This special issue seeks to bring together various strands of current policy thinking and practice that share an orientation towards directionality of innovation, embracing the idea that the generation and diffusion of innovation needs to be oriented towards responding to societal needs and demands. As yet, these strands of policy thinking and practice have not been interacting sufficiently, both conceptually and in terms of policy practice. Bringing those strands together, as depicted in Figure 1, promises to inform our understanding of the opportunities and challenges of a new generation of innovation policy. As such, this special issue seeks to make a leap forward in conceptualising 21st century innovation policy.
The first strand of policy thinking is associated with an increasing trend to design and implement demand-based innovation policy instruments. These are instruments targeting stakeholders as buyers and users of innovation as part of established science and innovation policy, designed and implemented through generic innovation or economy ministries. The rationale here is to boost innovation on the supply side by providing better demand conditions, and in so doing also contribute to societal well-being as innovations are developed to satisfy articulated demand.
Second, there is continuous interest in and application of innovation policy measures, most notably on the demand side, to support policy goals of sectoral ministries, whereby improved and enhanced demand for innovative solutions are supposed to contribute to achieving sectoral policy goals.
Third, and most radically, we increasingly see political claims to tackle grand societal challenges and develop mission-oriented policies. In contrast to traditional sectoral policies, those missions cut across established political responsibilities and constituencies and require much more long term and coordinated approaches. Designing policy to deal with those challenges is highly complex, and it is far from clear how demand-side (innovation) policy is best mobilised in the portfolio of measures to help steering societies and innovation systems in socially desired directions.
The special issue seeks to spark a new debate on the meaning of and conditions for directionality of innovation policy, with a specific focus on the role of demand-based measures to support it, be it in generic innovation policy, in sectoral policy or in mission-oriented policy which cuts across policy areas. The special issue seeks to mobilise contributions in any of those three strands concerned with directionality. In particular, however, we welcome work that bridges those strands.
What theories and concepts can help us to understand the conditions and challenges for directionality of innovation policy?
What theories help us to understand the political processes and institutional structures that determine the relationship between innovation policy, mission/challenge policy and traditional sectoral policy? What is the specific role of the state in innovation policy that defines direction for innovation?
How can we understand and improve processes to organise and govern agenda-setting in the context of demand-oriented policies, which starts with or focuses on needs and demands and thus is by definition closer to citizens and end-users than supply policies? Can we learn from user innovation literature about how to organise and set up user-producer interactions in the context of mission-oriented and sectoral programmes?
How can we better understand the demand for, challenges and effects of demand-based policies to support directionality in innovation policy, traditional sectoral policy (energy, health etc.), and in mission oriented policies?
Are there any new models of organising innovation policy for missions and sectoral policy goals, and for the governance of the relationship between innovation policy and sectoral-/mission-oriented policies?
What do we know empirically about the effects of demand-oriented policies and instruments within and across the three strands, both on innovation generation and diffusion, and in terms of their contribution to achieving sectoral and mission goals?
What do we know about sector-based and/or mission-oriented agencies and the portfolio of instruments they use to achieve their missions? What are organisational models for successful mission orientation mobilising demand-side instruments?
Submission, revision and decision process:Deadline for first full drafts or extended abstracts (1500 – 2000 words) is January 15. The editors of the special issue will then review. Authors of papers accepted will then be invited for a workshop in Manchester late March / early April 2016. For this workshop, full drafts of the papers are expected.After this workshop, final drafts of the revised papers will be expected May 20.Final inclusion of each contribution, and indeed the entire special issue, is subject to approval of the established SPP review process. The revised papers will thus be reviewed by the editors as well as by anonymous reviewers of Science and Public Policy.
The first strand of policy thinking is associated with an increasing trend to design and implement demand-based innovation policy instruments. These are instruments targeting stakeholders as buyers and users of innovation as part of established science and innovation policy, designed and implemented through generic innovation or economy ministries. The rationale here is to boost innovation on the supply side by providing better demand conditions, and in so doing also contribute to societal well-being as innovations are developed to satisfy articulated demand.Second, there is continuous interest in and application of innovation policy measures, most notably on the demand side, to support policy goals of sectoral ministries, whereby improved and enhanced demand for innovative solutions are supposed to contribute to achieving sectoral policy goals.Third, and most radically, we increasingly see political claims to tackle grand societal challenges and develop mission-oriented policies. In contrast to traditional sectoral policies, those missions cut across established political responsibilities and constituencies and require much more long term and coordinated approaches. Designing policy to deal with those challenges is highly complex, and it is far from clear how demand-side (innovation) policy is best mobilised in the portfolio of measures to help steering societies and innovation systems in socially desired directions.
