Www.nifustep.no NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education Monitoring Policy Making: Goals, processes and information demand [email protected]

www.nifustep.noNIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education

Monitoring Policy Making: Goals, processes and information demand

[email protected]

CRIS 2010

5 June, Aalborg

NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education

Major policy trends – main drivers for monitoring

Lisbon agenda: 18 policy guidelines generating monitoring needs at the Member State level (at least six of these are relevant to research monitoring activities)

Bologna reforms

Knowledge Triangle

ERA (six pillars)

Researcher mobility

Infrastructures

Joint Programming

Third country collaborations

Efficient knowledge transfer

Quality of R&D organisations

Economic crisis


Policy Governance at the EU level

Lisbon governance instruments relies on the use of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC)

OMC provides a voluntary framework where individual Member States can support the reform of their own policies through mutual learning, and peer review with the rest of Member States.

Integrated Guidelines (IGs) have allowed Member States the preparation of their “National Reform Programmes” (NRPs) and their annual “Progress Reports” (PRs).

Policy makers at the national and regional level are faced with a difficult dilemma – how to design effective policies which are both serving the interests of their constituents and helping Europe reach Lisbon objectives.


Monitoring: main objectives

Assessing progress

Benchmarking

Creating awareness and providing necessary knowledge intelligence services

Policy learning

Policy transfer “refer to a process in which knowledge about politics, administrative arrangements, institutions, etc. in one time or place is used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements in another time or place” (Dolowitz and March, 1996).

Surprisingly little research is done for a better understanding of research and innovation policy learning processes.


Main actors: users articulating evaluation, monitoring and analytical needs

EC DG RTD

EC DG ENTR

EC DG EDUC

IPTS

Member States (Ministries)

Research Councils

What about R&D organisations (Universities, PROs etc)?

What about organisations such as University associations?

What about business sector associations?


Formalised policy experts networks in and for the Knowledge Triangle

INNO POLICY TrendChart (DG ENTR),

Sectoral Innovation Watch,

ERAWATCH (JRC IPTS, Seville /DG RTD) EW University observatory

ETEPS

METRIS (other thematic-oriented networks??)

EURYDICE

ReferNET (CEDEFOP, Thessaloniki / DG EMPL)


Typical modes of work Building the network

Design of country templates

Main focus: R&I policy goals in a the general policy context of the country, governance structures, efficiency, effectiveness, new trends, special focus themes

Design of policy measures templates

Design of other templates (key organisations, key documents, main R&D and Innovation programmes)

Presentation and analysis of basic indicators

Policy analysis and intelligence on the basis of ad hoc project work

Recommendations (?)

QUALITY ASSESSMENT IS A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE

Country correspondents


TrendChart -measures


Monitoring and assessment methodologies in INNO POLICY TC

Network established in 2000 (3 consecutive contracts)

Coverage of innovation policies in 41 countries, 41 policy experts (and institutions), national government contact points

The largest database on innovation policy measures in the world

From 2008 merge of the EW and TC policy measure databases

Analysis of national and regional governance systems

Identifying key challenges for policies based on a well-established indicator set (EIS)

Focus on appraisals of national innovation performance vs. economic performance

Assessing national reform programs linked to Lisbon-strategies

Flexibility: focus issues (creativity / policy on innovative SMES and gazelles in 2008 (policy intelligence tool for the DG ENTR – Innovation Policy Development Unit)


Stylised objectives

Stylised objectives CountriesN°

Countries Comments

Improve GERD/GDP ratio AT, BE, BG, CY, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, IE, IT, LT, LV, PL, PT, RO, SK, UK, NO,TR

223% in most western countries, 1-1.5% in southern & eastern EU

Human Resources: scientists & engineers in workforce

CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, GR, HU, IE, IT, IS, LU, LV, NL, PL, PT, SI, UK, TR

18Issue across countries of varying levels of development

Increase private investment in R&D (BERD)

AT, BG, CZ, ES, IE, IT, LT, LV, NO,PL, PT, RO SI, UK, TR

15Reflects Barcelona goal - probably an implicit target in all EU27

Improving IPR systems CZ, HU, IS, LV, NL, PL, PT7

Noticeably important in Eastern Europe

Increase GOVERD/HERD BG, BE, CZ, DK, LU, RO, TR

7Sub-theme of Barcelona objective

Increasing Spin off / NTBFs BE (VL), CZ, SI, MT, CH, SE6

Suprisingly few countries setting this objective

Increase availability of venture capital

LV, PL, PT, SE4

Suprisingly few countries setting this objective


Types of policy learning in the area of research and innovation policy

Policy transfer: copying programs, measures, organisational structures/arrangements developed elsewhere

Lesson drawing: drawing on current experiences in other countries (regions) to improve own national policies. It can stimulate a government to adopt a novel measure or lead to the conclusion that what is deemed “best practice” elsewhere cannot or should not be introduced here. (Rose, 2001).

Benchmarking and ranking: PISA-studies and European Innovation Scoreboard as examples

Exchanging “good practices”: TC and EW serve the “Open Method of Coordination” approach, that is organising a learning process at the European level as a catalyst leading to improvement of national policies in the MS.


Types of policy learning in the area of research and innovation policy

Policy entrepreneurship: INNO-NETS and ERA-NETS as platforms for developing new ideas and types of policy instruments and enhancing creativity in the policy making processes


There is a need to be critical – and disinterested

There must be a critical distance and a common sense- based approach in all policy transfer processes.

ECs policies do exert considerable influence on national research and innovation policies, in particular in the new MS. Given the Barcelona and Lisboa goals and given the diversity of national economic and innovation systems in Europe, the issue of policy learning vs. policy copying becomes fundamental for Europe today

Example 1: High tech bias and copying R&D-programs in low tech dominated countries

Example 2: EIS and the Norwegian paradox


EIS-2007 – NORWAY


Evidence of policy learning facilitated by TC and EW

Quite a few cases of policy learning (at the policy measure level) between countries.

Analysis of policy learning mechanisms in TC and now in EW

Building new types of policy analysis competences

Increasing concern for need of coordination and interest in policy developments within different policy areas, such as, Education, Employment, Life Long Learning, Innovation, Research)


Bibliography

Cunningham P., M. Khaleel (2006): Transnational policy learning in Europe: Attempts to transfer innovation policy practices. Innovation: Management, policy & practice, 8 (3), October 2006, 262-272.

Dolowitz DP, D. March (1996): Who learns What from Whom: A Review of the Policy Transfer Literature. Political Studies 44, 343-357.

Dolowitz DP (2000): Introduction. Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration 13 (1), 1-4.

Koch P. (2003): Good Practices in Nordic Innovation Policies Part 2. Nordic Industrial Fund report. June 2003.

Technopolis, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Sydney (2001): An International Review of Methods to Measure Relative Effectiveness of Technology Policy Instruments. Report, July 2001.

Tsipouri L., A. Reid (2007): European Progress Report 2006. EUR 22410 European Commission.

Tsipouri L. (2001): Can we benchmark the contribution of research and development investment to growth and competitiveness? Science and Public Policy 28 (4), 295-302.

Documents

Www.nifustep.no NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education Monitoring Policy Making: Goals, processes and information demand [email protected]