Forecasting emerging technologies with the aid of science and technology databases

Short term forecasting was applied to 20 emerging technologies under the “Machine and Materials” category based on the Vision 2023 foresight study previously conducted for Turkey. This scientometric approach uses the most suitable keywords linked to the technology in question and determines the number of publications and patents in those fields for a given year. Database analysis of publications and patents in the previous 11 years indicates that while the majority of the top 20 technologies identified by the experts are indeed emerging (i.e. the number of research and/or patenting in these technologies is increasing), some of them have not actually attracted too much interest in the science and technology (S&T) community. Forecasts based on S-curves indicate steady growth in some of the selected technologies. There is a high correlation between the number of scientific publications and patents in most of the technologies investigated. The method is proposed as a simple and efficient tool to link national foresight efforts to international S&T activities and to obtain quantitative information for prioritized technologies that could be used for technology management and decision making for research funding and technology investment.     

Personal attitudes in the assessment of the future of science and technology: A factor analysis approach

In 1996, the second German Delphi study (“Delphi '98”) was started. The Delphi '98 is a two-round Delphi expert survey being conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education, Research, Science, and Technology (BMBF). The study was published in February 1998, and is now getting into its implementation phase. Its inherent focus is on the development of science and technology in 12 thematic fields in the next 30 years. To arrive at a better understanding of the influence of personal attitudes towards general developments in natural environment and society, the respondents were asked in the first round of the Delphi survey for their personal opinion towards several megatrends concerning the natural environment, economic, sociological, and political developments. Over 2,300 answers led to a very solid database, which gives insights into the general attitudes of the German R&D experts. On some topics, there is a high consensus, whereas in others, opposite opinions coexist. These results may serve as the database for a factor analysis leading to the identification of five different expert types. This paper examines the crucial question of whether different patterns in assessing the future development in science and technology by expert types can be observed. In general, it turned out that differences in personal attitudes towards megatrends do not influence the estimation of developments in science and technology. However, differences exist in specific topics and the distribution of the five experts types among the respondents differs significantly in the 12 fields.     

Strategic prospective for the implementation of employment policies in the Azores

This article explains how a far-off autonomous region of Portugal lying 2700 km from Brussels decided to approach its future, notably labor. The government in the Azores applied strategic prospective, and two of its methods, MICMAC and MACTOR,¹ at three key moments in the implementation of employment policies. While providing background on Azorean public policy and the broader European context, the author describes three cases, which deal primarily with education, qualifications and mobility. Interestingly, the results of decisions made on the basis of the prospective exercises can already be measured. This underscores the real efficiency of the policies adopted and the importance of the European policies of mobility, notably within the scope of Eurodyssey, a program of professional mobility of the Assembly of European Regions, that is now led by the Azores.     

Adaptive Foresight: Navigating the complex landscape of policy strategies

Adaptive Foresight has been developed at the crossroads of foresight and adaptive strategic planning. Innovation is seen as increasingly complex, interdependent and uncertain and therefore in need of broad and multi-disciplinary exploration and participation. The adaptive planning paradigm provides a natural guide for navigation of this complex landscape: one should consider whether strategic decisions should be deferred until more information is available and simultaneously whether to invest in (real) options which would facilitate the implementation of such decisions if taken some future time. This does not mean that all strategic decisions should be deferred. Rather it is the careful combining of commitment and opportunism that best enables actors to pursue their super-ordinate values and objectives. Compared to conventional foresight, Adaptive Foresight thus favours a more modest interpretation of the collective ability to “shape the future” and stresses the need to adapt to actions by others. Here it is equally important to be able to exploit the upside of uncertainty as to abate its downside. The purpose of this paper is to achieve a conceptual consolidation of Adaptive Foresight, to review in a fairly hands-on way methodological experience thus far, and to outline the substantial methodological challenges ahead.     

公众参与科技政策制定:一个STS的分析框架

"公众参与"作为一种新的民主形式,已经成为公共事务管理和决策中的基本制度。在STS的视域下,公众参与科技政策的制定过程将更加情景化和与境化。这主要表现在:"公众"的角色呈现出多样化;"参与"是"理解"科学的重要途径和基础;"科技政策的制定过程",为公众提供了接触"科学"的"空间"。在此基础上,提出了公众参与科技政策制定过程的一个分析框架,即"阶梯-行动者"模型。     

Competing at the frontier: The changing role of technology policy in Singapore's economic strategy

For an economy competing at the global frontier, an innovation-based growth strategy requires a well-developed technological infrastructure, a set of capabilities-focused technology policies, as well as an institutional environment that stimulates innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper examines the role played by science and technology policy in an economy's transition to an innovation-based growth strategy. We discuss the challenges governments face as they restructure economic institutions to deepen R&D capabilities and encourage technology creation. We review Singapore's experience in this regard and assess its ongoing efforts to remake itself to compete at the global frontier.     

