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Istituto Superior Tecnico
Lisbon
November 4, 2012
Science and technology policy.
An old and new issue
Giorgio Sirilli
CERIS - CNR
Science and technology policy
A history which starts after WW2
1940s
science
2010s
technology
innovation
jobs
competitiveness
social needs
Science and technology policy
Report “Science the Endless Frontier” 1945 (Vannevar Bush)
Science the Endless Frontier
Concerns
- Military security
- Health
Solution
- Science policy
“The Government is particularly fitted to perform certain functions, such as the
coordination and support of broad programs on problems of great national
importance”
“Scientific progress on a broad front results from the play of free intellects,
working on subjects of their own choice, in the manner dictated by their
curiosity fro exploration of the unknown. Freedom of inquiry must be
preserved under any plan for Government support of science”
Science the endless frontier
“Publicly and privately supported colleges and universities and the endowed
research institutes must furnish both the new scientific knowledge and the
trained research workers. It is chiefly in these institutions that scientists
may work in an atmosphere which is relatively free from the adverse
pressure of convention, prejudice, or commercial necessity. At their best
they provide the scientific worker with a strong sense of solidarity and
security, as well as a substantial degree of personal intellectual freedom.”
“Industry is generally inhibited by preconceived goals, by its own clearly
defined standards, and by the constant pressure of commercial necessity.
Satisfactory progress in basic science seldom occurs under conditions
prevailing in the normal industry laboratory.”
The beauty of research
Jim March
Our task consists of
carrying out
research projects
which are beautiful
in terms of rigor,
persistence,
competence,
elegance, and of
their grace, in such
a way to avoid the
plague of mediocrity
which often
threatens to
overwhelm us.
Rationale for public policy
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Strategic-military
Prestige (Concorde)
Need of large capitals and high risk
Support to international competitiveness of industry
Basic knowledge with long term benefits
Non appropriable knowledge
Sectors characterised by small firms (agriculture)
Service sector (health)
How do governments organise and implement their S&T policy?
• Government ministries, departments
• Funding agencies
• Performing agencies
NABS OBJECTIVES
1. Exploration and exploitation of the earth
2. Environment
3. Exploration and exploitation of space
4. Transport, telecommunication and other infrastructures
5. Energy
6. Industrial production and technology
7. Health
8. Agriculture
9. Education
10.Culture, recreation, religion and mass media
11.Political and social systems, structures and processes
12.General advancement of knowledge: R&D financed from general
university funds (GUF)
13.General advancement of knowledge: R&D financed from other sources
than GUF
14.Defence
GBAORD
Government budget appropriations or outlays on R&D (GBAORD) are all
appropriations allocated to R&D in central government or federal budgets
and therefore refer to budget provisions, not to actual expenditure
GBAORD
GBAORD
ANVUR Evaluation of the Quality of Research
Science policy in Italy
Source: OECD Science, Technology
and Industry Outlook 2012
Source: OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2012
Mariana Mazzucato
Apple
The government visible hand
Before launching the platform of iOS products, Apple received enormous
support from the government:
– direct investment in the stage of creation of the enterprise
($500,000 from the Small Business Investment Corporation)
– access to technologies developed by government programmes
– fiscal, commercial, technologicval policies aimed at supporting
American firms
The technologies behind the iPhone, iPAD
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Micro hard disk
Micro chips
Touchscreen display
Internet
GPS
LCD screens
All of them developed with the support of government
The success of Apple
Apple carries out little R&S compared with competitors
Apple does not concentrate on the development of new technologies,
but on their integration in an innovative architecture
It success is based on:
recongition of high-potential new technologies
integration on complex engineering competencies
clear vision based on products oriented towards design and
consumetrs’ satisfction
The role of the state
The conventional wisdom: the state fixes market failures, but it does
not create or shape markets actively
The public sector is often seen as sclerotic and conservative, in
contrast to a dynamic and innovative private sector
but
The public sector usually bears the highest risk of funding innovation
without reaping the rewards (socialise risks and privatise rewards)
A case in point: Apple turnover 76.4 $ billion
75% of the most innovative drugs owe their funding not to Big Pharma
or to venture capital, but to that of the National Institutes of Health
From the internet to nanotech, most of the fundamental advances – in
both basic research but also downstream commercialisation –
were funded by government, with business moving into the game
only once the returns were in clear sight
The role of the state
Ironically, one of the governments that have been most active on the
front of directing public investment which changed the market
landscape though innovation is the US government
The government creates a vision which steers business investment
Some final comments
The role of government in S&T is key
Neo-liberal appoaches (not only in the US)
Risk involved in public intervention
Return of public investment in R&D
The European Lisbon target of R&D/GDP 3%
The legitimation on science in society
Thank you