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Aiming to show how manifold reorganizations of public research organizations affect the evolution of research activity within labs, this study focuses on Italian Research Council (CNR), one of Europe’s largest public research organizations, from 2000 to 2020 to identify types of research developed and organizational strengths and weaknesses. The analysis suggests that, in line with the origin of the CNR, scientific research focuses mainly on research fields of natural sciences, such as chemical, life and physical sciences, with an increasing role of research in energy, engineering and mathematics. The case study also shows a high intensity of international collaboration of CNR within international research networks. Finally, analysis reveals the presence of highly productive researchers driven by self-determination mechanisms, though in the presence of shrinking public research lab budgets and organizational deficiencies. The research policy implications from the present analysis can be generalized to support organizational and managerial behavior of labs to improve scientific research in a context of shrinking public research budgets.

There is a long-standing tradition in public research funding agencies of distributing funds via peer review, which aggregates evaluations of proposed research ideas from a group of external experts. Despite complaints that this process is biased against novel ideas, there is poor understanding of an alternative system that may overcome this bias: the use of individual discretion. Here, we conduct the first quantitative study of how individual discretion affects a research funding portfolio. Using internal project selection data from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), we describe how a portfolio of projects selected by individual discretion differs from a portfolio of projects selected by traditional peer review. We show that ARPA-E program directors prefer to fund proposals with greater disagreement among experts, especially if at least one reviewer thinks highly of the proposal. This preference leads ARPA-E to fund more uncertain and creative research ideas, which supports the agency’s mission of pursuing novel ideas for transformational energy technology.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the rivalry between basic and applied research within public research labs. Study design considers the international publications a proxy of basic research, whereas the self-financing deriving from technology transfer activities is an indicator of applied research. A case study based on Italian National Research Council, one of the biggest European research bodies shows an interesting organizational behavior of research labs. The results reveal an increasing rivalry between basic and applied research due to shrinking of public research lab budgets. Institutes and researchers pay more attention to applied research, which is capable of attracting new funds from the market necessary to the economic survival of public research institutes but this approach reduces basic research with alarming effects for production of science in the long run. R&D management implications are discussed.

This paper focuses on some of the overlooked costs of war-related public research. We discuss two unseen consequences of war-related public science. The first is the distortionary effect of government-influenced research on academic disciplines. The second is the opportunity cost of the resources employed in public science.

This paper explores the scientific interaction of public research institutions across Italy and USA over 2000-2010 based on co-authored publications. Data are from Scopus (2012) and National Science Foundation (2012). The results show the trends of US-Italy scientific collaborations per scientific fields as well as the rate of growth according to linear and exponential models. In addition, the research shows the leading US and Italian institutions with higher intensity of mutual scientific collaboration per scientific fields as well as the spatial morphology of collaboration across Italian regions and US states. These results may provide vital information to policy makers to understand the morphology of scientific collaborations between US-Italy and to design an effective political economy of R&D in order to support driving institutions engaged in international collaborations for the advancement of vital scientific areas and for the progress of the national scientific research.

The article discusses the possibilities of including public research and educational establishments within the scope of the Directive regulating the re-use of public sector information (‘PSI Directive’). It subsequently evaluates the legal consequences of such an inclusion. Focusing on scientific information, the analysis connects the long-standing debates about open access and open education to open government data. Their common driving force is the call for a widespread dissemination of publicly funded information. However, the regulatory standard set out by the PSI Directive is characterized by considerable legal uncertainty. Therefore, it is difficult to derive robust assumptions that can form the basis for predicting the effects of extending the PSI Directive’s scope to research information. A potential revision of the PSI Directive should reduce this uncertainty. Moreover, PSI regulation must account for the specific incentives linked to the creation and dissemination of research results. This seems of primary importance for public-private research collaborations because there is a potential risk that a full application of the PSI Directive might unduly change incentives for such collaborations.

Pulses are major source of protein and an integral part to Indian’s diet. But, there has been consistent demand-supply gap. Barring last 5 years, total production of pulses remained stagnant at 12-14 million tonnes over past five decades. Over the last 20 years, more than 550 improved varieties of different maturity periods and for different regions have been released by public research organisations, but the availability of quality seeds remained a serious concern, thereby resulting yield uncertainty. Yet the domestic supply fell short by 3-4 million tonnes every year. Also owing to increased consumption by diet conscious growing urban population in India, the price rose by 150% to 200% in recent years, affecting millions of poor in the country. Despite several initiatives by the government of India and recommendations of expert committee, situation continues to remain worrisome. This paper warrants a paradigm shift in strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses production and ensure nutritional security for population.