从国家科技进步一等奖获奖情况看我国科技创新之路

概述了近5年国家科技奖励总体情况,着重分析了国家科技进步一等奖的获奖情况,阐述了国家科技奖励对我国科技创新的指引作用,并对其作用路径进行了深入分析。     

The suitability of technology forecasting/foresight methods for decision systems and strategy: A Japanese view

This paper evaluates technology forecasting and foresight (TF/F) methods in relation to users' decision systems for science and technology (S&T) strategies. As TF/F is an aid to decisions for attaining S&T goals, we examine the serviceability or suitability and acceptability of the methods and outcomes of TF/F for decision systems and S&T strategies. The focus is on extrapolation and Delphi methods because they are so widely used in technology forecasting (TFC). Based on the complaint analysis of TFC that revealed inaccuracy as the most serious obstacle to its acceptance, this paper especially analyses the meaning of accuracy. Learning from the experiences of TFC, the suitability of technology foresight (TFS) to cognitive structures in users' decisions is discussed. Finally, some lessons from TFC are presented for TFS.     

An exploration to visualise the emerging trends of technology foresight based on an improved technique of co-word analysis and relevant literature data of WOS

To explore the possible research fronts and emerging trends of technology foresight, through integrating co-occurrence of keywords and burst terms detection into an improved technique of co-word analysis based on the relevant literature in Web of Science is proposed. Based on the new analytical technique, the links among hot keywords, burst terms are probed, and the core literature related to the emerging trend or interdisciplinary researches are identified. Obviously, the attempts of new bibliometric method in this paper could be a valuable supplement to the traditional co-word analysis; meanwhile, it maybe is much more helpful for those interdisciplinary researchers.     

需求主导型科技服务业激励政策的构建

需求主导型的科技服务业激励政策主要围绕科技服务业发展的需求运行,是对传统投入主导型的一种反思和超越,同时体现了外输入式的政策议程建立模式和多元化、变动性的政策制定理念。基于政策工具理论、激励理论、科技服务机构分类理论和供需平衡理论,在构建需求主导型激励政策过程中,要在观念上实现从投入主导向需求主导的渐进转变,建立长效的科技服务业需求的调查与表达机制,做好科技服务业需求的分类工作,优化经济投入性政策的结构和大力发展非经济性的激励政策。     

科技金融政策能否提升科技人才集聚水平——基于多期DID经验证据

科技人才是实现我国科技自立自强的核心要素,而科技金融政策是推动我国科技产业发展的重要举措,也是促进地区科技人才集聚的积极探索。以科技金融政策作为一项准自然实验,利用2004—2019年全国281个城市面板数据构建多期双重差分模型,实证分析科技金融政策对城市科技人才集聚水平的影响和作用机制。研究发现：科技金融政策显著提升城市科技人才集聚水平;科技金融政策主要通过政府干预效应、结构升级效应和创新驱动效应提升城市科技人才集聚水平;科技金融政策对科技人才集聚水平的影响随着城市行政级别的提升呈现“边际效应递增”规律。据此,提出对策建议,包括推进科技金融政策有序扩散、强化试点政策的科技人才集聚效应并扩展作用路径、设计科技金融政策梯度发展战略、促进地区间均衡协调发展。     

城市科技创新人才政策扩散动力因素时空差异研究

科技创新人才是城市提升创新能力的核心资源,是科技进步的关键要素。科技创新人才政策作为城市争夺人才的工具,被各个城市广泛采纳和使用。以161个城市为研究对象,运用事件史分析方法,探寻城市科技创新人才政策扩散的动力因素并进行时空差异分析。研究发现,城市科技创新人才政策扩散具有双重动力因素：在需求拉动因素中,经济发展水平和财政收入是影响城市科技创新人才政策扩散的主要因素;在压力推动因素中,行政指令、府际竞争和社会舆论显著影响城市科技创新人才政策扩散;在政策扩散平稳增长期,双重动力因素共同作用于政策扩散过程,而在政策扩散加速和减速增长期,城市科技创新人才政策扩散动力因素存在差异;在东、中部地区,压力推动因素占据主导,而在西部地区,双重动力因素都发挥重要作用。     

Prospective in Brazil: The power to build the future

This paper looks at prospective in Brazil for the past 30 years. The prospective approach and methods, with their myriad tools, were adopted by Brazilian governmental bodies and companies in a process of progressive maturation of concepts and models. They brought about major changes for the country and for the companies and governmental bodies in which they were adopted. The following examples stem from the application of the prospective process, with the participation of employees and the population. We chose to highlight results applicable to practical life and visible today: 1) the opening up of the Brazilian economy (BNDES, 1984-90); 2) the anticipation of the global warming issue (ELETRONORTE, 1987-1998); 3) the preparation of a monopolistic oil and gas company to work in a competitive environment (PETROBRAS, 1989-2010); 4) the creation of a highly successful strategic state plan (Minas Gerais state, 2002-2010, and 5) the drafting of a strategic municipal plan (Belo Horizonte Municipal Government, 2009).     

The “swing of the pendulum” from public to market support for science and technology: Is the U.S. leading the way?

