Convergence Between Europe and America: The Transition from Industrial to Innovation Policy

Traditionally, the U.S. and Western Europe have chosen different policies to foster commercial innovation. Whereas (federal) government intervention in the U.S. has required strict justifications and has been mainly indirect, most governments on the other side of the Atlantic have played an explicit and more active role in the economy. However, recent developments indicate a convergence between Europe and America, both in type of policy measures and their legitimation. Within a framework of risk profiles and a typology of justifications, we examine several U.S. and European programs (Etzkowitz, 1997). We find that the main reason for convergence in policy agendas and measures seems to be an incorporation of perceived missing links in the innovation systems in response to reciprocal competitive pressures. Hence, the federal government is aiming to play a more direct role in the U.S., while the university sector and technology transfer becomes increasingly integrated in European innovation policies.     

A cross-national analysis of policies affecting innovation diffusion

Innovation diffusion is important for both firms’ profitability and countries’ economic growth. For these reasons, policies that aim to reduce the main barriers to innovation diffusion are a relevant issue on the agenda of most policy makers. Although the importance of this topic is widely recognized, few studies explore public policies that aim to enhance innovation diffusion. This article attempts to fill this literature gap. Specifically, the study aims to clarify the role of policy makers in promoting new technology diffusion, to identify the barriers that affect the process of innovation diffusion and that are relevant for public policy makers and to analyze potential policies to overcome the main barriers to the diffusion of new relevant technologies. This study shows that public policies must simultaneously address the most relevant barriers to the diffusion of a new technology to be effective. Focusing on only specific barriers by developing policies with a too narrow scope may lead to poor results. The study explores a topic that is almost neglected in the innovation management literature. On the one hand, the article provides a conceptual framework for analyzing public policies. On the other hand, it proposes an overview of the repertoire of policies that policy makers can use to overcome the most relevant barriers to the diffusion of a new technology. In doing so, it also contributes to the debate about the role of the policy maker in the process of innovation development and diffusion.     

知识产权私权性质的变化及其与技术创新政策的协调机制探析

从知识经济时代知识产权传统私权性质的变化以及知识产权法律公法属性增强的现实出发,阐 明21世纪在作为重要生产要素的知识产权已经成为社会科技进步和经济增长的主要动力的前 提下,技术创新政策与知识产权法律的协调配合就成为整个激励智力创造和技术创新制度安排 的必须。对技术创新政策与知识产权法律的协调机制从总体上进行探讨,并就科技计划制定和 科技战略规划、科技成果界定及其知识产权归属以及科技成果的奖励制度等方面作了具体研究。     

Innovation capacity and economic development: China and India

Decomposing the GDP growth from 1981 to 2004, this paper finds that innovation capacity has contributed significantly to the economic growth of China and India, especially in the 1990 s. Outputs of the national innovation system, measured by patents and high-tech/service exports, demonstrate the considerable progress China and India have made in innovation capacity. The enhanced innovation capacity of China and India is primarily due to their heavy investment in the inputs of innovation system, i.e., R&D expenditure and R&D personnel, in recent decades. This paper emphasizes the role that the governments have played in promoting innovation capacity and their contribution to economic development. Both governments have transformed their national innovation systems through linking the science sector with the business sector, providing incentives for innovation activities, and balancing import of technology and indigenous R&D effort. Using case studies of domestic biotech firms in China and India, this paper also offers micro-level insights on innovation capacity and economic development: (1) innovation capacity has become essential for domestic firms?? market success and (2) global institutional factors and national government policies on innovation have considerable influence on the choice of innovation at the firm level, i.e., to conduct indigenous R&D or to import foreign technology.     

UK government's Open Standards Consultation – A step in the wrong direction?

This paper comments on UK government's Open Standards Consultation which opened on 7 February 2012. It questions the UK government's mandating of open standards defined as standards which include patents licensed on a royalty free basis. The paper suggests that instead of promoting a level playing field, the government's policy will actually restrict competition and hinder interoperability. This policy is contrary to EU policy in a number of different fields which have all accepted, despite significant in-depth debate on this issue, that the best way to ensure the most effective competition, innovation and interoperability is to allow both royalty free patents and royalty bearing patents to compete provided the latter are licensed on FRAND terms. Lastly the paper suggests that the public procurement rules are not the place to apply industrial policy, instead a full market analysis should be conducted involving other government departments such as BIS and the IPO.     

论公共政策创新的现实表征、引发动因及价值取向

公共政策创新作为公共政策中的一个＂子系统＂始终存在于公共政策的生命周期之中。然而,在公共政策学成为一门完善的学科之前,公共政策研究学界的视域多集中于公共政策运行过程中几个最主要而又明显的阶段：制定、执行、评估（监控）及终结。本文试图从公共政策创新的现实表征、引发动因和价值取向三个方面对公共政策创新相关内容进行阐释,以期加深对公共政策创新理论的理解。     

Regional Technology Policy and the Emergence of an R&D System in the Basque Country

The political changes of the late 1970s early 1980s opened up a process of devolution and decentralization in Spain which reached very important levels in historical regions such as the Basque Country and Catalonia. In the R&D policy realm, Basque government policies had an important impact in the emergence of a regional R&D system from stratch in a short period of time. The industry-oriented Basque model was also rather innovative in the Spanish context of the 1980s, which was dominated by public, basic science-oriented national research councils. In this paper we analyze the process of configuration of regional R&D policies in the Basque Country by looking at the interplay between structural factors, actors, interests, ideas, and institutions. We also look at the main achievements and shortcomings of those policies.     

