public research centres in the 21st century : the dinosaurs of the s&t system? j.p.contzen ist,...

Public Research Centres in the 21st Century : the Dinosaurs of the S&T

System?

J.P.Contzen

IST, Lisboa,

December 6th, 2002

Plan of the presentation

The initial motivation for creating Public Research Centres

1950-2000: from success to precarity Is there still a future for PRCs in view of

the strong evolution of the S&T environment?: YES BUT…

The specific case of the Laboratorios do Estado

The origin of Public Research Centres (1)

Initiated during the period of dominance of the concept of the National State. Based on the notion that Governments were responsible for promoting R&D in areas of national interest e.g. Defence, Agriculture, Health, Natural Resources, Standards

Created at a time when Universities played a less significant role in research and concentrated on basic research


At that time, Industrial Reserch was, with a few exceptions (Bell Labs!), concentrated on in-house product or process development

World War 2 and the period thereafter gave a great impulse to the PRCs: in particular, nuclear R&D (military and later civilian) was the driving force for their development


Examples of this development: the US Federal Laboratories, the Soviet Nuclear Cities, Tokai Mura in Japan, Saclay in France, Harwell in UK, Karlsruhe in Germany, Risoe, Mol, Kjeller in smaller European countries, the Joint Research Centre of the EC


The development of « Big Science » after World War 2 accelerated also their spread, notably in high energy physics (Stanford, Orsay, Daresbury, DESY, CERN, Dubna) and space (Goddard, Korolev, Toulouse)

1950-2000: from success to precarity (1)

The concept of public research centres, a model of the « Top Down approach » was quite successful initially as it responded to the political and scientific environment prevailing during the 50’s and the 60’s. The significant evolution of this environment has gradually led to problems, sometimes so severe that the existence of several PRCs has been put in jeopardy


What are the decisive elements of such evolution?:– The weakening of the national state with

more emphasis given to the international, european and regional levels

– The orientation of the economy towards less intervention of the State

– The disappearance of the Cold War, reducing military R&D

– The significant slowing down of nuclear developments


– The disappearance of the linear model of innovation, giving greater emphasis to multiple actors and to market or societal demands (Lord Rothschild « customer-contractor principle » of 1971). The PRCs, central node of the linear chain, had to face programmatic and financial changes


– The emergence of the Information and Bio-technologies operating in a much more distributed way in terms of R&D. The same applies to Climate Research

– The stronger role of Universities in R&D, motivated among others by the requirement for multidisciplinarity

– The growing role of Industry in R&D


The main victims of this evolution:– Most nuclear research centres (except

those involved in defence) that had to reconvert to other tasks ( from 100% nuclear to about 20% in some cases) and/or downsize, sometimes by half

– Those centres dealing with industrial subjects, leading in the extreme case of the UK, to privatization (NEL)


Nearly all centres had to diversify their sources of income and to enter into the competitive arena. Currently, most PRCs do not get more than 50% of their budget from the Government and have to obtain the rest on the market, be it public or private. Sometimes the base financing does not exceed 20%

What Future for Public Research Centres? (1)

There is still a future for PRCs if they accept adapting to the new political, economic and scientific environment

What are the requirements for adaptation?:

– Apply the principle of Subsidiarity, verify that you represent the best level of action among all those available: international, European, national, regional


– Establish strong links with the University,

provide, if suitable, specialized training– Enter into networks with other PRCs,

favouring vertical integration– Reinforce your competitive advantage

through specialized infrastructures backed by specialized manpower, be a centre of excellence


– Verify that you serve a public purpose, that you meet a public demand, that you perform « regal »tasks

– Diversify your sources of income and be open for working with and for Industry, without losing your public identity


– Abandon the « Arsenal Policy » of doing everything by yourself: from basic idea to production. Enter into the innovation process (spin-offs, tech parks, joint ventures)

– Adapt modern methods of management, benefit from a large autonomy in your operation (e.g. the U.S. GOCO system)


What are the essential elements of a public identity?:

– Neutrality, intellectual independence– Confidentiality when required– Continuity– Proximity with the public user


Who will be the survivors/ strong actors of the 21st Century?:

– The centres dealing with defence and security (US Federal Labs, UK exception) and, after downsizing, the nuclear ones (Japan)

– The centres based on large or specialized infrastructures notably High Energy Physics (CERN), Space (ESA) and Astronomy (ESO)


– The centres specializing in very advanced technologies upstream of industrial development e.g. nanotechnologies (AIST in Japan, Karlsruhe in Germany, CEA in France)

– The centres meeting societal demands: assistance to good public governance, citizen’s welfare (health safety, food security, environmental assessment and management)

The Laboratorios do Estado (1)

Portugal needs its own structure of public laboratories for:

– Assisting the Government in the formulation and implementation of national policies

– Supporting Industry in its Innovation efforts through specialized human resources and infrastructures


Recognizing this need, several issues have to be tackled for ensuring an efficient operation of the Laboratorios:

– Ensure the necessary managerial autonomy

– Resolve the problem of underfunding– Establish, as elsewhere in the world, new

links with the University : the « Associated Laboratories » working in conjunction with the Laboratorios, constitute a way to realize such links


– Review the position of the Laboratorios into the European and regional scenery. Could some of them become part of larger public structures at international or European level, beyond being involved into networks? Equally could some parts of the Laboratorios become regional centres?


– Redefine the role of the Laboratorios in the Portuguese Innovation system. Clarify the relation between them and the Portuguese industry

The answer to these issues will determine the further vitality of the Laboratorios

In Conclusion

Public Research Centres should not be considered as a species on the path to extinction. Their survival potential is directly related to their capability of adaption to the rapid and deep evolution of their environment

The success of this adaptation relies on the determination of Governments to do something, as well as on the Centres’own willingness to change

public research centres in the 21st century : the dinosaurs of the s&t system? j.p.contzen ist,...

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