The structure and financing of science and technology activities are undergoing a slow, but profound, change. This change can be briefly characterized as a shift from relying and supporting public science to a stronger emphasis on “market-based” incentives for science and technology. In this paper we analyze this shift in a historical perspective, discussing both the theoretical explanations and the empirical trends of the ongoing change. While we do not claim to provide a comprehensive and exhaustive identification of the causes of this shift, we argue that it is largely driven by the perception of a shift of the U.S. policy towards market-based, rather than publicly supported, incentives for science and technology. This, in turn—given the strong economic performance of the United States over the 1990s—has influenced policies in most OECD countries, especially in Europe.We conclude by analyzing the evolution of research in U.S. higher education and find two major trends: an increasing diversity in the number of institutions of different types other than universities and a steady and continuous public funding of the leading U.S. universities. This has allowed the construction of an infrastructure now used largely by the private sector, but it also noted that the United States has not compromised public support for core areas or in those fields in which there is a clear perception that market incentives are not sufficient for meeting the strategic targets of the U.S. policy. The implication is that there is a considerable policy diversity in the U.S. practice and that all aspects of this diversity should be considered when using the United States as a reference.     

财政农业科技投入对农业科技创新绩效的影响

基于1991-2012年财政农业科技投入与农业科技创新绩效测度指标数据,运用协整检验、误差修正模型和VAR模型等方法,对财政农业科技投入与农业科技创新绩效水平关系进行实证研究。结果表明,财政农业科技投入与农业科技创新绩效之间存在长期均衡关系,但财政农业科技投入对提升农业科技创新绩效的短期影响更为显著。最后,根据实证分析结果提出相应的对策与建议。     

核心利益相关者认知差异视角下高校科技成果转化问题及对策研究

科技成果转化新政颁布并未从根本上改善高校科技成果转化现状。鉴于此,首先,梳理、归纳出科技成果转化关键节点,整合成果转化影响因素,并收集企业、高校和科研者对这些因素的认知数据;然后,分析核心利益相关者认知偏差,得出政策失灵的直接原因是政策不协同导致政策难以具体落实,间接原因是成果与市场对接不力、中试环节缺乏、激励失调;最后,针对我国现行高校科研管理体制,提出政策优化建议。     

政府的科技激励政策对大中型工业企业R&D投入及其专利产出的影响——上海市的实证研究

本文从动态角度运用面板数据分析中的随机效应模型实证研究了上海市政府的科技激励政策对大中型工业企业自筹的R&D投入及其专利产出的影响。本文认为 ,政府的科技拨款资助和税收减免这两个政策工具对大中型工业企业增加自筹的R&D投入都具有积极效果 ,并且政府的拨款资助越稳定效果越好 ;政府拨款资助和税收减免互为补充 ,提高一个的强度也会增加另一个的效果 ,但这个效应以政府税收减免为主。不同来源的R&D支出和不同等级的人力资源对专利产出的影响是不同的 ,自筹的R&D支出对专利产出有着显著的正面作用。     

Assessment of China's and India's science and technology literature — introduction, background, and approach

Science and technology (S&T) allows (1) automation to replace human labor, (2) enhanced human labor capabilities, (3) quicker and cheaper production of goods, and (4) more complex products and processes. In order to maintain competitive advantages, it is critical for any country to understand what other countries are producing in S&T, and what intrinsic S&T capabilities are being developed.India and China are the two most populous countries in the world. These two dynamic economies are advancing rapidly in S&T, and it is prudent to assess the quantity and quality of their research output as well as to examine trends in their S&T capabilities.This paper, the first of four in a Special Section on China's and India's S&T, introduces the remaining three papers. Specifically, this paper describes the motivation for the studies, the background for understanding national S&T assessments, an overview of text mining, a brief picture of the Indian and Chinese S&T establishments, and a summary of the analytical techniques used in the assessments.     

财政政策对军民融合创新协同度的影响——以电子及通讯设备制造业为例

军民融合创新是军民融合战略与创新驱动发展战略的深化和结合,对于推动国防科技工业和民用科技工业发展至关重要。以电子及通讯设备制造业为例,基于创新协同视角,主要考察财政政策对军民融合创新协同的影响。通过构建复合系统协同度模型,分类并量化军民融合创新协同指标体系,在此基础上通过实证回归方法考察财政政策对军民融合创新协同的影响效应。研究发现,目前我国军民融合创新协同度整体上仍属于低度协同,还有很大提升空间;财政支持在一定程度上能够促进军民融合创新协同水平提高。为进一步促进军民融合创新发展,需要政府对该领域实施相应的干预与扶持。     

Extracting the commercialization gap between science and technology — Case study of a solar cell

In this paper, we compared structures of the citation network of scientific publications with those of patents, and discussed the differences between them. A case study was performed in a solar cell to develop a method of detecting gaps between science and technology. Scientific research has tended to be more basic, especially in terms of cell design, whereas patents have focused on more applied technology used in solar cell modules. Of the major citation clusters of scientific publications, only two, namely silicon and compound solar cells, corresponded semantically with patent clusters. Conversely, there were no patent clusters corresponding to the other two scientific research fronts, namely dye-sensitized and polymer solar cells. These research areas could be regarded as opportunities for industrial commercialization because scientific activities exist but not technological applications. Our results could offer an intellectual basis for discovering potential opportunities for industrial commercialization.