Luke Georghiou

Evaluating technology programs: tools and methods

Abstract This article reviews the analytical tools, methods, and designs being used to evaluate public programs intended to stimulate technological advance. The review is organized around broad policy categories rather than particular types of policy intervention, because methods used are rarely chosen independent of context. The categories addressed include publicly-supported research conducted in universities and public sector research organizations; evaluations of linkages, especially those programs seeking to promote academic-industrial and public-private partnerships; and the evaluation of diffusion and industrial extension programs. The internal evaluation procedures of science such as peer review and bibliometrics are not covered, nor are methods used to projects and individuals ex ante. Among the conclusion is the observation that evaluation work has had less of an impact in the literature that it deserves, in part because much of the most detailed and valuable work is not easily obtainable. A second conclusion is that program evaluations and performance reviews, which have distinctive objectives, measures, and tools, are becoming entangled, with the lines between the two becoming blurred. Finally, new approaches to measuring the payoffs from research that focus on linkages between knowledge producers and users, and on the characteristics of research networks, appear promising as the limitations of the production function and related methods have become apparent.

The UK technology foresight programme

Abstract Technology foresight at a national level has emerged as a prominent instrument of technology policy during the first half of the 1990s. Programmes of this type are not generally seeking to identify future scientific breakthroughs (the so-called ‘picking winners’ approach). Rather, they are concerned to put in place the infrastructure necessary to recognize and exploit such opportunities when they do emerge. Given the lead times necessary for technological development this necessitates forming views about the future. In this article, the experience to date of one of the most comprehensive national initiatives, the UK Technology Foresight Programme is examined.

Evolving frameworks for European collaboration in research and technology

Abstract The evolution of the inter-relationship between the European Union’s Framework Programme, the EUREKA initiative and COST is examined. It is concluded that the rationales acquired through their historical origins and development have been overtaken by changing circumstances. In turn this has affected the division of labour and modes of co-existence between the initiatives. Using the conclusions of recent strategic reviews, and in the light of the European research area concept, a framework for European research policy driven by co-ordination is proposed which combines the strengths of the existing schemes but sets them in the context of a broader European innovation policy.

Public procurement for innovation

Public procurement can support innovative businesses in several ways: it can stimulate innovation by creating a demand for innovative products or services, help innovative firms bridge the precommercialisation gap for their innovative products and services by awarding contracts for precommercial innovations (i.e. first sales of technology), help them achieve the critical mass needed to bring prices down and be competitive, and contribute to making access to private third-party funding easier. Evidence of the impacts of public procurement on innovation is still scarce, and the conclusions are mixed . Many OECD countries have shown a growing interest in public procurement policies in recent years. Thus, public procurement can provide critical support to investments in innovation and complement other types of finance. . Public policy can foster innovative businesses by reducing developing expertise and integrating new competencies within public administration to design and monitor innovation-oriented procurement, and by stimulating innovation-oriented public procurement within public agencies. Public policy should also address the risks associated with innovation-oriented public procurement and balance the multiple goals of public procurement in order to sustain its support of innovative businesses.

Integrating technology into merger and acquisition decision making

Abstract Merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions tend to be dominated by financial and business managers. However, given the growing importance of technology and innovation to firm competitiveness and the on-going importance of merger, acquisition and divestment activity, there are potential gains to be made by acquirers from better integrating technology issues into their M&A decision making. Not least it may help to avoid costly errors and reduce the failure rate of M&As. More positively, it may help acquirers to better realise value from the technological assets they acquire. Based on a three year study of mergers and acquisitions involving some of the UKs leading companies, we consider some of the technology issues that are likely to arise in the M&A process. We conclude by identifying four ways in which managers might better integrate technology issues into M&A decision making.

