Behavioural Additionality in Strategic Basic Research

1. Behavioural Additionality in Strategic Basic Research ‘New Frontiers in Evaluation’ Vienna, 24 April 2006 Jan Larosse, EC-DG RTD Paul Schreurs, IWT Flanders

2. Outline • Why new evaluation concepts? • What is BA? • Context IWT • SBO programme • ‘Internalising’ BA in the programme design • Conclusions

3. 1. Why new evaluation concepts? • Shift in Policy Rationale • Lisbon Strategy: R&D for ‘growth and jobs’ • Linking science and industry: new incentives for academic researchers • System approach: ‘extended’ additionality • Shift in Policy evaluation • From context of policy legitimation to context of policy learning • Evaluation as part of policy cycle (design)

4. 2. What is BA? • Additionality • ‘Making the difference’ • Traditional reference to ‘market failure’ • Externalities are everywhere • Behaviour • Input additionality = investment behaviour • Opening the ‘black box’ of the innovation process • Behavioural Additionality is everywhere

6. 3. Context IWT • Innovation Agency in ‘bottom-up’ governance model • One-stop shop for business R&D; coordinator intermediating services • Gradual expansion of portfolio • Interest in ‘additionality’ • Conferences 6CP 1997, 2003 • Evaluations (large scale survey on BA in 2006 running)

7. Additionality ‘in figures’

8. 4. SBO-programme SBO = "competence centre"-type of programme financial support of 2,5 to 3 million euros to allow the funding of a team of 5 to 7 researchers for a period of four years (open to all disciplines, all actors). "high risk-high potential" strategic basic research integrated in a strategic knowledge platform with wide opportunities for the application or exploitation of the research results + an active commitment to contribute to the effective utilization of the research output by companies or social profit organisations

9. Main distinctive "Behavioural Additionality" of SBO-platforms relative to pure academic research platforms

10. Concerns for system failures - cultural differences and barriers in industry-science relations; lack of mutual trust and compatibility; - dominant culture of internally oriented academic research; - lack of industrial backing, commitment or absorption capacity - risk of ‘lip service’ or opportunistic behaviour.

11. Challenges and tensions not necessarily unique to smaller regions but can be reinforced in smaller regional innovation systems: - Balance between international research networking and the expected focus towards the ‘economic return to the region’; - Match between the science base and the economy or society. Missing links in the chain of value creation. - Missing links in the chain of knowledge creation. Gaps may be present in the available expertise within the region.

12. 5. Adaptations in programme design to enhance BA. • to have a phased or multi-stage evaluation process in three consecutive selection rounds -round 1 : focus on the eligibility and the strategic fit of the proposal within the programme -round 2 : focus on the scientific quality of the proposal -round 3 : focus on the utilisation or valorisation value of the proposal 2) to have a balanced expert assessment involving two types of essential expertise -international high-level scientific experts with strong scientific expertise in the core of the proposal-highly experienced experts who can judge the economic or social/societal exploitation potential / absorption capacity of the research output in the Flanders region • to provide interaction and feedback opportunities for applicants

13. Internalising BA in the SBO programme design

15. 6. Conclusions • BA as a heuristic for policy learning • Evaluation: linking system failures to incentives for behavioural change • New type of programme managers / new type of agencies • BA and Strategy: implicit vs explicit choices • Develop BA evaluation methods and models