• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제5권1호
• /
• pp.34-56
• /
• 2014

This paper reviews the most central analytical and methodological issues that arise in developing national STI strategies. First, an outline of the relationship between national innovation systems and the strategic dimension is presented. The paper shows that science, technology and innovation strategy are often used in different forms and that there is no common understanding yet of the actual meaning and coverage of these strategies. The paper develops the terminology from a discussion of different approaches towards company innovation processes analyzing their evolution in different socioeconomic environments and the role and impact of science, technology and innovation policy on company innovation processes. Based on this conceptual understanding the paper defines national science, technology, innovation, and STI strategy and explains the basic terminology. From these definitions, the strategic dimension including the impact on the stakeholders is discussed. It is shown that a major success factor for STI strategy development is the involvement of stakeholders to vary and extend their use of their portfolio of instruments. Moreover it becomes evident that stakeholders follow their own interests which aren't necessarily in the interest of the national STI strategies. The analysis shows advantages and disadvantages as well as potentials and limitations of different approaches to develop STI strategies in their ability to describe the reality of innovation processes and to allow conclusions about the relationship between innovation policy and the innovation processes implemented by companies. It is shown that knowledge of these limitations is an important factor to consider in designing consistent and coherent national STI policy which aims at supporting innovation eventually. Finally the paper concludes that the STI policy mix concept needs a more systemic development approach which is integrated in the national STI strategy development and implementation.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제6권2호
• /
• pp.24-53
• /
• 2015

Foresight, a major methodological tool in the STI policy toolbox, has recently featured new directions in methodological development, becoming influenced by progress in information and communication technologies and online tools. However, no overview of these directions has been available so far. Based on a literature review, an interactive workshop, and an international expert survey as well as expert interviews, the research presented here attempts to shed light onto some of the relevant issues by providing a structured overview of recent changes in order to further the debate on the future directions of methodological development in foresight. The paper outlines four clusters of emerging approaches in foresight:Integrated qualitative and quantitative approaches, IT-based and automated foresight, experiential foresight including new forms of communication and interaction such as visualization and gaming, and open and crowd-sourced approaches. The benefits and challenges of the approaches known so far are categorized and summarized, and areas of potential use for each of the clusters in STI contexts are identified.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
• /
• 제7권3호
• /
• pp.411-437
• /
• 2018

This paper articulates the STI strategy development principles and methodologies that have been elaborated through iterative processes of STI strategy development cases for the past ten years. The consultation cases include poverty traps in Nepal and Laos, African health challenges in Nigeria and Tanzania, and ASEAN global challenges in Indonesian Water, Vietnamese Green Energy, and Filipino Food, in partnership with some multilateral agencies.The iterative elaboration process has continued with consultation activities on Thailand and on Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in planning partnership with Thailand. The principles were originally conceptualized from the benchmarking process of the Korean STI development experience. They were further incorporated as methodologies with which relevant planning bodies are guided to address individual and regional challenges through science, technology and innovation strategies. The methodologies are strong in providing plausible holistic perspective scenarios by which various stakeholders can be engaged in the planning and implementation process. But it is heuristic in nature and can be learned only through on-the-job training process. This is the structural limitation for scaling up.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제7권1호
• /
• pp.87-109
• /
• 2016

Public procurement for innovation (PPI) is a new approach in stimulating innovation, and currently attracts considerable attention from policymakers and academics. This paper discusses the rationales and perspectives of PPI in Vietnam. The rationales for public procurement for innovation policy in Vietnam compared to theoretical and international practice are discussed. From such a comparison, the paper concludes that R&D results-procurement policy in Vietnam shall be understood and implemented as regular PPI both theoretically and practically. However while designing the policy, policymakers must consider the characteristics of the STI system of the country in order to make the policy adaptable to context. The paper identifies that PPI in Vietnam can be implemented with a ready legal framework (intellectual property rights, R&D contracts, standardization, etc.), the prepared capabilities of R&D institutions, businesses, and public agencies in innovation processes, and the provision of a demand-supply network and other procurement incentives.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제5권2호
• /
• pp.65-95
• /
• 2014

The recent decades have seen a growing rate of international cooperation in science, technology, and innovation (STI) including in the field of green technologies. However, current approaches to national systems of innovation (NSI) have not kept up with this development. International aspects are rather treated as external conditions within which policymakers operate and respond but not influence. This paper tackles this problem by applying a refined NSI concept that includes an international dimension and complements past frameworks by focusing on those Korean government policies, actors, and activities relevant for the internationalization of STI. Austria and Korea have both formulated differing strategies to acquire international leading positions in the field of innovation and the development of green technologies. In the first step, the paper assesses Korea's international activities within the field of green technologies that transcend national boundaries and establish international connections. The government has still a strong influence on selecting technology areas for strategic funding but our findings show that international STI actors have difficulties in identifying the appropriate point of contact to initiate cooperation or apply for related funding. Second, an external perspective on Korea's international collaborations in the field of green technologies is offered. Austria has tentatively identified the East Asian country as a second-priority cooperation partner for its future STI internationalization activities. Interviews with Austrian stakeholders in the field of green technologies indicate a high interest in cooperation with Korea that is facilitated by a similar business culture based on personal networks. Moreover, researchers and policymakers referred to a shared need of small countries for intelligent decision-making processes regarding potential cooperation partners abroad. However, in order to enhance awareness, visibility and demand for Korean STI cooperation in European countries, more long-term funding programs featuring a more permanent point of contact should be introduced.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제3권1호
• /
• pp.117-138
• /
• 2012