Empirical findings on the economic benefits of public research and development (R&D) spending are mixed. We adopt an alternative approach by examining the effect of public R&D spending on stock returns. We find that firms located in states with a greater amount of public R&D spending earn higher abnormal stock returns. The effect persists after accounting for conventional pricing factors and state-level variables, and becomes stronger for firms with greater absorptive capabilities. The abnormal stock returns are not only related to the positive effects of public R&D on firm productivity and incoming spillovers, but are also related to the increased cash flow risk. Policymakers should consider both risk and return effects when making any changes in public R&D investment.

This article is resting on the theoretical model of Braun (2003) describing the delegation modes for public funding of research in the principal-agent framework. It aims to show by using the conceptualisation of utility functions of principal and agents on the various levels, how different motivations for producing different kinds of research outputs emerge for researchers and universities or public research organisations in Estonia and Ukraine. The article attempts to offer one explanation to why in some quantitative research output indicators both countries perform very well compared to much lower levels of innovation system indicators otherwise. Estonia is rewarding publications and Ukraine is rewarding utility model applications throughout different levels of the system.

Technology Transfer is an increasingly important element of the missions of Europe’s Public Research Organisations (PROs). However, there remain wide differences in Technology Transfer performance between PROs. Addressing these differences requires a holistic understanding of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Technology Transfer from PROs, in order to identify the reasons for such variation. This in turn will allow targeted support for under-performing PROs. This paper uses a proprietary model from the world of business growth, CCODETM, as a foundation to build such a holistic model. Validating the business growth CCODETM model through a literature review, it identifies 28 CSFs for Technology Transfer. The paper also identifies areas requiring further research to validate the applicability of some CSFs not currently examined in the literature.

Research evaluation recently became a widely disseminated exercise aimed in the end of the day at improving the cost efficiency of public funding of national R&D sectors. In November 2013, the Government of the Russian Federation initiated a national evaluation exercise of public research organizations (PROs) to provide information basis for development of S&T policies aimed at increasing effectiveness and strengthening the role of R&D performing institutions in economic and social development. The aim of this paper is that of providing an approach for multidimensional assessment of R&D performance based on quantitative data derived from the national evaluation exercise, specifically looking at its applicability and limitations for further analysis and preliminary differentiation of PROs as well as for use in policymaking.

This paper provides theoretical background to the increasing R&D cooperation among firms and public research institutions. We find that R&D spillovers may impede cooperation among firms or research institutions even when the cost of forming a link is negligible. Further, the presence of heterogeneous players results in different concepts of network regularity but also increases the number of possible pairwise stable networks. Consequently, stronger concepts of stability are needed to study networks in which players are not homogeneous.

This paper attempts to deepen understanding of the relationship between open innovation (OI) and firm performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on survey data from 306 Korean innovative SMEs, the results of this study show that: (1) broad and intensive engagement in OI and cooperation with external partners are positively associated with firm performance; (2) technology and market-oriented OI modes (Joint RD and (3) innovative SMEs benefit from working with non-competing partners, such as customers, consultancy/intermediaries and public research institutes. This work has broadened the evidence available on SMEs’ OI adoption and has proposed a new way to study OI adoption and implementation.

