In the search for a rapid, sustainable and lasting recovery from the economic crisis, science, technology and innovation are expected to play a driving role. But what are the implications for science and innovation policy? What steps are countries taking to boost their capabilities in these areas? What place are emerging economies likely to occupy in the science, technology and innovation landscape?
The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2010 reviews key trends in science, technology and innovation in OECD countries and a number of major emerging economies including Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. Using the latest available data and indicators, it examines topics high on the agenda of economic policy makers, including performance in science and innovation, trends in national science, technology and innovation policies and the design and assessment of innovation policy, including policy interactions and the “policy mix”. It provides individual profiles of the science and innovation performance of each country and relates these to their national context and current policy challenges.
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Governments are seeking to channel research funds into universities and other institutions in ways that support high-quality research in strategically important areas and bolster effective knowledge diffusion. These issues of steering and funding have even more relevance in light of the current financial crisis and economic downturn which have seen severe fiscal pressures fall on many countries.
This publication presents a collection of papers presented at an OECD workshop on performance-based funding of public research in tertiary education institutions. It takes stock of current thinking and practice around performance-based funding of public research in tertiary education institutions, as a tool to help governments meet their research goals. These funding models are essentially systems of ex-post evaluation of research outputs and outcomes from universities and other tertiary institutions, and are generally based on peer review, bibliometric or other quantitative indicators. Their results are used to inform government decisions about how much and which institutions to fund.
Nanotechnology has its origin in the converging abilities of physics, chemistry and materials science. Its purpose is the manipulation of atoms and molecules in order to create new properties of materials and systems for a wide variety of applications in a very broad range of sectors. Nanotechnology is forecast to create large markets and many new jobs and may be the springboard for industrial renewal and long-term growth. Governments around the world have targeted this emerging technology in their R&D investments and are strategising about the best ways to promote the responsible development and use of nanotechnology given the absence of any in-depth analysis of its commercialisation.
What are the potential economic impacts of nanotechnology, how are companies using nanotechnology for innovation, and what are the key challenges in its commercialisation? These are some of the issues that this book addresses, based on a large number of company case studies in several countries.
This review is the first to analyse e-government at the country level using a revised framework designed to capture the new challenges faced by countries today. It highlights the richness of initiatives and actions taken by Denmark in relation to a number of areas, including the impact of e-government on public sector modernisation and efficiency efforts, the impact of e-government organisational structure and arrangements on e-government development and administration, the need to address issues related to user take-up and the assessment of benefits realisation of e-government projects. As these are not unique to Denmark, but are commonly shared by a number of OECD countries, the study provides useful tools to support e-government policy making in all OECD countries.
Information technology (IT) and the Internet are major drivers of research, innovation, growth and social change. The 2010 edition of the OECD Information Technology Outlook analyses the economic crisis and recovery, and suggests that the outlook for IT goods and services industries is good after weathering a turbulent economic period better than during the crisis at the beginning of the 2000s. The industry continues to restructure, with non-OECD economies, particularly China and India, major suppliers of information and communications technology-related goods and services.
The role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in tackling environmental problems and climate change is analysed extensively, with emphasis on the role of ICTs in enabling more widespread improvements in environmental performance across the economy and in underpinning systemic changes in behaviour.
Recent trends in OECD ICT policies are analysed to see if they are rising to new challenges in the recovery. Priorities are now on getting the economy moving, focusing on ICT skills and employment, broadband diffusion, ICT R&D and venture finance, and a major new emphasis on using ICTs to tackle environmental problems and climate change.
Malgré les perspectives qu’elle laisse entrevoir, la mise en œuvre des technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC) dans le domaine des soins cliniques s’est révélée difficile. Des investissements publics considérables se soldent par des succès notables, mais également des retards et des échecs dont on a beaucoup parlé : voilà le bilan qui se dégage de plus d’une dizaine d’années d’efforts. Il a en outre manqué une prise de conscience générale, dans le grand public comme dans le monde médical, des avantages qu’offrent les TIC pour la tenue des dossiers médicaux et l’échange d’informations.
