Too many earlier attempts to use R&D investment for 'levelling up' have started with big ambitions but not survived long enough to deliver economic benefit. The purpose of regional R&D investment needs greater clarity. This report unpicks assumptions about the spread of research funding across the UK and finds them wanting. Comparable…

Australian policy relating to knowledge exchange has never been well articulated, notwithstanding that the nexus between knowledge, engagement and higher education in Australia has been on the national agenda for several decades (Grattan Institute, 2013). In universities, this policy deficit is reflected in a lack of project management and…

Despite a robust body of evidence of effectiveness of social programs, few evidence-based programs have been scaled for population-level improvement in social problems. Since 2010 the federal government has invested in evidence-based social policy by supporting a number of new evidence-based programs and grant initiatives. These initiatives…

Research on sustainability and innovation-driven economic growth has exposed a lack of sufficient knowledge in the governance literature about the appropriate extent of government involvement. This paper focuses on the governance of innovation and the intermediary role of the state. The author synthesizes the literature on governance and…

In this article we discuss the findings from a recent study of UK policy and practice in relation to sexual health services for young people, based in--or closely linked with--schools. This study formed part of a larger project, completed in 2009, which also included a systematic review of international research. The findings discussed in this…

The UK higher education community is well served for news and policy discourse by the weekly "Times Higher Education" ("THE"). "THE" also provides a window into the conduct of this community. Concern about the contribution of research to the wider society beyond academe has risen along with its scale and cost. Views…

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study into spin-out firms established during a five-year period at ten UK universities. The author suggests that merely counting the number of spin-outs formed reveals little about the overall efficiency of technology transfer efforts at universities. Instead, one has also to consider other…

Although higher education in the United Kingdom has become more entrepreneurial, faculty and institutions do not necessary place a high priority on technology transfer. The main barrier may not be lack of will or understanding, but lack of incentives. (SK)

Explores how far British government policies influence academic values and ways of working through an examination of the United Kingdom Foresight Programme, a governmental effort to set priorities for research through identification of emerging technologies and markets. Feedback from scientists and social scientists found shifting attitudes toward…

A study investigated national research policies, particularly factors affecting research productivity in the United Kingdom and the issues of critical mass, economies of scale, critical time, and risk strategy in Australian resource allocation for research. Conclusions are drawn concerning the relationship between research performance and resource…

Foresight analysis is proposed as an alternative to strategic planning in the scientific community, and its use by individual funding agencies to develop research resource allocation strategies for specific scientific fields is explored through an analysis in the field of cardiovascular research. Methodology is explained, and preliminary results…

Discusses the 1993 British government White Paper "Realising Our Potential," which advocated closer cooperation by government, higher education, and the private sector in science and technology. It supports the White Paper's emphasis on increased funding for research and development (R&D) but criticizes its inattention to the low…