Italian Abstract: Nel settore della ricerca pubblica l'Italia investe meno della media europea. Se rapportato alle risorse impegnate e ai ricercatori, l'output risulta pero elevato e la sua qualita media, condotta presso universita ed enti di ricerca, non e molto lontana rispetto a paesi prossimi come la Francia, anche se con difficolta di affermazione nelle punte piu avanzate. Il sistema italiano, assai articolato e frammentato nei soggetti che vi operano e nelle fonti di finanziamento, risente di una scarsa attitudine all'applicazione dei risultati e alla collaborazione con le imprese, che a loro volta investono poco e incontrano difficolta a collegare la propria attivita di ricerca con gli input provenienti dai centri di ricerca pubblica. Il sistema sconta inoltre la mancanza di una chiara strategia che stabilisca gli obiettivi da raggiungere, disegni missioni e modelli organizzativi delle strutture di ricerca coerenti con gli obiettivi individuati e definisca le risorse necessarie al loro raggiungimento. La pressante necessita di un rilancio della capacita innovativa del Paese, infatti, non puo prescindere da un sistema della ricerca pubblica adeguatamente finanziato ed efficientemente governato. English Abstract: Investment in public research in Italy is below the European average as a percentage of GDP. Nevertheless, in relation to expenditure and the number of researchers, the output is high, and the quality of research, conducted in universities and research organizations, is close to that of such countries as France, albeit with lags in the most advanced levels. The Italian system, highly diversified and fragmented in its actors and funding sources, suffers from a scant capacity to apply research findings and to collaborate with firms, which in their turn spend little on research and have problems in linking their own research activity to the inputs supplied by public research entities. The system also suffers from the lack of a comprehensive strategy that sets objectives, designs missions and organizational frameworks for public research entities consistently with those objectives, and determines the necessary resources. The much-needed relaunching of Italy’s innovative capacity cannot be achieved without adequate financing and efficient governance of the public research system.

We consider involuntary and voluntary cost increases in Carnegie I and II private research universities, where we find that voluntary cost increases are over three times as high as involuntary cost increases. As is the case with public research universities, private universities economized on the use of tenure track faculty and non-professional staff, while they invested heavily in more executive/managerial and professional staff from 1987 to 2008. Also as is the case with public research universities, private universities began across the board cost reductions by reducing all staff/student ratios and shifted resources out of overhead and into academic spending from 2008 to 2011. Further, the privates accelerated their cost saving use of faculty and non-professional staff relative to the reductions in executive/managerial and professional staff such that the ratio of tenure track faculty to full time nonacademic professional staff continued to decline.

This paper investigates the link between firms and academic inventors on firm-assigned academic patents for a sample of UK academics. The first descriptive results show that 43% of firm assigned patents are in fact owned by a university spin-off. The empirical analysis finds that a strong appropriation regime at a university encourages patents owned by the university or its spin-offs. Public research funds and technology transfer grants are also associated with university or spin-off owned patent s. Government incentives and funding regulations thus are a successful strategy to encourage and maintain university ownership of patents. Industry sponsorship on the other hand encourages firm ownership of patents, whether these are private firms or university spin-offs. A more detailed analysis of funding links shows that 41% of non-spin-off firms also have funding agreements with the university; however, the remaining 59% of firms have no apparent link to researchers that could explain ownership of university inventions.

Staffing ratios are an integral part of private sector productivity analysis; but, an underutilized tool in higher education. This paper contains a detailed staffing analysis of Carnegie I and II research universities over the period from 1987 to 2008. The analysis reveals that university administrations took steps to economize on faculty resources by employing more contract teaching faculty and more part time teaching faculty while further economizing on the use of full time nonprofessional staff. In contrast, university administrators significantly increased the number of executive/managerial and professional administrative staff per 100 students over the same period. As a consequence, 60 percent of the real increase in total cost per student among public research universities and 47 percent of the real increase in total cost per student among private research universities from 1987 to 2008 can be explained by rising overhead costs.

Based on a sample of research units in science and engineering at German universities, this study reports survey evidence on the relationship between research grants and research content. Research units that receive funds from industry are more likely to source ideas from the private sector. The higher the share of industry funding in a unit's total budget, the more likely it is that large firms influence the research agenda. Public research grants, on the other hand, are associated with a higher importance of conferences and scientific sources. What is more, the different sources of ideas impact scientific output. Research units that source research ideas from small- and medium-sized firms patent more, but are not more successful than others in terms of the impact of their inventions on future patents. If, on the other hand, research units source ideas from large firms, we find them to publish less and with lower impact on future scientific work. ispartof: Economics of Innovation and New Technology vol:23 issue:2 pages:109-133 status: published

This paper uses a longitudinal case study of an internally driven organizational innovation and redesign process at a public research organization (PRO) as a way of illustrating innovation dynamics that result from the need to formulate a new strategic mission for the organization as a response to wider environmental and institutional pressure. Based on in-depth interviews with key participants, supplemented by a review of project reports, contract archives, publications and press coverage, this paper illustrates that organizational renewal is a complex phenomenon in PROs and that innovations in essential elements of the formal structure, work practices and values can serve as important enablers of change in highly rigid work environments; it also shows that the introduction of management principles borrowed from private organizations may accelerate change by providing a strong basis for developing a shared collaborative organization in public research.

