Transcript Slide 1
“Steering and Funding – The Governance of science systems” Sources Based ont the reports of the Ad Hoc Working Group Steering and Funding of Research Institutions Governance of Science Systems -- New Challenges 09/2002 Management of Human Resources 03/2003 Priority Setting -- Issues and recent trends 03/2003 Governing the Science System – Challenges and responses 02/2003 Students Vanessa Figueiredo Miguel Carvalho Key findings Sustaining the flow of S&T Graduates - maintain the log-term health of the research system. Industry involvement in scientific education and training - Share of business funding in higher education research has increased. There is a growing body of knowledge that research and innovation contribute in an increasingly important manner to economic growth and social welfare. There must be some kind of balancing between basic research and more oriented research. It needs to be created a pool of human-resources in the traditional disciplines so as to maintain the long-term health of the research system. Nov. 2003 Management of Human Resources Fig. 1 - Comparison of growth of researches in OECD countries (1990 - 2000) and number of science graduates per thousand youth Nov. 2003 Management of Human Resources Trends in PhD Graduates More PhDs as a % of the total population Nov. 2003 Management of Human Resources Women in Science and Technology Fig.2 - Proportion of university degrees awarded to women (2000) Nov. 2003 Management of Human Resources Adapting graduate education to changing demands Industry involvement in PhD training is increasing Needs: Improve the labour market entry of graduates provide industry with the right skills in applied Responding to this needs - Several OECD Countries Reformed University degree programmes in particular at PhD Level Created shorter degree programmes to allow early exit from education Increased funding for PhD’s and for post-doctorates Nov. 2003 Management of Human Resources Ageing of the science base in the public sector The low expansion of public R&D Demographic changes Human resource policies that favour seniority Australia Researcher (FTE) 1998 (33,2%), 2000 (36,6%) Over 50 University Staff 1998 (36%), 2000(47%) Over 45 (Only 6% Less than 30) Italy ¼ Researcher (Public Sector) Over 50 Hungary 35% Researcher (Public Sector) Over 50 Czech Republic Only about 6% younger than 50 France, UK, US Avarge age of researchers in public sector slightly decreased in recente years Nov. 2003 Governing Science Systems Research and innovation contribute in an increasingly important manner to economic growth and social welfare. Shifting from Linear model to a more non-linear model. Linear model – The results of “basic” research, mainly performed in the public sector, would diffuse in a straightforward manner and would find pratical applications through applied research and commercialization in the industrial sector. Non-linear model – The actors in Science and innovation systems both at the national and global levels and in the public as well as the private sector, interact strongly in a complex array of network loops to set the research agenda all the way from the basic end to commercialization. Stakeholders Linear Model (Government, research comunities) Non-Linear Model (Governement, research comunities, business, civil society) Governing Science Systems The business sector accounts for a rapidly growing share of the total research effort (GERD). Portugal Status Quo Governing Science Systems The research enterprise itself is shifting Mode 1 research System – discipline-based, traditional academic institutionsbased, too little connection to societal needs. Mode 2 research System – transdisciplinary, based on diverse institutional arrangements, responsive to societal needs and problem-oriented. Important areas of societally relevant research, such as health and environment require “problem” oriented approach to research. Problem areas arise precisely because research agenda are better defined as responding to problems that cannot be dealt within the scope of strictly defined disciplinary lines in science. Examples: (new emerging areas like biotechnology, nanotechnology among others as they become important growth areas in the economy) How to prioritize different areas of research? Priority setting One of the principal reasons for setting priorities is the budget constraints faced by many governments. Governments have various institutional mechanism to set priorities at the national level. Top-down – the central government adopts explicit strategies or plans that specify areas of research (Austria, Japan, Hungary among others). Many of this countries, as well as some others (Netherlands, Germany) have some kind of central advisory body that makes recomendations about priorities. Bottom-up – The government advisory bodies on research are decentralised and serve different governent agencies in priority setting. Governments have procedures or mechanisms by wich identified priorities are reflected in the research funding decisions. Budget is not unlimited Technology Foresight - Widely used tool (process) to help identify priorities. Examples: Germany FUTUR – Open forum of discussion. Stakeholder involvement, including business and the civil society at various levels of piority setting is becoming a widely used process. Governing Science Systems Public research funding agencies are opting to increase “project” funding of research aimed at specific objectives as opposed to core “institutional” funding. The different funding necessities between Mode 1 and Mode 2 of research must be well balanced because the need for disciplinary research has not disappeared and the new paradigm needs to accommodates both types of research. It needs to be created a pool of human resources in the traditional disciplines so as to maintain the long-term health of the research system. The appropriate policy instruments to ensure long-term sustainability of the research system should be the ones that integrate the new paradigm responses, but also the old paradigm responses. Key challenges remain in safeguarding basic research, including maintaining appropriate research infrastructure, and sustaining the flow of high quality human resources in a broad range of disciplines and that can meet new challenges of research of the interactive type.