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The
Governance of Frontier Research in comparative Perspective: What Role for the
European Research Council?
Dr.
Robert Kaiser, Ludwig-Maximiliams-University, Munich
Abstract:
In
science-based industries, such as biotechnology, innovation processes rely
heavily on what has been characterized as frontier research. Frontier research
at the same time produces fundamental new knowledge as it is a constituent and
integral part of corporate R&D activities. It is often based on
interdisciplinary approaches, sometimes targeted to the solution of a specific
problem, and it is conducted within the academic science base in which highly
innovative firms are embedded, within a company or in close collaboration
between public and private research organizations. Thus frontier research does
not fit with the classical distinction between basic and applied research.
Throughout
the OCED, highly-industrialized countries differ considerably in the governance
and promotion of frontier research. This holds especially true for public
policies that are targeted at those science-based industries in which
technological paradigm shifts have significantly altered the conditions under
which research is transferred into innovations. In this respect comparative
analyses reveal that some countries are considerably more successful than others.
Against
this background the proposed paper discusses what role a new European Research
Council (ERC) may have for the successful promotion of frontier research at the
European level. It will be argued that on the one hand there are some examples
of best practice in the promotion of frontier research on which the ERC can
build up while, on the other hand, there is a need for the definition of a
European added value through which the ERC differentiates from member states’
supporting mechanisms.
The paper draws upon a comprehensive empirical study
on national innovation policies for the establishment of pharmaceutical
biotechnology industries in Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. This
study applied a systemic approach to innovation processes and was primarily
focused on various “bridging institutions” that support commercialization of
knowledge in science-based industries. One of the major results of this study
was that the countries’ performance can be attributed to specific national
commercialization profiles which vary significantly in terms of institutional
conditions for and modes of coordination among innovative actors. Consequently,
since we can not expect that those conditions will converge over time, a
European Research Council has to be established in a way that provides
incentives for actors in different institutional settings.
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