This article explores the evolving public mission of the public law school library. Following a brief overview of the history of the public university and its public mission, the article examines the mission of state-supported law schools — particularly those affiliated with public research universities — and explores how that mission is affected as those law schools transition to a model of greater financial self-sufficiency. This consideration of the public mission of the public law school is crucial to understanding the public mission of the public law school library, as the library exists to support the law school’s mission. The article next reviews the public law school library’s traditional public mission and the unique challenges the public academic law library now faces in fulfilling that mission. The article concludes by encouraging public law school libraries to examine and, as necessary, redefine their public missions and to take a broader view of their role in supporting their law schools’ public missions. Public law school libraries also are encouraged to collaborate with one another and with state-supported university libraries to fulfill their public missions on a national basis.

This paper assesses the validity and accuracy of firms’ backward patent citations as a measure of knowledge flows from public research by employing a newly constructed dataset that matches patents to survey data at the level of the R&D lab. Using survey-based measures of the dimen-sions of knowledge flows, we identify sources of systematic measurement error associated with backward citations to both patent and nonpatent references. We find that patent citations reflect the codified knowledge flows from public research, but they appear to miss knowledge flows that are more private and contract-based in nature, as well as those used in firm basic research. We also find that firms’ patenting and citing strategies affect patent citations, making citations less indicative of knowledge flows. In addition, an illustrative analysis examining the magnitude and direction of measurement error bias suggests that measuring knowledge flows with patent citations can lead to substantial underestimation of the effect of public research on firms’ innova-tive performance. Throughout our analyses we find that nonpatent references (e.g., journals, con-ferences, etc.), not the more commonly used patent references, are a better measure of knowledge originating from public research.

We analyze the nanotechnology patent applications filed in China from 1998 to 2008 and find that the extraordinary nanotechnology development in China has been primarily promoted by the public sector but not driven by industry and market force. This finding implies that developing countries such as China with public research capacity and commitment to technological development can make rapid progress in basic research of emerging technologies, but it remains uncertain whether and when local industry can benefit from public R&D investment to actively develop indigenous innovation.

Research in the social sciences received generous patronage in the late 1960s and early 1970s when social problems were particularly severe and when social sciences were seen as creating social and economic benefits. That generosity ended in the late 1970s. This essay explores the various ways by which economists reacted to and resisted the patronage cuts imposed in 1981 and in the decades to follow. Economists’ response was three fold: to engage in joint lobbying with other social scientists, to tap into their authority as a respected policy player, and to influence the types of research financed by the patron. Despite such efforts, economists ended up with patronage that was just as stagnant as that enjoyed by other social scientists who relied on direct lobbying alone. With interviews of the former lobbyist for the social scientists, and the former director of the Economics program for the National Science Foundation, and studying the archival records of economists and their scholarly society, we discuss the failed attempt by economists to translate their status within the polity into increased patronage. What we find is that despite popular perceptions of a high public and political status for economics, the discipline’s claim to authority and privilege has failed to carry weight in the late 20th century discussion of how public research funds should be distributed.

We use data from 3000 academic scientists to estimate the effects of other parties’ patents on the academics’ research. Nearly half of all scientists report that their choice of research projects has been affected by the presence of other parties’ patents. We find that transaction costs and the culture of the workplace have the largest influence over whether or not patents affect the direction of research but that scientists’ understanding of patent law; their recent experience seeking permission to use patented material; and the source of research funds are also significant.

Valuable knowledge emerges increasingly outside of firm boundaries, in particular in public research institutions and universities. The question is how firms organize their interactions with universities effectively to acquire knowledge and apply it successfully. Literature has so far largely ignored that firms may combine different types of interactions with universities for optimizing these knowledge sourcing strategies. We argue conceptually that firms need diverse (broad) and highly developed (deep) combinations of various interactions with universities to maximize returns from these linkages. Our empirical investigation rests upon a survey of more than 800 firms in Germany. We find that both the diversity and intensity of interactions with universities propel innovation success. However, broadening the spectrum of interactions is more beneficial with regard to innovation success. In an exploratory step we go beyond breadth and depth of interactions by identifying four distinct patterns of interaction. Our findings show that formal forms of interaction (joint/contract) research provide the best balance between joint knowledge development and value capture.

