20110413 wit research_day_mofoghlu

Experiences of Irish Funding Policy

Dr Mícheál Ó Foghlú

Outline1. Theory of Knowledge Produc>on2. Irish R&D Policy’s Use of Theory3. WIT/TSSG Experience4. Synthesis & Comments

(1) Theory of Knowledge Produc<on

Vannevar Bush • Co-‐ordinated US scien>fic R&D in WWII • 1945 “Science the Endless Fron<er” This led to seYng up of Na>onal Science Founda>on (NSF), he subsequently chaired • (May not have espoused linear model)• Promoted a post-‐war model of the state funding “basic”research, and industry dealing with “applied” research(though the laber was spurred on by lucra>ve arms contracts)“The most important ways in which the Government can promote industrial research areto increase the flow of new scien>fic knowledge through support of basic research, and toaid in the development of scien>fic talent.”

(Simplis>cally) Bush = Linear• So, although Bush did not invent the linear model, he promoted it as the model for US R&D funding: – Basic Research • Leads to – Applied Research • Leads to – Experimental Development • Leads to – Commercialisa>on

Modern Research Policy Rejects Linear Model• Generally it now believed that R&D is a much more complex interac>ve system• Economists (Nelson et al) have posited a “Na>onal System of Innova>on” where these complexi>es interplay• Educa>onalists (Gibbons et al) have posited “Mode-‐ 2” science, where ﬂexible domains that are trans-‐ disciplinary are too malleable to conform to tradi>onal scien>ﬁc domain norms

Stokes’ Pasteur’s Quadrant A detailed Analysis of Vannevar Bush, NSF, OECD Frasca> and other ways in which basic and applied research have been split by funding mechanisms, to the detriment of technological innova<on.Stokes, Donald E. [1997] Pasteurs Quadrant: Basic Science and TechnologicalInnovation. Washington D.C., USA: Brookings Institution Press.

Stokes’ Pasteur’s Quadrant Considerations for Use ? No Yes Yes Pure Basic Use-‐Inspired Research Basic Research Quest for (Pasteur) (Bohr) Fundamental understanding? Pure Applied No Research Taxonomies and Tools Researchers are the users (Edison)(Adapted from Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation, Stokes 1997, p. 73).

(2) Irish R&D Policy’s Use of Theory

1990s: Jus>ﬁca>on for Investment• 1995 STIAC/Tierney – Science, Technology and Innova>on Advisory Council• 1996 CIRCA – Assessment of management of research• 1998-‐1999 Technology Foresight Exercise – Iden>ﬁed ICT and Biotechnology as key growth areasTheore>cal underpinnings: Na>onal Systems of Innova>on (Nelson et al)Ra>onale for investment given in terms of economic impera>ves, “knowledge economy/society”

1998-‐2002: Implementa>on• 1998 HEA PRTLI Established – Funding for basic research and capital investment• 2000 IRCHSS Established – Humani>es and Social Science• 2001 SFI Established – Arising from Technology Foresight• 2001 IRCSET Established – Science, Engineering and Technology

2000s: Policy by Metrics?• 2004 Enterprise Strategy Group• 2004 OECD Review of Higher Educa>on• 2006 SSTI 2006-‐13 (Strategy for Science, Technology and Innova>on)• 2009 Innova>on Task ForceTheore>cal jus>fica>on of NSI lost in published policies.Strong emphasis on pragma>c governance and organisa>on, establishment of cabinet subcommibee, efficient financial approvals, and targets.

(3) WIT/TSSG Experience

TSSG Experience• HEA PRTLI Cycles 2, 3, and 4 (success in laber 2) – Importance of Ins>tu>onal Strategy documents• SFI CSET, Joint-‐PI, SRC (success in laber 2) – Importance of pure basic academic criteria – Industrial impact in earlier proposals nominal, now less so• Enterprise Ireland CF-‐TD – Never had the same level of funding as HEA/SFI• EU FP4, FP5, FP6, FP7 – Always open, no biases

(4) Synthesis & Comments

Ireland’s R&D Policy• Jus>ﬁca>on was more theore>cally based than implementa>on• Quality of debate poor, lack of solid theore>cal basis, implicit assump>on of linear model• Lack of detailed published studies of Ireland’s own Na>onal Innova>on System, par>cularly in SFI priority areas -‐ what are our innova>on catalysts?• However, investment did create opportuni>es, and s>mulated excellent R&D ac>vity

Linear = favour Irish Universi>es?• Part of the Ins>tute of Technology sectoral strength is in its aYtudes to industry, from giving due recogni>on to industrial experience in staﬀ recruitment, to its contribu>ons to regional and na>onal networks of innova>on• Linear model assumes key basic research metrics predominate, and underplay the linkages and networks required to eﬀect change• But it is too simplis>c to simply equate the linear model with an argument for preserving the binary system

Ques>ons?• Happy to answer any ques>ons

Contact DetailsDr Mícheál Ó Foghlú TSSG Oﬃces: TSSG, WIT mofoghlu@tssg.org TSSG (Waterford, Ireland) Headquarters +353 51 302963 (w) ArcLabs Research & Innova>on Building+353 86 8044640 (m) WIT West Campus, Carriganore Co. Waterford, Ireland TSSG (Dublin, Ireland) Customer Mee<ngs Digital Depot, Roe Lane The Digital Hub Dublin 8, Ireland

Selected BibliographyÓ Foghlú, Mícheál 2010 Science, Engineering and Technology Research Funding Policy in Ireland 1995-‐2008: A Policy Document Analysis, Doctoral Thesis, University of SheﬃeldCalvert, Jane [2004] The idea of “Basic Research" in language and pracIce. Minerva, 42(3):pp. 251-‐268.Gibbons, Michael; Limoges, Camille; Nowotny, Helga; Schwartzman, Simon; Scob, Peter; and Trow, Mar>n [1994] The New ProducIon of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary SocieIes. London, UK: Sage.Godin, Benoit [2006] The linear model of innova>on: The historical construc>on of an analy>cal framework. Science, Technology and Human Values, 31(6):pp. 639-‐667.Nelson, Richard R., editor [1993] NaIonal InnovaIon Systems: A ComparaIve Analysis. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Nowotny, Helga; Scob, Peter; and Gibbons, Michael [2001] Rethinking Science: Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.Stokes, Donald E. [1997] Pasteurs Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological InnovaIon. Washington D.C., USA: Brookings Ins>tu>on Press.

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20110413 wit research_day_mofoghlu

by Mícheál Ó Foghlú

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