SMEs in Regional Innovation Systems and The Role of Innovation Support--The Case of Upper Austria

In the past large firms were regarded as the main driving forces for innovation, but, more recently, the interest has shifted to SMEs as well as networks of firms. It has been recognized that SMEs innovate in a specific way and that they face size-specific barriers. To be able to rely on innovation partners and to be involved in regional or national innovation systems seems to be of critical importance for SMEs. This paper presents the empirical results of a firm survey in Upper Austria, a region with a long industrial tradition in Austria, investigating the extent to which SMEs are actually engaged in innovation networks and the role of public innovation support in this context. The findings show that SMEs which have received innovation support are more successful innovators than those which have not, and that innovation cooperations are rather rare. Most external relations are with other firms and within the region, very few with knowledge providers from science and technology. At present, innovation support instruments do not sufficiently target the deficits of non-innovative SMEs and the problems in linking up with innovation networks and broadening firms' relations beyond the region.     

Regional Innovation Systems: General Findings and Some New Evidence from Biotechnology Clusters

This paper focuses on interactive innovation. It starts by operationalising Regional Innovation in the context of multi-level governance. It shows how regional and external innovation interaction among firms and other innovation organizations is important for regional innovation potential. The ability to access and use funding for innovation support for regional firms and organizations is crucial for regional innovation promotion. Equity investment funding is more important than public funding, which tends to be cautious and otherwise risk avoiding, except in circumstances of market arrest or failure to develop. Regional systems of innovation are broader than single sectors or clusters but some of these will be strategically privileged recipients of policy support because of their growth performance or potential, rather than, as in the past, their uncompetitiveness. The paper devotes space to exploring biotechnology clustering from a regional innovation systems viewpoint, as an instance of rather strong sectoral, regional innovation systems capabilities, though integrated also to global knowledge supply and markets. Illustration is provided of the way such sectoral innovation systems work at local regional level by reference to cases from Cambridge, Massachusetts and Cambridge, England.     

National innovation systems and the globalization of nanotechnology innovation

While there has been much emphasis over the last decade on the science of nanotechnology and on the implications and risks of potential applications, it is now timely to increase attention to the emerging dynamics of nanotechnology commercialization. This paper examines, from a global perspective, where and how corporations are entering into nanotechnology innovation. The paper tests the proposition that a significant shift has occurred in recent years in the orientation of corporate nanotechnology activities—from research discovery to patented applications. It also examines the extent to which the character and structure of corporate nanotechnology activity by country initially reflects national innovation system characteristics and prior public research funding inputs in the stage when discovery is most emphasized. The results indicate that national innovation systems characteristics are significant factors in the commercialization shift of nanotechnology and highlight the importance of innovation system policy factors. We also observe the influence of cross-border international invention linkages, suggesting that national innovation policies also need to be open and international in orientation.     

Technology Transfer in European Regions: Introduction to the Special Issue

Regions can be considered as “regional innovation systems,” but the question of whether and to what extent technology transfer is taking place at this or other (e.g., national and global) levels remains empirical. The theme issue contains a number of case studies of “regional innovation systems” within the European Union. Other papers elaborate on the pros and cons of the systemic approach to the technology transfer processes involved, or make comparisons across regions. In this introduction, the editors discuss the relations between regional policies, technology and innovation policies, and the integration of these different aspects into (potentially regional) systems of innovation. Under what conditions can “technology transfer” be considered as a mechanism of integration at the regional level?     

科学发展观视域下的公共政策创新

为适应创新型国家建设、构建和谐社会的需要,公共政策必须及时创新。科学发展观为公共政策理念创新、内容创新和政策手段创新指明了方向。因此,在实现公共政策创新目标的过程中,政策主体必须深入学习与实践科学发展观,实现政策理念的转变;废旧立新并举,实现政策内容的切换;创新政策运行机制,实现政策目标的转换。     

Innovation capacity in the healthcare sector and historical anchors: examples from the UK,Switzerland and the US

Innovation is an integral part of economic development in developed economies. In the post 2008 period, a key policy agenda is that of sustainable development, which calls for innovation in all aspects of value-chains. In this paper, we focus on innovation from the biotech—pharma perspective to see whether or not this will lead to a sustainable future for the regions where there are clusters of firms in this sector. We examine data from a recently completed European Union study of innovation in the Healthcare sector from the UK and Switzerland, countries with an historical base in pharma, to understand how innovation pathways vary at the regional level in the broader life sciences, which incorporate biotech and more. Innovation in the healthcare sector in two regions, Oxfordshire in the UK and Zurich in Switzerland are compared. We contextualize our discussion by drawing on studies that focus on the sector in the US, specifically Boston. The analytical framework comprises three elements: innovation systems and national and regional economic development theories are the first two, followed by approaches which consider organizational or institutional activity. This framework is used to help explain and understand the complexity of how innovation is organized at the sub-national level. The overall context is that it is increasing becoming a condition for government financing of research that it has more immediate application in industry or have the possibility of commercialisation (e.g., translational research).     

