A report by the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington DC, calls for Congress to fund the development of regional innovation clusters similar to California's Silicon Valley. This will create jobs and maintain US competitiveness despite limited state resources, it says.

Issued last month, 'The Geography of Innovation' proposes a competitive matching-grants programme to fund training, research centres or business incubators that focus on priorities such as energy technologies. Representative Jared Polis (Democrat, Colorado) touted the report on 6 October, advocating federal support for regional partnerships to enhance economic efficiency and growth.