ECC gather outstanding early career researchers with established academics for a series of exchanges about on-going and new research in research and innovation policy. Within the SPRI field ECC normally have no narrow theme, rather there are thematically open. Early career researchers can network with one another, across institutions and countries, and with established researchers, and gain critical feedback on their work, as well as experience in critiquing the work of peers.
The Eu-SPRI Forum supports one or two conference per year. An ECC will normally have 25-30 participants. The maximum support for a conference amounts to 15.000 EUR (for organisation and all actual incurred costs for participants once present, not their travel costs).
ECS will be hosted by one or more Eu-SPRI member organisations and will be offered by senior scholars in the field. The Eu-SPRI Forum supports one summer and one winter school per year with some 25 students each. The maximum support for a school to 15.000 EUR (for organisation and all actual incurred costs for participants once present, no travel costs).
Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to Eu-SPRI Forum secretariat: u.m.kemppainen@utwente.nl, by 15 January 2016.
In this dynamic context, some evident signs of change include the emergence of new or restructured organizations to steer public research or promote innovation; new programmatic directions within such organizations; increased funding dedicated to research in academic settings; and, new domestic and international partnerships seeking to expand participation in and application of research. A multiplicity of organizations and funding sources have appeared, creating a complex web where resources circulate with knowledge in ways that are reshaping research systems in the South.
A completed application form (download from Eu-SPRI Forum web site). This does not need to be signed by all parties at application stage.
Both the ‘PhD Home’ institute and ‘PhD Host’ institute must be members of the Eu-SPRI Forum Network. Therefore, you may only apply to institutes that are ‘PhD Hosts’ within Eu-SPRI Forum Network. See web site.
Eu-SPRI will award a lump sum of 2,000 Euros per candidate (for travel expenses and accommodation).
If the application is successful, the letter of Intent must then be signed by all parties who must agree to the terms outlined in it.
On completion of the circulation an evaluation report must be provided to the Eu-SPRI network, which will be placed on the website.
Les outils de la plateforme CorText ont été mobilisés pour cartographier l’ensemble des discours de l’État de l’Union présentés annuellement par le président américain au Congrès depuis Georges Washington en 1790.
A partir de ce corpus purement textuel, une analyse temporelle originale a permis d’identifier 1917 comme l’année charnière faisant basculer la politique américaine dans une ère résolument moderne. Cette métamorphose peut-être caractérisée plus finement à travers la visualisation des transformations des principales catégories discursives identifiées au cours du temps.
Ce travail a donné lieu à un article publié dans PNAS en collaboration entre Columbia University et le LISIS.
Beginning in 2013, AGP-AGS-INRA began an international survey of innovations that link sustainable agricultural practices with markets in developing countries with an open, competitive call for case studies. Fifteen case studies from around the world (4 Latin American and Caribbean, 6 African and 5 Asian and Pacific) were developed in 2014. These case studies and the meta-analysis of institutional innovations and how these create linkages between sustainable agriculture and local markets will be published as an Edited Book in 2015.
Beginning in 2015 as a joint project between AGS and INRA, which capitalizes on the work of the first project, is collecting more systematized data of the key components of market construction so to analyze the opportunities and challenges of creating sustainable market linkages. A case study methodology is used to collect data from 6 of the cases on agro-ecology systems that were involved in the first study, three from experiences carried out with the help of Slow Food International and three additional cases that fill in geographic and farming system gaps in the existing range of experiences.
Through these two projects it became apparent that there are a wealth of experiences about sustainable practices and linkages to markets that are occurring under the radar all across the world. This workshop is a way to create visibility for these experiences and to work towards strengthening the already existing work through future collaboration.
3) Identify capacity building and research needs of practitioners.
For further information about the CRE8TV.EU Conference for Early Career Researchers will be provided on the CRE8TV.EU website.
In the framework of the RISIS project (http://risis.eu/), an introductory course on patent databases describing the features and potentialities of the Corporate Invention Board (CIB) and Nano patent databases will be organized at the Université Paris Est Marne-la-Vallée in Paris the 8th and 9th of October 2015.
The course is free of charge; admission is based on the first-come first-serve principle.
Interested participants are kindly requested to send an e-mail to : patricia.laurens@esiee.fr before the 15th of July.