Italian Abstract: Il report e' volto a caratterizzare la popolazione delle 83 imprese nate dalla ricerca pubblica delle 5 universita' e 3 centri di ricerca, fra il 1997 e il 2007, in Emilia Romagna. L'osservatorio OSIRIDE e' un progetto del Dipartimento di Scienze Aziendali dell'Universita' di Bologna e di ASTER. English Abstract: In this report we characterise the population of 83 science-based ventures, spun-off from the 5 public universities and 3 public research centres, between 1997 and 2007, in Emilia Romagna (Italy). The OSIRIDE observatory is a joint effort of the Department of Management of the University of Bologna and ASTER.

This study, which was commissioned by U.Va.’s President’s Office, is the fourth impact study prepared for the University. The last study was completed in 1990. Since then, enrollment increased by 12.5 percent, two research parks were opened, new classrooms and research facilities were built, new athletic facilities were added and the football stadium was expanded, and full- and part-time salaried employment (Academic Division and the Med- ical Center) rose by 3,133 (31.8 percent). This new study captures these developments and breaks new ground in terms of methodology and depth, as well as providing a detailed analysis of how a large public research university contributes to the economy of the entire state. Because of changes in scope and methodology, the study is not directly comparable with earlier U.Va. impact studies. Also, unlike earlier efforts, this study examines the role of the University in the state’s economy.

We assess the efficiency of regional innovation systems (RIS) in Germany by means of a knowledge production function. This function relates private sector research and development (R&D) activity in a region to the number of inventions that have been registered by residents of that region. Different measures and estimation approaches lead to rather similar assessments. We find that both spillovers within the private sector as well as from universities and other public research institutions have a positive effect on the efficiency of private sector R&D in the respective region. It is not the mere presence and size of public research institutions, but rather the intensity of interactions between private and public sector R&D that leads to high RIS efficiency. We find that relationship between the diversity of a regions’ industry structure and the efficiency of its innovation system is inversely u-shaped. Regions dominated by large establishments tend to be less efficient than regions with a lower average establishment size. JEL-classification: O31, O18, R12

In the regional innovation system, science parks are expected to act as a catalyst for localized knowledge flow. Based on micro data on new technology-based firms (NTBFs) located in science parks and a questionnaire survey to science park managers, we examine whether science parks are efficient and which science parks are more efficient. Empirical results show that on-park NTBFs are unlikely to establish localized knowledge linkages, represented as joint research with universities and public research institutes. Furthermore, science parks that provide organizational arrangement, instead of the physical advantage, for R&D of tenants encourage knowledge interactions between tenants and universities.

When public research laboratories and industry meet to produce and exchange knowledge and technologies, they face decisions about how to frame these collaborations to make the best use of each partner's resources, ensure a productive and fair outcome, and defuse any tensions and conflicts. In this paper we examine these questions through a survey of 130 public laboratories in France. This study contributes new insights into the characteristics of contractual and intellectual property agreements within collaborative R&D settings, which reflect both the strategies adopted by laboratories to manage their intellectual assets and the requirements of their private partners.

This research investigates the hypothesis that publicly funded scientific research complements private R&D investment in the pharmaceutical industry. New microlevel data on public research investment by the U.S. National Institutes of Health allow measures of basic and clinical research in seven medical areas to be included in a distributed lag model explaining pharmaceutical R&D investment. Using a panel of therapeutic classes observed over eighteen years, the analysis finds strong evidence that public basic and clinical research are complementary to pharmaceutical R&D and, thereby, stimulate private industry investment. However, differences in the relevance and degree of scientific and market uncertainty between basic and clinical public research lead to differences in the magnitude and timing of the pharmaceutical investment response. The results indicate that a dollar increase in public basic research stimulates an additional $8.38 in pharmaceutical investment after eight years. The industry R&D response to public clinical research is smaller in magnitude and shorter in duration with a dollar increase in public clinical research stimulating an additional $2.35 in pharmaceutical investment over a three year period.

