public research organisations giorgio sirilli research director

Public Research Organisations

Giorgio SirilliResearch Director

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What PROs do

Basic and applied researchPolicy supportTrainingKnowledge and technology transferService provisionResearh fundingTechnological facilitiesStrandardisationCertification

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Public Research Organisations (PROs)

An heterogeneous group:

1.Mission-oriented centres (MOCs)2.Public research centres and councils (PRCs)3.Research technology organisations (RTOs)4.Independent research institutes (IRIs)

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Performers of research

University

Public research agencies

Business firms

Private non profit institutions

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PROs in the Frascati manual

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A history of Public Research Organisations (PROs)

Accademia dei Lincei founded 1603 by Federico Cesi

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Russian Academy of Sciences

The Academy was founded in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, inspired and advised by Gottfried Leibniz in 1724.

CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Fabiola Gianotti

CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)

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The Frauhofer Society

The so-called "Fraunhofer Model" has been in existence since 1973 and has led to the society's continuing growth. Under the model, the Fraunhofer Society earns about 70% of its income through contracts with industry or specific government projects. The other 30% of the budget is sourced in the proportion 9:1 from federal and state (Land) government grants and is used to support preparatory research.

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The Humboldtian university

The Humboldtian model of higher education is a concept of academic education that emerged in the early 19th century and whose core idea is a holistic combination of research and studies. It integrates the arts and sciences with research to achieve both comprehensive general learning and cultural knowledge, and it is still followed today.The concept of holistic academic education was an idea of Wilhelm von Humboldt, a Prussian philosopher, government functionary and diplomat. He founded the University of Berlin (now the Humboldt University of Berlin) and appointed distinguishe. Humboldt sought to create an educational system based on unbiased knowledge and analysis, combining research and teaching and allowing students to choose their own course of study.

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Norms of scientists (Robert Merton)

Communalism All scientists should have equal access to scientific goods (intellectual property) and there should be a sense of common ownership in order to promote collective collaboration, secrecy is the opposite of this norm

Universalism All scientists can contribute to science regardless of race, nationality, culture, or gender

Disinterestedness according to which scientists are supposed to act for the benefit of a common scientific enterprise, rather than for personal gain

Originality requires that scientific claims contribute something new, whether a new problem, a new approach, new data, a new theory or a new explanation

Organised Skepticism means that scientific claims must be exposed to critical scrutiny before being accepted

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A breaf history of STI policy

Patronage from rulersIndustrial RevolutionBetween the First and the Second World War

rockets, nuclear energy, operations research, DDTAfter the Second World War

science and technology policy from governments

A brief history of science and technology: from patronage to public and private investment

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Science and technology policy

Report “Science the Endless Frontier”, 1945

Vannevar Bush

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“Science the Endless Frontier”

Concerns: Military security and HealthSolution: 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 for exploration of the unknown. Freedom of inquiry must be preserved under any plan for Government support of science”

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“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.”

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Why does the government intervene?

Strategic-militaryPrestige (Concorde)Need of large capitals and high riskSupport to international competitiveness of industryBasic knowledge with long term benefitsNon appropriable knowledgeSectors characterised by small firms (agriculture)Service sector (health)

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Government objectives (NABS classification)

1. Exploration and exploitation of the earth2. Environment3. Exploration and exploitation of space4. Transport, telecommunication and other infrastructures5. Energy6. Industrial production and technology7. Health8. Agriculture9. Education10. Culture, recreation, religion and mass media11. Political and social systems, structures and processes12. 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

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An heterogeneous group:

1.Mission-oriented centres (MOCs)2.Public research centres and councils (PRCs)3.Research technology organisations (RTOs)4.Independent research institutes (IRIs)

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Mission-oriented centres (MOCs) are owned and sometimes run by government departments or ministries at the national and sub-national levels; their role is to undertake research in specific topics or sectors in order to provide knowledge and technological capabilities to support policy-making

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Public research centres and councils (PRCs) perform (and in some cases fund) basic and applied research in several fields; these overarching institutions tend to be of considerable size in several countries representing a significant share of the national R&D capabilities

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Research Technology Organisations (RTOs), also known as industrial research institutes, are mainly dedicated to the development and transfer of science and technology to the private sector and society; although some of them are owned by government, in general, the administrative links of RTOs with governments tend to be looser than the rest.

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Independent Research Institutes (IRIs) perform both basic and applied research focused on “issues” or “problems” rather than just fields. In many cases IRIs may be termed as “semi-public” as they are founded under different legal forms and work at the boundaries between public and private, but develop their activities with substantial public support and/or participation of public representatives in their governance.

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Ideal types of Public Research Organisations

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How much governments spend on R&D

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R&D in universities and PROs

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Declining share of PROS performed by PROs

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R&D expenditure: university vs PROs

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Sources of funding of PROs

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R&D personnel in PROs

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PROs researchers as a % of the national total

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Type of R&D carried out by PROs

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Basic research carried out by PROs

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Fields of research of PROs

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How much industry pays for the PROs R&D

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Collaboration between innovative firms and PROs

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Resources

Financial resources1.governments have put more emphasis on competitive and programme funding, although block grants still represent the highest share of public funding.2.diversification of funding sourcesHuman resources1.permanent vs fixed-term employment2.recruitmentScientific and technological infrastructures1.short termism linked to project-based fundingReputation and visibility

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Main issues

PrivatisationChanges in funding regimesReduction of public supportNew normative models with a strong emphasis on scientific excellence, knowledge valorisation and transfer to firms and service to society

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Main challenges as perceived by PROs leaders

Increasing scientific impactIncreasing the degree of internationalisationRecruitment and retention of highly qualified personnelIncreasing contract research

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Challenges for PROs

•Sensitivity to policy intervention. The ability of PROs to respond to policy driven changes in the presence of a diversified portfolio. The more private sources, the less sensitive to policy interventions•Autonomy of organisations and researchers (contradictory incentives: research – socio-economic relevance)•Autonomy vs political steering •Internal distribution of authority•Reward structure of researchers•Policy intervention today: wishful thinking or a way of killing the “chicken of the golden eggs”?

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Challenges

“Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni

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Thank you for attention