Openness in Research and Innovation Policies
What can Germany learn from international best practice cases?
winnovation helped innOsci, the former forum for open innovation culture of the Stifterverband, to find and systematically analyze international best practice examples in the implementation of openness in science and innovation policies. Furthermore, winnovation deduced specific learnings for Germany.
Challenge
Despite a continuous increase in expenditure on research and innovation in recent years Germany has not automatically led to higher economic and social output. Having this in mind, our client innOsci asked the question: “How can science and innovation policy change in such a way that science and innovation make more effective contributions to the resilience and future viability of Germany as a business location?”
Approach
As early as 2021, we wrote a best practice study on openness in international science and innovation policy for innOsci. In it, 15 international examples of strategies, measures and funding instruments aimed at openness in science and innovation policy were presented and learning fields for German science and innovation policy were identified. Building on this initial study, in 2022 we continued researching the learning fields and deduced three overarching learning areas with seven subordinate dimensions. The focus this time was to identify experiences and recommendations in the planning and practical implementation of measures and instruments for openness in a broad range of countries. To work out the three learning areas, we carried out a systematic qualitative evaluation of data from two sources: firstly, from an international desk research, based on the results of the previous study, secondly, we conducted 17 in-depth interviews with people who had internationally outstanding measures and instruments for the promotion of implemented openness in business and science. Particular research interest lay in empirical knowledge and implicit knowledge (tacit knowledge). In addition to the three learning areas, we have identified 10 best practice cases, which are also presented in the study.
Result
After an intense research phase the client got a comprehensive study that outlines the learning areas for German science and innovation policy, including specific recommendations for action that Germany should take into account in future when designing measures and funding instruments for science and innovation policy.
“winnovation has extensive knowledge of practices and policies on innovation in Europe and beyond. We benefited from their network of experts and practitioners in this field. winnovation excels in translating this knowledge into policy recommendations.”