Faute d’informations suffisantes sur ces questions au plan international, l’OCDE s’est inspirée des conclusions d’études de cas réalisées en Australie, au Canada, en Espagne, aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas et en Suède pour recenser les possibilités d’application des TIC et analyser les conditions dans lesquelles ces technologies sont les plus à même de favoriser l’amélioration de l’efficience et de la qualité des soins. Les conclusions de ce rapport révèlent un certain nombre de pratiques ou de stratégies qui pourraient être utiles pour améliorer et accélérer l’adoption et l’utilisation des TIC dans le secteur de la santé.
The books on “Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms” constitute a compilation of the OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents. When published, Volume 1 and 2 contained the documents issued before 2006; Volume 3 and 4 are a continuation of the compilation up to 2010.
The OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents identify elements of scientific information used in the environmental safety and risk assessment of transgenic organisms which are common to OECD member countries and some non members associated with the work. This is intended to encourage information sharing, promote harmonised practices, and prevent duplication of effort among countries.
These books offer ready access to those consensus documents which have been issued on the website thus far. As such, it should be of value to applicants for commercial uses of transgenic organisms (crops, trees, microorganisms), to regulators and risk assessors in national authorities, as well as the wider scientific community.
More information on the OECD's work related to the biosafety of transgenic organisms is found at BioTrack Online (http://www.oecd.org/biotrack).
The books on “Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms” constitute a compilation of the OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents. When published, Volume 1 and 2 contained the documents issued before 2006; Volume 3 and 4 are a continuation of the compilation up to 2010.
The OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents identify elements of scientific information used in the environmental safety and risk assessment of transgenic organisms which are common to OECD member countries and some non members associated with the work. This is intended to encourage information sharing, promote harmonised practices, and prevent duplication of effort among countries.
These books offer ready access to those consensus documents which have been issued on the website thus far. As such, it should be of value to applicants for commercial uses of transgenic organisms (crops, trees, microorganisms), to regulators and risk assessors in national authorities, as well as the wider scientific community.
More information on the OECD's work related to the biosafety of transgenic organisms is found at BioTrack Online (http://www.oecd.org/biotrack).
Plan Avanza, Spain’s national Information Society strategy, has created a strong momentum for furthering information society (IS) policy in Spain, mobilising close to EUR 9 billion over four years from national, sub-national and non‑governmental stakeholders.
But what have these important investments contributed to wider societal goals such as public sector modernisation and increasing citizens’ trust in government; creating job opportunities and preparing a future work force for a competitive, globalised economy; supporting economic reform; improving citizens’ welfare and promoting equity? This report takes inventory of the Plan’s main achievements thus far and its remaining challenges for the future, reflecting on how its next phase (2010-2015) can best serve society.
In particular, the report looks at how Plan Avanza has helped integrate citizens, business and the public administration into the knowledge economy. It identifies areas on which Spain should continue to work: convergence with EU and OECD countries’ levels of access to and use of ICT; growth of the ICT sector; and development of e-government services.
The experiences of Spain and other OECD countries suggest that building a strong policy and governance framework is key for the success of IS policies. Indeed, to increase the impact of IS strategies policy makers must continuously look for ways to improve the performance of these frameworks. This can include identifying potential co‑ordination gaps between stakeholders and leveraging existing institutions; ensuring that policy sequencing contributes to strategic objectives; strengthening funding mechanisms and incentive structures for stakeholders; and improving evaluation and oversight. Using Plan Avanza as a case study, this study highlights the importance of each of these factors in maximizing the impact, and improving cost-effectiveness, of IS strategies in times of growing fiscal constraints.
The economics of news production and distribution is in a state of radical change. After very profitable years, newspaper publishers in most OECD countries face declining advertising revenues and significant reductions in titles and circulation. About 20 out of 30 OECD countries face declining newspaper readership, which is now at its lowest among younger people.
