www.nifustep.noNIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
Monitoring Policy Making: Goals, processes and information demand
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
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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.
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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.
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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?
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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)
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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)
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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.
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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)
NIFU STEP studies in Innovation, Research and Education
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.