Evaluating a participative foresight process: 'Futur - The German research dialogue'

The paper describes the design and implementation of an evaluation of a participative foresight process, Futur — the German Research Dialogue. Futur aims to enrich the process of strategy development for research priorities by involving a broad array of actors in a combination of different instruments to develop ‘lead visions’. The process of a strategic intelligence exercise that combined elements of ex ante evaluation, technology assessment and foresight is summarised, along with key findings from the evaluation. The modified peer review approach employed to evaluate Futur was structured along lines of accountability to support a continuation decision and also had a learning orientation. This evaluation approach is contrasted with the ambitions of the process being evaluated, notably the emphasis upon stakeholder participation and transparency. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Foresight in innovation policy: Shared visions for a science park and business–university links in a city region

Abstract The paper describes the process and outcomes of an exercise that used the ‘success scenario’ methodology to develop a shared vision of the future of business-university linkages in the city region of Manchester. The aim was to link the strategies of the four universities in the area (and in particular those of the two research universities that were in the process of merging) with the citys own self-vision of its future as a ‘Knowledge Capital’. The resulting report presented a scenario of what success would look like in 2008 in five dimensions: infrastructure, human resources, university missions, inward investment, and networking. The exercise has had a significant impact on regional strategy. The paper considers the design factors involved in gaining this level of action commitment from a foresight activity.

Future-oriented technology analysis as a driver of strategy and policy

Future-oriented technology analysis as a driver of strategy and policy Jennifer Cassingena Harper a , Kerstin Cuhls b , Luke Georghiou c & Ron Johnston d a Malta Council for Science and Technology , Kalkara, Malta b Department Innovation Systems and Policy , Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI , Karlsruhe, Germany c Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, MBS , University of Manchester , UK d Australian Centre for Innovation, Faculty of Engineering , University of Sydney , Australia Published online: 23 Apr 2008.

The United Kingdom Technology Foresight Programme

The increasingly competitive nature of the international economy, and the associated structural changes which have taken place, have led policymakers in industrialised countries towards a renewed emphasis upon innovation as an instrument of industrial policy. During the 1980s this was most apparent in the emergence of national and international schemes to support collaborative research in the so-called “new technologies”: principally IT, telecommunications, new materials and biotechnology. Despite a prevailing non-interventionist stance among governments, these technologies were perceived as being too important to risk being left behind. The complex and fast moving nature of the under-pinning knowledge-base was used to justify both the collaborative dimension (through the need to combine skills and share costs and risks) and governmental support (to compensate for market failure, where private benefits were difficult to appropriate in full).

Mergers and Alliances in Higher Education: International Practice and Emerging Opportunities

Mergers and Alliances in Context. Luke Georghiou, Jennifer Cassingena Harper.- Part I Mergers and Alliances from the Perspective of National. Higher Education Systems.- Mergers and Alliances in France: Incentives, Success Factors and Obstacles. Andree Sursock.- Mergers and Classifications in Romania: Opportunities and Obstacles. Liviu Andreescu, Radu Georghiu, Alina Irimia, Adrian Curaj.- Collaboration Between Universities in Sweden. Daniel Ljungberg, Maureen McKelvey.- Reorganising the Welsh University System. Philip Gummett.- Institutional Mergers in Ireland. Siobhan Harkin, Ellen Hazelkorn.- Institutional Mergers in Chinese Higher Education. Rui Yang.- Institutional Culture of Mergers and Alliances in South Africa. Martin Hall.- Institutional Combinations and the Creation of a New Higher Education Institutional Landscape in post-1994 South Africa. Saleem Badat.- Part II Mergers and Alliances at the Institutional. Level - Experiences and Lessons.- Strategy to Join the Elite: Merger and the 2015 Agenda at the University of Manchester - an update. Luke Georghiou.- The Experience with Creating University of Lorraine by Merging four Former Universities. Jean-Pierre Finance, Herve Coilland, Pierre Mutzenhardt.- Strategic Aggregation of Universities in Spain: The Spanish Program International Campus of Excellence and the Experience of the Technical University of Madrid. Luis Delgado, Gonzalo Leon.- The Process of Merging Romanian Universities: Technical University of Cluj-Napoca - North University of Baia Mare. Radu Munteanu, Dan Calin Peter.- The Experience of University of Western Sydney, Australia. Rhonda Hawkins.- About the Editors.- About the Authors.