CO-OPERATION IN A
COMPETITIVE WORLD: SCIENCE AND RESEARCH FACING GLOBALIZATION
Co-operation Between
the West and the East: An Overview
Maria Nedeva
When David Met Goliath: Research Collaboration in the
Context of Changing Political Realities
Abstract
This
article examines the dimensions of research collaboration
between researchers from EU and Central and East European
countries in the post-communist period. The discussion draws
on experience of two initiatives for research co-operation,
COST and EUREKA. Following an analysis of the formal levels of
participation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe
in COST and EUREKA, the quality of exchange during the
collaborative projects and the networks that have been
established, some benefits from and barriers to East-West
co-operation in research and technology are considered.
Although the collaborative arrangements have been overall
successful the different groups of participants display
diverging and even sometimes conflicting expectations and
perceptions of benefits. Two extreme positions are viewing the
collaborative links in terms of ‘master’ and ‘student’
and as relationships between partners of equal standing. By
far the most serious barriers to successful East-West research
co-operation stem from broad cultural differences and from a
tendency to assume that lack of information means lack of
development. The benefits from research co-operation can
increase many-fold, it is suggested, if the relationships are
seen as a symmetrical exchange rather than as a meeting
between David and Goliath.
Ronald J. Pohoryles
Moving Beyond Aid: Research Co-operation with Central
and Eastern Europe
Abstract
The
events surrounding the fall of the iron curtain in 1989
represented a watershed for the research and technological
development (RTD) co-operation activities of the European
Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries with the
Central and Eastern European and Baltic States (CEBS).
In a
first phase one could find some non-targeted and exploratory
type of RTD co-operation activities, quite often in line with
strategies aiming at keeping the transition process alive.
These were gradually and at different paces, depending on the
country under consideration, being superseded by a more
targeted set of programmes increasingly featuring a distinct
set of priorities and target areas which also display
interesting national differences. This second phase which has
not yet been completed is the main concern of the present
study.
Liana Giorgi
Co-operation of EU/EEA Countries with the Newly Independent
States of the Former Soviet Union—A Slow Start
Abstract
This
paper summarises the main findings of the report "Co-operation
of EU/EEA countries with the Newly Independent States of the
Former Soviet Union" (INCOPOL-NIS study commissioned by
DG XII). The objective is to outline the contemporary
strategies of bilateral RTD co-operation with the NIS as they
have emerged in the recent years. There are two focal points
of attention, namely, the bilateral level and the level of
policy programme.
RTD
co-operation is a vehicle for, or auxiliary to, the promotion
of economic and industrial co-operation. Indirectly it is also
a means to effect political and democratic stabilisation
through institutional development. Arresting brain drain is an
additional motivation.
Bilateral
co-operation programmes with the NIS are at an early stage of
development. It is, therefore, early to talk of clear patterns
and trends, least so for identifying successful and
unsuccessful strategies. The field is, nevertheless, complex.
Many factors come to play: the number and types of programmes;
the total expenditures in absolute and relative terms; the
expenditure share of each type of programmes to the total
budget; not least, the varying institutional framework of
implementation.
David A. Dyker
Foreign Direct Investment in the Former Communist World: A
Key Vehicle for Technological Upgrading?
Abstract
Foreign direct
investment (FDI) is a crucially important, though not unique,
vehicle for technology transfer in the context of transition.
Analysis of actual patterns of FDI does, however,
reveal a serious danger - that FDI may be asset-absorbing (shallow
integration) rather than asset-creating (deep integration),
i.e. may simply exploit existing factor endowments, including
technological capabilities, rather than upgrading them.
While abuse of market power does occur with FDI, it
should not be seen as a critical problem as long as genuine
asset creation is going on.
At present there is a serious mismatch between the
S&T systems of the transition countries and the needs of
foreign firms carrying out FDI.
It would be unrealistic to expect FDI to drive the
process of resolution if these mismatch.
Steven Ney
Culture and National S&T Performance: A Framework
for Analysing Socio-institutional Factors in RTD Policy Making]
Abstract
Since
the 1970s, policy-makers and researchers have attempted to
understand what factors influence national S&T performance.
Whereas researchers predominantly aimed at explaining
disparate economic development paths by understanding the role
of innovation and technological advance in the evolution of
economic systems, policy-makers hoped to discover those
mechanism that would enhance national S&T performance. The
work of Mary Douglas (1970, 1982, 1996, 1998) provides a
framework for systematically comparing organisational and
institutional cultures. Although Mary Douglas originally
devised the approach to explain her African fieldwork data,
successive social scientists, most notably Aaron Wildavsky,
Michael Thompson, and Steve Rayner, have adapted the model to
suit the needs of policy analysis.
Country Studies
Ronald J.
Pohoryles
The Past and the Future: Austria Facing a New Stage of
RTD Co-operation with its Neighbours
Abstract
In comparison to
other countries, and considering its size, Austria spends a
significant amount of funds on RTD co-operation with its
neighbouring countries to the East. This eastward orientation
is not specific to the science and research collaboration
field, but a more general characteristic of the Austrian
policy framework and political culture, with strong historical
roots. The research collaboration between Austria and its
neighbours builds upon a long-standing tradition, having got a
strong impulse in the first years of transformation in the
CEECs, through the establishment of (bilateral) research
programmes.
Ulrike Bross
Technology Audit as a Policy Instrument to Improve
Innovations and Industrial Competitiveness in Countries in
Transition
Abstract
Sustained economic
growth in Central and Eastern European Countries depends among
others on a radical technical restructuring. The instrument of
technology audit supports policy makers in designing
appropriate strategies for shaping science and technology
policies in this process. The conceptual part of the article
outlines the methodology for the analysis of strengths and
weaknesses of R&D systems and future areas of
competitiveness, which can be transferred also to other
countries in periods of intense technological development.
This approach is based on international best practice of
evaluation research and practical experiences in the
transition context. The empirical part outlines main findings
of a technology audit in the field of biotechnology in Hungary.
Chris Caswill
Why Not Co-operate?
Abstract
The
circumstances in which social scientists work are of course
different in many countries.
Many countries are outside the European Union and not
eligible for Framework Programme funding.
There are some different intellectual traditions and
certainly many different structures and levels of financial
support in research funding agencies that need to be examined
and understood.
