News
Technopolis consultants are happy to take opportunities to present work for consideration and discussion in professional and academic fora. The diary shows some of the events over the next few months where we will be making presentations.
3 September - Pauline Mattson will give a presentation entitled: Crossnational Biobanking: benefits and challenges, and Christien Enzig will give a presentation on The role of public debate in development of new governance structures for nanotechnology at the EASST Conference 2010, 'Practicing Science and Technology, Performing the Social,' (from 1-4 September 2010, in Trento Italy).
9 September - Patries Boekholt will give a presentation on the "International approaches to cooperative research and future
trends" at the Austrian FFG Forum 2010 an International Conference on Competence Research Centres & Programmes, in Vienna.
9 September - Ingeborg Meijer will give a presentation at the STI conference 2010 ' Creating value for users' (from 8-11 September in Leiden, The Netherlands) entitled: Societal quality: knowledge dissemination and use of health research.
13-16 September - Erik Arnold will be one of the teachers at the R&D
evaluation training course at the University of Twente.
Consultants from across Technopolis Group are leading the International Audit of Research, Development and Innovation in the Czech Republic
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in the Czech Republic commissioned a study to a consortium of leading international experts to thoroughly evaluate the R&D&I system in the country and the recent reforms.
The project also aims to evaluate the results of R&D&I in the Czech Republic and compare with other European countries.
Conclusions of the study will provide input for the adjustment of the R&D&I policy interventions with the aim of enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public R&D support in the Czech Republic. The results will also be used for the completion of a comprehensive system of evaluation of R&D results.
The study focuses on a wide range of issues, including the effectiveness of the public expenditure for R&D&I; the overall state administration of research and development; the management of the R&D programmes; the quality of research and development in specific institutions and the effectiveness of its evaluation; industry-science collaborations; the management of human resources in the field of R&D; the international co-operation in R&D, and the effectiveness of the most recent R&D&I policy decisions and interventions. A mix of methodological tools is adopted, including desk research, bibliometrics, questionnaire surveys, interviews, peer reviews, case studies, and focus groups.
New project for DG Regional policy
Technopolis Brighton, in collaboration with GHK begins a new project on analysing the quality of online published information on the Structural Funds for DG Regional Policy, European Commission.
This work is supporting the final decision on what the information and publicity requirements on EU funds should be in the next funding period 2014-2020, in light of the European Transparency Initiative.
With a fine line between increasing the usefulness of the data and adding to the burden of information needs, this study will explore with the Managing Authorities of the Structural Funds, what type of information is most useful, who benefits from it and how best to ensure its usability.
A report is being produced and presented at the INFORM meeting in November 2010 where Managing Authorities come together to discuss communication and awareness raising strategies.
This work is part of an ongoing framework contract Technopolis holds with DG Regional Policy in supporting the evaluation of communication activities.
Technopolis Consultant, Monique Nagle contributed to the team of correspondents which reviewed and assessed appraisal exercises such as evaluations, monitoring, benchmarking, and peer review in the area of innovation policy across Europe, at European, national and regional level. These assessments were analysed by the InnoAppraisal study team, in order to:
- Assess the application of evaluations in innovation policy across Europe and contribute to a better evaluation culture across Europe (evaluation analysis)
- Systematically draw lessons from the evaluations and thus seek to contribute to improving policy-making throughout the entire policy cycle
All information on the project and the final reports are now available at http://www.proinno-europe.eu/appraisal
Technopolis recently finished study for IA for the new EU Eco-innovation Action Plan
In cooperation with the Wuppertal Institute the offices of the Technopolis Group Amsterdam and Brussels recently finished a study to support the Impact Assessment for the new EU Eco-innovation Action Plan.
It is concluded that the actions that are proposed are indirect (because they
mainly focus on influencing other policies) but may have large effects. Further
reaching effects may be obtained when regulation is more actively used for promoting
innovation. Based (at least in part) on the study some significant changes
have been made in the proposed Eco-innovation action Plan, e.g. a stronger
focus of the Action Plan on a resource efficiency. The study is now used
as a basis for the IA of the Eco-innovation Action Plan, and is expected to
be made public after the summer.