At the same time, many promising forms of news creation and distribution are being tested. Some of these are empowered by increasing technological sophistication, new information intermediaries and the resulting decentralised forms of content creation. However, despite these new possibilities, no business and/or revenue-sharing models have been found to finance in-depth independent news production. This raises questions about the supply of high-quality journalism in the longer term and roles that government support might take in supporting a diverse and local press without putting its independence at stake.
This study provides an in-depth treatment of the global newspaper publishing market and its evolution, with a particular view on the development of online news and related challenges.
Health spending continues to rise inexorably, growing faster than the economy in most OECD countries. Most of this spending comes from the public purse. Given the recent economic downturn, countries are looking for ways to improve the efficiency of health spending. This publication examines current efforts to improve health care efficiency, including tools that show promise in helping health systems provide the best care for their money, such as pay for performance, co-ordination of care, health technology assessment and clinical guidelines, pharmaceutical re-imbursement and risk-sharing agreements, and information and communication technology.
Les dépenses de santé continuent d’augmenter inexorablement, et ce à un rythme plus rapide que celui de l’économie dans la plupart des pays de l’OCDE. L’essentiel de ces dépenses est financé publiquement. Face au récent ralentissement économique, les pays cherchent les moyens d’améliorer l’efficience des dépenses de santé. La présente publication examine les efforts actuellement déployés pour améliorer l’efficience des soins et passe en revue un certains nombres d’ outils de nature à permettre aux systèmes de santé d’optimiser l’utilisation des ressources en offrant des soins de qualité : rémunération selon la performance, coordination des soins, évaluation des technologies de santé, politiques de prix et de remboursement des médicaments, et technologies de l’information et de la communication.
This report highlights key issues to facilitate understanding of how a systemic approach to technology-based school innovations can contribute to quality education for all while promoting a more equal and effective education system. It focuses on the novel concept of systemic innovation, as well as presenting the emerging opportunities to generate innovations that stem from Web 2.0 and the important investments and efforts that have gone into the development and promotion of digital resources. It also shows alternative ways to monitor, assess and scale up technology-based innovations. Some country cases, as well as fresh and alternative research frameworks, are presented.
This second edition of the OECD Economic Globalisation Indicators presents a broad range of indicators showing the magnitude and intensity of globalisation. This process is becoming increasingly important for policymakers and other analysts, hence the need for a volume that brings together the existing measures, based on national data sources and comparable across countries. Together, the indicators shed new light on financial, technological and trade interdependencies within OECD and non-OECD countries.
Measures of globalisation include indicators on capital movements and foreign direct investments, international trade, the economic activity of multinational firms and the internationalisation of technology. In addition, the 2010 edition also includes indicators linked to the current financial crisis, portfolio investments, environmental aspects and the emergence of global value chains.
This report documents the initial step towards an electronically-delivered Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test pioneered by Denmark, Iceland and Korea. In 2006, the PISA assessment of science included for the first time a computer-based test. The results discussed in this report highlight numerous challenges and encourage countries to take the work further.
PISA Computer-Based Assessment of Student Skills in Science describes how the 2006 survey was administered, presents 15-year-olds’ achievement scores in science and explains the impact of information communication technologies on both males’ and females’ science skills. While males outperformed females on the computer-based test in all three countries, females in Iceland and males in Denmark performed better than their counterparts on the paper-and-pencil test. The evidence shows that, overall, males are more confident and use computers more frequently. While females tend to use the Internet more for social networking activities, males tend to browse the Internet, play games and download software.
Readers will also learn how students reacted to the electronic questionnaire and how it compared with pencil-and-paper tests. In general, there were no group differences across test methods buts students enjoyed the computer-based test more than the paper-and-pencil test.
