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 1. Why new evaluation concepts? 2. What is BA? 3. Context IWT 4. SBO programme 5. ‘Internalising’ BA in the programme design 6. 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

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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. 1) 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 3) to provide interaction and feedback opportunities for applicants

13 Internalising BA in the SBO programme design

14 System Failures Targeted behaviour of researchers Incentives in SBO Additionality Missing linkages between science and industry Capabilities of researchers to link research to usages Multi-stage procedure and feed-back to improve ‘utilisation’ Learning effect on attitudes and capabilities

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