Technopolis paper published by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO)
Dr Niki Vermeulen's article on scientific collaboration in the life sciences
is published by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). It reviews
the lessons from science studies for the ongoing debate about 'big´ versus
'little´ research projects and the increasing role of science as a main
driver of innovation and economic growth and how this has also changed the nature
of research itself.
Click here to download the article.
Belgian Report on Science Technology and Innovation 2010
Technopolis Group (Belgium) has co-ordinated the drafting and edited a new publication on science, technology and innovation policy in Belgium for the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). Launched to coincide with the start on 1 July 2010 of the six-month Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the publication gives a detailed insight into the design and delivery of STI policy in a multi-level governance context (federal, regional and language community governments). A concluding chapter sets out a series of common challenges for Belgian STI policy in the perspective of the EU's Europe 2020 strategy.
The report is available at:
http://www.belspo.be/belspo/home/publ/pub_ostc/BRISTI/Bristi_tome1_2010_en.pdf
An accompanying volume prepared by BELSPO provides an overview of STI statistics
for Belgium comparing Belgian performance with that of the EU.trio presidency
partners (Hungary and Spain) and the main competitors in the EU. The Key Data
on Science, Technology and Innovation
Belgium 2010 report can be downloaded at:
http://www.belspo.be/belspo/home/publ/pub_ostc/BRISTI/Bristi_tome2_2010_en.pdf
European foresight survey on Green Jobs by 2020
The UK Health and Safety Laboratory, SAMI Consulting and Technopolis are carrying
out a project for the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work entitled
Foresight of New and Emerging Risks to Occupational Safety and Health Associated
with New Technologies in Green Jobs by 2020.
The aim of the project is to produce a set of scenarios covering occupational
safety and health (OSH) risks arising from new technologies in green jobs in
2020. These scenarios will be used to inform EU decision makers, Member State
governments, trade unions and employers in order to help policy makers to take
decisions to shape the future of OSH in green jobs towards safer and healthier
workplaces.
The project team are currently running a survey that can be completed on-line
until 30th June 2010 at:
http://www.hsl.gov.uk/surveys/greenjobs/greenjobs.htm
Technopolis worked in Finland to conduct the mid-term evaluation
of the Finnish Centre of Expertise Programme (OSKE) for the Ministry
of Employment and the Economy, together with VTT. The programme aims to
make regional technology and innovation clusters more competitive and to achieve
a position of international excellence. Our role was to compare the OSKE
concept with high-tech cluster programmes and initiatives in other European
countries. Stakeholder interviews helped to identify a number of critical issues
such as the balance between involving many smaller regions while aiming for
global excellence for all their clusters.
Technopolis paper contributes to European debate on ageing population
Technopolis Consultants, Ingeborg Meijer, Wineke Vullings and Frank Zuijdam, based in Amsterdam office, edited a positioning paper on behalf of Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centers. The paper was presented to both the EC Commissioner for Health, Jon Dalli and the EC Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan Quinn, at workshop hosted in the European Parliament and organised by EP member Judith Merkies. For more information please follow the link below.
http://www.judithmerkies.nl/healthy-ageing-a-european-priority/
New project for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
Technopolis Brighton begins a new project for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), gathering feedback from 29 universities on the experience of participating in a pilot to measure research impact.
The pilot will inform the detail design of the impact assessment strand of a new national research assessment process, which is entitled the Research Excellence Framework (REF), and which will replace the previous national Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The feedback exercise is exploring the full range of issues, from practical questions regarding the process of preparing impact statements or the time / cost of preparing submissions through to more open questions about the robustness of the evidence at hand and the transparency of the review process and gradings.
This follows the successful completion for HEFCE in 2009 of the lessons-learned review of the REF bibliometrics pilot.