生态公益林效益补偿法律制度与政策机制的建构创新——结合广东省相关实践考量

森林生态效益补偿制度是实现森林生态价值、发挥森林作为生态环境建设主体作用的基本保障。我国生态公益林补偿历经由政策个别调整到立法普遍调整的渐进过程，且部分地方（如广东省）立法及政策试点实践已获得某些示范性经验。然而，相关政策法律机制还存在亟待解决的矛盾问题，特别是生态公益林补偿的投入与利益保障机制需要合理构建，这是全面推进生态公益林建设的关键。分析生态公益林补偿政策与立法现状，结合广东省等相关实践考量，重在探索我国生态公益林补偿制度规范及实施机制的创新思路。     

强化我国知识产权导向政策问题研究

知识产权制度是政府公共政策体系重要组成部分之一,其功能在于维护知识权利秩序并保证实现知识进步效益目标.从政府政策视角,探讨我国实施知识产权战略过程中的“知识产权导向”问题,并将我国部分省市对《国家知识产权战略》中“强化知识产权导向”的政策理解和细化措施进行比较分析,提出:在建设创新型国家总政策的指导下,应全面调整和完善地方各级知识产权政策,构建科学合理、强调知识产权导向作用的知识产权公共政策体系.     

社会管理创新视域下未成年人犯罪刑事政策研究

对于未成年人给予特殊的照顾和关怀是世界各国的共识。在刑事政策方面,多数国家都很重视对于未成年犯罪人的教育、矫治。我国在社会管理创新视域下,对于未成年人犯罪刑事政策应当从定罪政策、刑罚政策以及执行政策三个方面进行全面的改革和完善。在借鉴国外先进立法例的前提下,结合我国的实际情况,建立符合我国国情的少年司法制度。     

Policy processes and police reform: Examining similarities and differences between Scotland and the Netherlands

During 2013 the national governments of both the Netherlands and Scotland have introduced radical reforms which have replaced largely autonomous regional police forces with a national police service. Despite these structural similarities, however, there are important differences in the underlying processes which have shaped these reforms and the broader narratives about policing which have informed public and policy discourses.The purpose of this paper is to understand the underlying dynamics of these police reforms. Following an overview of concepts drawn from the public policy literature regarding policy change, the paper describes in detail the structural changes to policing that have occurred in both countries. These structural changes relate not just to the spatial re-organization of policing but also to the structure of police governance and accountability. The focus then shifts to disentangling key aspects of the decision-making processes which led to the reforms drawing on Kingdon's analysis of policy change and policy formation. The paper concludes with a broader discussion of the similarities and differences in police reform in the two countries, highlighting important issues regarding the significance of political context, debates around localism and policing, and narratives regarding a normative vision of the police role.     

Missing links in nanomaterials governance: bringing industrial dynamics and downstream policies into view

In this article we explore some of the analytical and policy implications of widening the focus of nanomaterials governance from risk regulation to the broader issue of the purposeful direction of the innovation process. We focus on the impact of industrial activities on nanotechnology governance, arguing that the specific characteristics of the industrial dynamics of nanomaterials—flexibility in applications and distributed innovation—limit and enable different potential interventions to shape technology. In particular, these characteristics exacerbate the difficulties of attempting to directly influence innovation trajectories. Under these conditions, we argue that policies for nanomaterials governance need to be broadened. The prevailing emphasis in the UK on policy initiatives ‘upstream’ in the R&D process, while commendable, should be complemented with policies aimed further ‘downstream’ at potential users of nanomaterials, such as renewable energy procurement or housing regulations in order to modulate technological development towards socially desirable goals.     

论公共政策创新的触发机制

国家的发展及其竞争力的高低在很大程度上取决于公共政策的质量，因此需要政府不断地进行公共政策创新。公共政策创新是政府面对环境的变化和竞争的挑战而进行的主动行为，而触发机制则是公共政策创新过程诱发、催促初始政策设计或最初政策发动的催化剂。     

改革开放30年中国产业政策法研究述评

产业政策和反垄断法是国家干预经济的两种武器。其中产业政策是我国政府最常用的武器,国内学者大多从经济学角度研究产业政策。试图从经济法学的角度阐述改革开放30年我国学者对产业政策法的研究成果,力图梳理加以系统化,同时指出研究中存在的问题,以期望更高更深层次的研究成果的发表和出版。尤其2008年世界性金融危机的爆发,研究产业政策法治化以及产业政策法基本内容的问题具有一定的现实意义和实践意义。加紧对产业政策法研究,对理论和实践工作具有一定的指导意义。