Ozet: Bu makale 1945-2005 doneminde Turkiye'de cografya'nin uluslararasi yayin performansini atif indekslerinde (SCI ve SSCI) taranan dergilerde yapilan yayinlara gore incelemektedir. ISI tarafindan hazirlanan verilerin kullanildigi bu calismada, fiziki ve beseri cografyanin evrensel bilime katki duzeyini saptamak ve Turk cografyasinin yerini belirlemek amaciyla karsilastirmali bir analize basvurulmustur. 60 yillik arastirma doneminde cografyacilar indekse giren dergilerde toplam 83 yayin yapmislardir. Yapilan yayinlarin %89'u Ingilizce, %90'i Istanbul, Ankara ve Izmir'deki universiteler ve kurumlar tarafindan yapilmistir. %93'u fiziki cografya ozelliklede jeomorfoloji, kuaterner calismalari ve iklimle ilgili konularda yapilmistir. %34'u cografya dergilerinde, %45'i yabanci ortakla ozellikle de Anglo-saksonlarla ve %62'si sadece yedi cografyaci tarafindan yapilmistir. Yapilan yayinlarin kalitesi Turkiye ortalamasinin uzerindedir. Jeomorfologlar cografya bilimine cok onemli katki yapmislardir. Uluslararasi arenada fiziki cografyayi jeologlarin, beseri cografyayi da sehir ve bolge plancilarinin cografyacilardan daha fazla temsil ettigi gorulmektedir. Turkiye benzer gelismislik duzeylerine sahip Guney Kore, Polonya, Brezilya ve Yunanistan'a kiyasla, hem fiziki, hem de beseri cografya alaninda yayin performansi acisindan bu ulkelerin cok gerisinde kalmaktadir. Sonuc olarak, Turk cografyasinin uluslararasilasma duzeyi son derece dusuk olmakla beraber, son yillarda kismen de olsa olumlu bir surecin basladigini belirtmek gerekir. Anahtar Kelimeler: SCI-SSCI, atif indeksi, yayin performansi, cografya dergileri, Turkiye Abstract: This paper examines the performance of international publications in the field of geography in Turkey between 1945 and 2005, based on publications that appeared in journals covered by the citation indexes, SCI and SSCI. Using SCI and SSCI databases produced by ISI, this study also intends to investigate Turkish geographers' place within the international academic cummunity, and to which degree both physical and human geography contributed to the world science. We found a total of 83 publications made by Turkish geographers in journals covered by the citation indexes in last six decade, 89% of them were written in English. Most contributions (90%) came from researchers working at universities and public research institution in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. 93% of the papers were the subject of physical geography particularly geomorphology, quaternary studies and climatology. 34% of the papers were published in geographical journals. Nearly half of the papers were joint work with foreign authors mainly Anglo-Saxon. Only seven authors published two thirds of the all papers. The quality of the papers was above Turkish average. Geomorphogist has made a great contribution to Turkish geography in terms of the publications. It seems that geologist and city-regional planners rather than geographers represent physical and human geography in today's international arena. Comparing South Korea, Poland, Brazil, and Greece, Turkey

The paper explores the possible consequences for academic research of increased patenting in European universities. It underlines that most of the policy literature refers to the advantages of university patenting without balancing them against the costs or the risks involved in the activities. We provide a brief description of university patenting activity in Europe examining both university-owned patents and university-invented patents. The review of the literature reveals that unlike the United States, little is known in Europe about the changes taking place in public research as a result of increased patenting and increased institutionalisation of patents. We discuss possible analytical approaches to identify both short-term and long-term effects. Concluding remarks addressing the key issues for future empirical assessments are presented in the last section.

The stimulation of co-operations has become very popular in R&D policies in recent years. This paper describes the history of R&D funding in Germany with a focus on the development of measures encouraging collaborative R&D activities among firms and public research institutions. We investigate empirically the impact of such measures on patenting activity at the firm level. The microeconometric results show that collaborating firms are more likely to patent than others. Within the group of collaborating firms, participants in publicly sponsored R&D consortia exhibit a higher propensity to patent than firms in non-sponsored networks.