Governments around the world place great hopes in innovation in their search for new sources of growth and for responses to grand challenges, such as climate change, new or re-emerging infectious diseases, accelerating urbanisation, ageing, food security, and availability of clean water. However they must devise their relevant support policies -- including through sponsored research within public research institutes -- taking into account that innovation processes are currently undergoing a major transformation. New innovation patterns include a broadening scope of relevant activities, a growing importance but changing nature of scientific roots of technological development, a stronger demand-pull, the emergence of new local and national STI powerhouses, and the rise of more open and globalised innovation networks. They translate into new opportunities but also constraints for policies to enhance the contribution of public research institutes to national innovation performance. The article derives the main policy implications regarding the desirable evolution of the mission, research focus, as well as the funding and steering of public research institutes, with a special reference to Korea.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제4권1호
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2013

The Schumpeterian process of "creative destruction", associated with the emergence and diffusion of new radical, so-called "general purpose" technologies, has throughout history impacted wealth and income, jobs creation, jobs displacement, and the emergence and submergence of new hotspots of innovation. Emerging countries have benefited most from such a renewing of those societies' dynamics, leading them to higher levels of economic development and welfare. Doing so they have shown a remarkable capacity in moving upstream in the value chain, from outsourcing of manufacturing activities to autonomous process technology development, product development, design, and applied research. At the same time however, such Schumpeterian processes have now and then turned into exactly opposite processes of "destructive creation." Such processes seem to have become common among what could be called "submerging" economies: innovation only benefitting a few at the expense of many with as a result an opposite pattern of a long term reduction in overall welfare, productivity, and employment growth.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제3권2호
• /
• pp.1-46
• /
• 2012

The paper assesses the innovative performance and challenges that a small innovative country like Sweden faces in an era of intense global competition. We contrast innovative performance with similar countries in Europe as well as discus the reliability and validity of indicators used to shape policy development. The conclusion from the analysis shows that available input-output indicators must be used with some caution. Even if the supply and quality of indicators has increased for policy analysis, they still lack precision and validity to make broad claims about the innovative performance of companies and nations. It is argued that understanding knowledge flows (rather than simple input-output metrics) are a key to understand innovation processes for small countries at the innovation frontier; subsequently, small countries will have to abandon failed policy orthodoxies in order to cope with future policy challenges.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제7권1호
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2016

Technology supply has been the main thrust of the Korean government's science & technology policy, focusing on the development and acquisition of new technology in line with the catching-up strategy of economic growth and industrial development. However, new social or societal problems have become major government policy issues, heralding new innovation policy aimed to address them. Such new policy initiatives for social problem-solving present a niche where the existing system of government innovation policy process is challenged, including such processes as goal-setting, planning, implementation, project management, and evaluation. The rigidity of the existing institution of government innovation policy, however, still shapes the content and progression of innovation policy for social problem-solving. This study reviews Korean innovation policy for social problem-solving as a policy niche, and aims to clarify its challenges and opportunities. It uses a system transition framework to explain the emergence and evolution of the innovation policy niche in Korea. The main research question is to what extent and in what aspect the existing innovation policy regime shaped innovation policy for social problem-solving. The study examines the inertia of the current paradigm of innovation policies and R&D programs, and sheds light on the search for a distinctive identity for innovation policies that tackles social problems.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• 제5권1호
• /
• pp.112-130
• /
• 2014

Many actors are involved in the development of regional innovation systems (RIS) such as universities, private firms, research institutions, governments, and public agencies. In a country like Korea, where the central government takes more than 95% of the total government R&D budget, the role of regional authorities in science, technology, and innovation are fairly limited, although in recent years some regional governments have tried to promote innovation activity in their localities. This paper looks into the Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion (GSTEP) in Gyeonggi Province and examines its emerging role and achievements in innovation policymaking. It was found out that GSTEP engages in knowledge brokering with the purpose of helping firms participate in regional technological innovation processes. The knowledge brokering roles of this regional authority are described along with their implications for regional innovation policy. This study aims for a deeper understanding of the nature of the regional authority's role in a RIS through the case study of regional actors transitioning from being subordinators to becoming active participants with greater participation on policymaking and implementation.