run them. This report discusses increasing development of U.S. talent toward semiconductor chip production.

Report by Sujai Shivakumar , Charles Wessner , and Thomas Howell — October 6, 2022

Photo: Kzenon/Adobe Stock

Renew SBIR, Just Defend the Recipients against China

With the SBIR program up for reauthorization, it is more important than ever to reflect on this hugely successful program’s impacts on the U.S. economy and innovation.

Report by Charles Wessner and Sujai Shivakumar — September 14, 2022

Photo: maciek905/Adobe Stock

Can Semiconductor Reshoring Prime a U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance?

The new strategic focus on semiconductor manufacturing represents a more comprehensive understanding of the industry’s importance beyond a secure supply of chips for defense applications.

Commentary by Sujai Shivakumar , Charles Wessner , and Tom Howell — September 1, 2022

Photo: Kostiantyn/Adobe Stock

Streamlining the Permitting Process for Fab Construction

With the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a careful and comprehensive assessment of the permitting process for fab construction is underway.

Commentary by Phillip Singerman , Sujai Shivakumar , Gregory Arcuri , and Hideki Uno — August 29, 2022

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