Innovating in a Secret World addresses the conflict between America's need for the most sophisticated and advanced technology and the cloak of secrecy that makes it so difficult for our country to leverage the booming successes of technological innovation in the commercial, "unsecret" world.
Our national security increasingly depends on access to the most sophisticated and advanced technology. Yet, the next time we set out to capture a terrorist leader we may fail. Why? The answer lies in a conflict between two "worlds." One is the dynamic, global, commercial world with its thriving innovation landscape. The other is the world of national security, in which innovation is a matter of life or death. The conflict is about secrecy. Innovating in a Secret World is a detailed examination of the U.S. government and innovation landscapes and the current trends in national security-related research and development (R&D), so often secret.
Author and researcher Srivastava evaluates whether the execution of technology innovation strategy in that world is unintentionally leaving certain innovations behind or is unintentionally precluding certain classes of innovators from participating. She identifies the unintended consequences and emergent behaviors that result. This unfolds in a complex, dynamic system that includes the legal framework in which technology innovation must exist. Srivastava suggests an emerging class of R&D strategy called open innovation - a strategy that pertains to broadening participation in innovation beyond an individual organization or division traditionally assigned to perform R&D activities.
Through compelling stories of commercial and early government applications, Srivastava shows how open technology innovation strategies are promising and potentially advantageous in enabling, accelerating, and enhancing technology innovation. If open innovation could be successfully applied to closed U.S. government R&D, the benefits to national security and global leadership would be profound.
About the Author
Tina P. Srivastava is an innovator, entrepreneur, and technology expert. Her experience spans roles as chief engineer of electronic warfare programs at Raytheon to co-founder of a venture-backed security startup. She is an FAA-certified pilot and instructor of MIT's Pilot Ground School course. Srivastava earned her PhD in Strategy, Innovation, and Engineering, a masters in System Design and Management, and a bachelors in Aeronautics and Astronautics, all from MIT.
Industry Reviews
"In her new book, Innovating in a Secret World: The Future of National Security and Global Leadership, Tina Srivastava, PhD '15, examines why it's hard for the government to approach innovation like the private sector. . . . As Srivastava highlights in her book, there are two broad barriers to open innovation: Government regulations, and unintentional discouragement of new innovators for established companies."-Meredith Somers, MIT Management Sloan School
"'Our national security depends on advancements in science and technology,' writes Tina Srivastava, a former Raytheon engineer, and now an author, entrepreneur and technology expert. . . . Srivastava ends the book with recommendations on how the government can foster innovation and increase the number of players participating in national security- related research and development."-National Defense
"Night-vision scopes, speech-to-text algorithms, and ultra-quiet helicopters are just some of the examples of technologies critical to our national security that are discussed in this book. As the rate of innovation of commercial ventures outpaces government-funded classified R&D, we need to ask some hard questions. This book provides a fascinating and provocative perspective that is grounded in rigorous research and deep industrial experience."-Olivier L. de Weck, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at MIT and senior vice president for technology planning and roadmapping at Airbus
"So much of the technology our modern society depends on has its roots in U.S. government-supported research, where national security and secrecy constraints are paramount. As the pace of innovation accelerates and the R&D center of gravity shifts, Srivastava gives a clear-eyed view of how to balance secrecy and innovation in the years to come."-Nathan Wiedenman, program manager of the first classified program seeking to use open innovation for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
"In today's United States, government-sponsored research and national security are closely intertwined. A regulatory framework that 'gets it right' is a high-priority need. Srivastava's book is a major contribution to understanding some critical challenges facing this effort."-John Akula, senior lecturer in law at the MIT Sloan School of Management
"Crowd-sourced innovation is having a transformative impact in the commercial world and has strong potential for government programs as well. This book shows the critical connection between technical innovation, the law, and government policy and should be read by all three communities."-Brent Appleby, deputy to the vice president of engineering for S&T and director of algorithms and software at Draper Laboratory
