We argue that the commitment to science-society integration and Responsible Research and Innovati... more We argue that the commitment to science-society integration and Responsible Research and Innovation in past European framework programmes has already made considerable progress in better aligning research and innovation with European societies. The framework programmes have important socialisation effects and recent research point to positive trends across key areas of Responsible Research and Innovation within academic organisations. What appears to be a step away from the concerted efforts to facilitate European citizens' meaningful contribution to research and innovation in the upcoming Horizon Europe framework programme seems counter-productive and poorly timed.
Drug addiction is a major global health issue, and the opioid crisis is a notable example of its ... more Drug addiction is a major global health issue, and the opioid crisis is a notable example of its catastrophic effects (1). In his News In Depth story “Chemists seek antiaddiction drugs to battle hijacked brain” (13 April, p. 139), R. F. Service discusses some promising ways to treat drug addiction, including vigabatrin and a more effective version of that drug named OV329. However, the optimistic tone of the article should be tempered by the potential side effects of these treatments. The gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase (GABA-AT) enzyme plays a key role in brain signaling by inactivating GABA (2). Currently, the only licensed drug that targets this enzyme is vigabatrin, an antiepileptic that is usually reserved for severe intractable seizures (2). OV329 is mechanistically similar to vigabatrin, but—as Service explains in the News story—it binds more tightly to GABA-AT. Although more potent GABA-AT inhibitors may reduce the dopaminergic signaling that is responsible for reinforcing addiction, we should be aware of the possibility that these drugs may themselves cause physical and/or psychological dependence. Edited by Jennifer Sills LETTERS
This document has been prepared for the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the au... more This document has been prepared for the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author. Its purpose is to provide an analytical evaluation of the FP7 COOPERATION Specific Programme. The information presented here is believed to be accurate and correct. However, the author cannot be held legally responsible for any errors. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, made with respect to the information provided. The author will not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the content of this publication.
The public sector plays a key economic role as regulator,service provider and employer. It accoun... more The public sector plays a key economic role as regulator,service provider and employer. It accounts for more than 25% of total employment and a significant share of economic activity in the EU27 Member States. Additionally, an efficient and productive public sector can be a strong driver of economic growth through its support for and governance of the private sector. European governments are acknowledging more and more the importance of public sector innovation. There is a consensus across countries and public administrations as to what is meant by public sector innovation: innovation is seen as a means to address growing budgetary pressures, through more efficient administration or service delivery, and new societal demands, through different and more effective service design. Due to the economic crisis and severe budget cuts, public sector innovation remains a challenge but also a solution. Historically, the public sector has developed differently from the private sector, where ef...
TECHNlK, WlRTSCHAFT und POLlTlK Schriftenreihe des Fraunhofer-lnstituts für Systemtechnik und lnn... more TECHNlK, WlRTSCHAFT und POLlTlK Schriftenreihe des Fraunhofer-lnstituts für Systemtechnik und lnnovationsforschung lSl Viola Peter titutionen im Innovations prozess Eine Analyse anhand der biotechnologischen lnnovationssysteme in Deutschland und Japan Physica ...
This report summarises the results of the study ‘Assessing the impacts of EU regulatory barriers ... more This report summarises the results of the study ‘Assessing the impacts of EU regulatory barriers on innovation’. To obtain the necessary data, a European-wide survey was conducted in 2016. This study focused on four sectors: energy, food, health and water. Each of these four sectors addressed the innovation system and regulatory framework, alongside questions on challenges, innovation drivers and barriers. While regulatory barriers to innovation were identified for the whole economy as well as within the four sectoral studies, the overall impact of regulation on innovation is predominantly neutral to positive. The main regulatory barrier identified concerns ‘conflicting regulation’ rather than a single type of regulation. The study also found that compliance with regulation creates innovation, with a net gain of EUR 3-6 billion per year in additional innovation investments and in terms of employment a net gain of 120 000 additional jobs. Removing existing regulatory barriers could release up to EUR 4-8 billion on general innovation investment per year.
In this report, information is provided on business R&D expenditures and patenting structures wit... more In this report, information is provided on business R&D expenditures and patenting structures within Key Enabling Technologies and Societal Grand Challenges. The main challenge hereby was to estimate BERD, value added and employment at the technological level of KETs and SGCs as these indicators are only available at the sectoral (NACE 2-digit) level. The employed method uses the (weighted) distribution of technology-specific patents per sector to re-allocate BERD and value added by technology fields. While the strong correlation between patents and R&D expenditures is a proof of the use of this approach for BERD, the connection between patents and value added is much smaller. For this indicator the estimated values are therefore to be cautiously interpreted. Yet, technology specific data on value added is not available. Variations across countries, could partly be taken into account by employing four country groups.
