Science and Development Network
News, views and information about science, technology and the developing world
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Definitions
Definitions have been adapted from three main sources: Cordis (ECC), the Frascati Manual (FM) and the Oslo Manual (OM), with thanks to the providers.
A
Applied research
Original investigation undertaken to acquire new knowledge, but directed primarily towards a specific practical objective (see also research and development) (FM).
B
Basic research
Experimental or theoretical investigation undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view (see also research and development) (FM).
C
Codified knowledge
Knowledge that can be transmitted in formal language in written documents, patents, mathematical expressions, designs, and scientific journals (see also tacit knowledge) (ECC).
D
Design
An essential part of the innovation process that covers plans and drawings; technical specifications; and operational features necessary for the conception, development, manufacturing and marketing of new products and processes. Design may be a part of the initial conception of the product or process, i.e. research and experimental development, but it is also part of tooling-up, industrial engineering, manufacturing start-up, and marketing of new products (see also research and development and non-R&D innovation activities) (FM).
Diffusion
The way that new or improved products and processes spread — through market or non-market channels — from their first implementation to different countries and regions, as well as to different industries, markets and firms (OM).
E
Experimental development
Systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from both research and practical experience, that is directed at producing new materials, products and devices; at installing new processes, systems and services; or at improving substantially those that have already been produced or installed (see also research and development) (FM).
F
Framework conditions
Institutional and structural factors (e.g. legal, economic, financial, and educational) that set the rules and range of opportunities for innovation (OM).
G
Governance of innovation
Issues that define the role of stakeholders — scientists, industry, consumers and public authorities — in the process of innovation policy design, implementation and evaluation (ECC).
I
Indicators
Quantifiable factors that serve as indirect measures of underlying behaviour of interest to policy-makers or others; the number of a country's patent applications per million population, for example, is one indicator of its innovative capacity (ECC).
Industrial liaison office (ILO)
A unit within a university or large public research institution that interacts with industrial users of the institution's research results and intellectual property, for example by negotiating licensing agreements on patented inventions. ILOs are well placed to support spin-off companies, since they have close links with both the research and business communities (ECC).
Innovation
The conversion of new knowledge into products and processes that result in economic and social benefits. Innovation is now acknowledged to result from complex long-term interactions between many players in an innovation system (ECC).
Innovation system
The network of organisations within an given economic system that are directly involved in the creation, diffusion and application of scientific and technological knowledge, as well as the organisations responsible for the coordination and support of these processes.
Intangible assets
That part of a company's value that is made up of its staff and their skills, knowledge and creativity, the fundamental sources of wealth and value in a knowledge-based economy (see also tacit knowledge) (ECC).
Intellectual property (IP)
Original inventions and proprietary knowledge belonging to a company or an individual (see also intellectual property rights) (ECC).
Intellectual property rights (IPR)
Rights to the exclusive use of intellectual property that have been granted by a national or supra-national authority. The most common forms of intellectual property are patents, trademarks and 'industrial designs' (ECC).
K
Knowledge base
The body of knowledge on which a particular industrial sector relies for its advancement. The knowledge base can include not only codified knowledge but also tacit knowledge and knowledge embedded in plant and equipment (ECC).
L
Linear models of innovation
Over-simplified views of innovation as involving merely the transfers of specific technologies from the research base to industry, or as a process driven by demands from society. Now superseded by the 'systemic model' of innovation (ECC).
N
Networks
Set of interactions including small firms, relationships between users and suppliers, relationships between firms which are competitors, policy and regulatory agencies and research institutions which produce information flows conducive to innovation or lead firms to be more receptive to it.
Non-R&D innovation activities
Activities that are not classified as research and development (R&D), but still play a major role in corporate innovation and performance. Examples include the construction of pilot plants and full-scale production facilities, the purchase of technical information through licenses and various types of engineering and design consultancy (see also innovation) (FM).
R
Research and development (R&D)
Systematic investigatory work carried out to increase the stock of knowledge, and the use of such knowledge to devise new products and processes. R&D includes basic research, applied research, and experimental development (FM).
Research base
The universities and large public research institutions that provide the academic science and technology resources of a country from which its industry can obtain new knowledge (ECC).
S
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
An independent company with fewer than 250 employees (ECC).
Spin-off/spin-out
A company established to commercialise the knowledge and skills of a university or corporate research team (ECC).
Start-up
A newly formed company usually based around a novel product or process (ECC).
Supra-national
Involving more than one country; having power or authority, which is greater than that of single countries.
Systemic model of innovation
A model of innovation process based on an awareness that successful innovation depends on interactions between many individuals, organisations and environmental factors. Within this model, R&D is no longer viewed as the 'source' of innovation but as one of a number of essential elements (ECC).
T
Tacit knowledge
Knowledge that has not been codified, but remains held in the heads and embodied in skills of researchers, and in the owner/managers and key employees of companies (see also intangible assets and codified knowledge) (ECC).
Technological capability
The ability to make use of knowledge to acquire, assimilate, adapt, and change existing technologies and develop new products and processes (see also technological learning).
Technological learning
The process of accumulating the capability to innovate (see also technological capabilities and innovation
U
University-industry links
Open and continuous interaction between industry and higher education institutions, which is now acknowledged to be a critical element of a successful innovation system. Universities are now adding the diffusion of knowledge to their traditional missions of education and research (see also industrial liaison office) (ECC).
V
Venture capital
Investment in companies whose success is uncertain, but also offer the possibility of a high rate of return. Venture capital is an essential means of financing the rapid growth of new technology-based firms (ECC).