L’éco-innovation sera un élément essentiel des efforts consentis par l’industrie pour parer au changement climatique et parvenir à une « croissance verte » dans l’ère post-Kyoto. Elle appelle une adoption plus rapide des percées technologiques et une application plus générale des solutions existantes, y compris non technologiques. Par ailleurs, elle fournit l’occasion d’impliquer de nouveaux acteurs, de développer de nouveaux secteurs d’activité et d’accroître la compétitivité. La restructuration des économies sera impérative dans les décennies à venir.
Cet ouvrage présente les recherches et analyses conduites au cours de la première phase du Projet de l’OCDE sur la production durable et l’éco-innovation. Il a pour objet de fournir des outils d’évaluation comparative de la durabilité de la production et de stimuler l’éco-innovation moyennant une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes de l’innovation. Il passe en revue les concepts et forme un cadre d’analyse ; il décrit la nature de l’éco-innovation et ses processus ; il examine les indicateurs existants de la durabilité de la production ; il étudie les méthodologies applicables à la mesure de l’éco-innovation ; et il fait le point sur les stratégies nationales et initiatives des pouvoirs publics concernant l’éco-innovation. Pour de plus amples informations sur les travaux de l’OCDE dans ce domaine, veuillez consulter www.oecd.org/sti/innovation/green .
La publication L’éco-innovation dans l’industrie : favoriser la croissance verte est un volet de la Stratégie de l’OCDE pour l’innovation, stratégie globale destinée à mettre l’innovation au service d’une croissance et d’un développement plus vigoureux et plus durables, et à répondre aux grands enjeux de société du XXIème siècle. Pour de plus amples informations sur la Stratégie de l’OCDE pour l’innovation, veuillez consulter www.oecd.org/innovation/strategie .
L’ éco-innovation dans l’industrie : favoriser la croissance verte s’intègre également à la Stratégie de l’OCDE pour une croissance verte, qui aidera les pouvoirs publics des pays membres et non-membres de l’OCDE à identifier les politiques propices à une croissance et à un développement économiques propres, économes en ressources et émettant peu de carbone. Pour de plus amples informations sur la Stratégie de l’OCDE pour une croissance verte, veuillez consulter www.oecd.org/croissanceverte.
Innovation drives long-term economic growth. It has a crucial role to play as global economies recover from the current financial crisis. This book examines the role of innovation in developing countries, with a focus on Africa. It investigates innovation systems and their application; the key role of knowledge in innovation for development; and the importance of comparable country studies and official statistics on innovation. It stresses the need for innovation to become part of a comprehensive development agenda, and makes recommendations for promoting activities in both the formal and informal sectors, with the aim of transforming agriculture into a knowledge-based industry capable of stimulating economic growth.
Innovation and the Development Agenda is an important component of the overall OECD Innovation Strategy, which seeks to create stronger and more sustainable growth, while addressing the key global challenges of the 21st century. It is also part of the Innovation, Technology, and Society programme of IDRC. For more information on IDRC programmes see www.idrc.ca.
This review of regional innovation assesses how to improve Catalonia's current strategy and actions in order to boost its innovation system through both its own programmes and those of Spain and the European Union.
It finds that with over seven million inhabitants and a GDP of around EUR 204 billion, Catalonia is not only an important region within Spain, but within the OECD as well. Indeed, its economic output is similar to countries like Portugal and Norway. The region experienced massive population growth over the past decade, due to immigration, which in part drove GDP growth. However, Catalonia’s productivity is slipping, relative to other OECD regions, necessitating the transition to a productivity-driven growth model through a stronger regional innovation system. The region has successfully strengthened its research base, with investments in R&D having increased four-fold over the past decade. Catalonia is now mobilising actors across the innovation system in regional centres, such as Barcelona, to improve productivity and address social challenges.
With consistent cross-country information on these issues largely absent, the OECD has used lessons learned from case studies in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United States to identify the opportunities offered by ICTs and to analyse under what conditions these technologies are most likely to result in efficiency and quality-of-care improvements. The findings highlight a number of practices or approaches that could usefully be employed in efforts to improve and accelerate the adoption and use of these technologies.