We argue that the commitment to science-society integration and Responsible Research and Innovati... more We argue that the commitment to science-society integration and Responsible Research and Innovation in past European framework programmes has already made considerable progress in better aligning research and innovation with European societies. The framework programmes have important socialisation effects and recent research point to positive trends across key areas of Responsible Research and Innovation within academic organisations. What appears to be a step away from the concerted efforts to facilitate European citizens' meaningful contribution to research and innovation in the upcoming Horizon Europe framework programme seems counter-productive and poorly timed.
Drug addiction is a major global health issue, and the opioid crisis is a notable example of its ... more Drug addiction is a major global health issue, and the opioid crisis is a notable example of its catastrophic effects (1). In his News In Depth story “Chemists seek antiaddiction drugs to battle hijacked brain” (13 April, p. 139), R. F. Service discusses some promising ways to treat drug addiction, including vigabatrin and a more effective version of that drug named OV329. However, the optimistic tone of the article should be tempered by the potential side effects of these treatments. The gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase (GABA-AT) enzyme plays a key role in brain signaling by inactivating GABA (2). Currently, the only licensed drug that targets this enzyme is vigabatrin, an antiepileptic that is usually reserved for severe intractable seizures (2). OV329 is mechanistically similar to vigabatrin, but—as Service explains in the News story—it binds more tightly to GABA-AT. Although more potent GABA-AT inhibitors may reduce the dopaminergic signaling that is responsible for reinforcing addiction, we should be aware of the possibility that these drugs may themselves cause physical and/or psychological dependence. Edited by Jennifer Sills LETTERS
This document has been prepared for the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the au... more This document has been prepared for the European Commission. It reflects the views only of the author. Its purpose is to provide an analytical evaluation of the FP7 COOPERATION Specific Programme. The information presented here is believed to be accurate and correct. However, the author cannot be held legally responsible for any errors. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, made with respect to the information provided. The author will not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the content of this publication.
The public sector plays a key economic role as regulator,service provider and employer. It accoun... more The public sector plays a key economic role as regulator,service provider and employer. It accounts for more than 25% of total employment and a significant share of economic activity in the EU27 Member States. Additionally, an efficient and productive public sector can be a strong driver of economic growth through its support for and governance of the private sector. European governments are acknowledging more and more the importance of public sector innovation. There is a consensus across countries and public administrations as to what is meant by public sector innovation: innovation is seen as a means to address growing budgetary pressures, through more efficient administration or service delivery, and new societal demands, through different and more effective service design. Due to the economic crisis and severe budget cuts, public sector innovation remains a challenge but also a solution. Historically, the public sector has developed differently from the private sector, where ef...
TECHNlK, WlRTSCHAFT und POLlTlK Schriftenreihe des Fraunhofer-lnstituts für Systemtechnik und lnn... more TECHNlK, WlRTSCHAFT und POLlTlK Schriftenreihe des Fraunhofer-lnstituts für Systemtechnik und lnnovationsforschung lSl Viola Peter titutionen im Innovations prozess Eine Analyse anhand der biotechnologischen lnnovationssysteme in Deutschland und Japan Physica ...
This report summarises the results of the study ‘Assessing the impacts of EU regulatory barriers ... more This report summarises the results of the study ‘Assessing the impacts of EU regulatory barriers on innovation’. To obtain the necessary data, a European-wide survey was conducted in 2016. This study focused on four sectors: energy, food, health and water. Each of these four sectors addressed the innovation system and regulatory framework, alongside questions on challenges, innovation drivers and barriers. While regulatory barriers to innovation were identified for the whole economy as well as within the four sectoral studies, the overall impact of regulation on innovation is predominantly neutral to positive. The main regulatory barrier identified concerns ‘conflicting regulation’ rather than a single type of regulation. The study also found that compliance with regulation creates innovation, with a net gain of EUR 3-6 billion per year in additional innovation investments and in terms of employment a net gain of 120 000 additional jobs. Removing existing regulatory barriers could release up to EUR 4-8 billion on general innovation investment per year.
In this report, information is provided on business R&D expenditures and patenting structures wit... more In this report, information is provided on business R&D expenditures and patenting structures within Key Enabling Technologies and Societal Grand Challenges. The main challenge hereby was to estimate BERD, value added and employment at the technological level of KETs and SGCs as these indicators are only available at the sectoral (NACE 2-digit) level. The employed method uses the (weighted) distribution of technology-specific patents per sector to re-allocate BERD and value added by technology fields. While the strong correlation between patents and R&D expenditures is a proof of the use of this approach for BERD, the connection between patents and value added is much smaller. For this indicator the estimated values are therefore to be cautiously interpreted. Yet, technology specific data on value added is not available. Variations across countries, could partly be taken into account by employing four country groups.
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