The U.S. Competitiveness Project is a research-led effort to understand and improve the competitiveness of the United States—that is, the ability of firms operating in the U.S. to compete successfully in the global economy while supporting high and rising living standards for Americans. The Project focuses especially on the roles that business leaders do and can play in promoting U.S. competitiveness. The Project approaches current challenges to U.S. competitiveness as a matter of global concern, not just an American issue.

Faculty members from the Harvard Business School lead the Project. Along with colleagues from other leading institutions, HBS professors are conducting research in areas such as innovation, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, company location choices, firm governance, local business ecosystems, human capital, K-12 education, fiscal policy, tax policy, capital markets, environmental sustainability, democracy, international trade, and unconventional energy. The research is being developed in close collaboration with leaders from business, labor, policy, the sciences, and academia in order to pinpoint concrete actions and recommendations for improving U.S. competitiveness. The project is committed to identifying practical steps that leaders, especially in business, can take to strengthen the U.S. economy.

The research is informed by global surveys of Harvard Business School alumni working in many industries. Project faculty members regularly present the latest research findings to audiences both at Harvard and in economic centers around the country. Recent convenings on campus have brought together leaders from diverse sectors to develop the research and to identify ways that business leaders, policy makers, educators, and others can apply the ideas and improve U.S. competitiveness in their cities and regions.