Technopolis Group preparing the ground for a new ERA
As the European Commission services put the final touches to the future European Research and Innovation Plan (expected to be launched summer 2010), Technopolis Group has begun, in late May 2010, an assignment for the Directorate-General for Research to consider the options for the European Research Area (ERA). The aim of this six-month study is to carry out a series of detailed analyses to help consolidate the evidence base on which to assess policy options for developing post-2010 ERA policy.
One of the options under consideration, for example, is a strategic policy framework for ERA and an Action Plan which would consist of, respectively, an overarching framework (of policy objectives, indicators & political targets) and a comprehensive set of actions (both existing and potential new ones) structured using the strategic ERA objectives.
The study team will take into account that the research landscape in Europe has changed markedly over the last decade since the launch of the original ERA Action Plan: Member States have implemented important reforms of their research systems, including internationalisation and a limited degree of opening up of their programmes, and EU research policy and policy objectives have had increasing influence on a wide range of other EU policy areas.
The study's outcome will strongly influence the Commission's selected course
of action for the decade up to 2020 and contribute to implementing the European
Research and Innovation Plan and to meeting the Europe 2020 Strategy objectives
of Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.
Technopolis Group Amsterdam is leading the consortium that is forming the secretariat of the National Committee Social Dialogue Nanotechnology
This committee was set up by the Dutch Government to discuss the opportunities and risks of nanotechnologies with society. The independent Committee received a budget of five million euros to initiate a broad, societal dialogue on nanotechnology. The committtee organises several meetings for stakeholders and set out two calls for proposals for dialogue projects. The Committee received in total over 130 proposals, of which 35 proposals were selected.
As part of this commission, Technopolis Group is organising the international workshop 'National Nano Dialogues. Lessons on public debates on new technologie: the case of nanotech' on the 17th September 2010. The National Committee Social Dialogue Nanotechnology will discuss the lessons that can be drawn from national nano-dialogues with experts and organisers of public nano-dialogues and debates in other countries. Technopolis Group.will co-ordinate the final event in the societal dialogue, the Nano Technology Festival, will take place in Amsterdam in January 2011.
The results of the societal dialogue - starting in December 2009 and lasting one year - will be evaluated by the end of 2010 and will be used to propose an Agenda for Nanotechnology, which will be presented to the Dutch government.
Further information can be found at www.nanopodium.nl/english/ or from the project manager Christien Enzing.
21 May 2010
Technopolis contributes to Ministerial debate on science funding in South-East Europe
Michael Kilcommons of Technopolis Group (Brussels) gave a presentation at an Expert Meeting and Ministerial Round Table on 'Strengthening Scientific Research and Higher Education: From Bilateral to pan-European Cooperation', on 21-22 May 2010, in Tirana, Albania. The Ministry of Education and Science of Albania and UNESCO convened the meeting to address the issue of bi-lateral and multilateral cooperation on scientific research and higher education. Amongst other objectives, the event aims at enhancing the participation of the South Eastern European (SEE) research teams in FP7 and other European and international funding programmes. The event was attended by experts and Ministers from across south-East Europe (including EU Member States such as Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Slovenia, the pre-accession and candidate countries of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, UNMIK/Kosovo) as well as representatives of the European Commission and other science funding bodies (COST, etc.).
Technopolis was commissioned to prepare a background report by the UNESCO office looking at success rates of SEE countries in EU and other international research programmes and make a number of recommendations on how to improve their integration in the 'European Research Area'. The final report will be available in mid-June 2010 but initial findings presented in Tirana point to a continuing difficulty of most of the countries in SEE to integrate the core of European networks for research funding (notably the European Commission's Framework Programme for Research, FP7). The preliminary policy options proposed by Technopolis include a greater emphasis on funding for structuring the science base in these countries through the European Commission's Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) and a re-balancing of efforts in SEE countries from 'inter-regional' to international co-operation through the work of National Contact Points for FP7, etc.
