Who's got some answers?

Richard L. Hudson

To be sure, the basic facts about European R&D and innovation performance aren’t in question: Europe has fewer top-ranked universities than the U.S., fewer oft-cited scientific papers,  fewer Nobels (excluding this year’s come-from-behind victories) and smaller returns from its intellectual property. But now comes the big, open question: What should we do about it?

The European Commission, that last bastion of medieval scholasticism, tried this Spring and Summer to address the question by breaking it down into 30 sub-questions, and published them in a “Green Paper” asking the public at large to suggest answers. Should the EU play a bigger role in coordinating national research grants? Should inflexible academic tenure and pension rules be blasted away, to make it easier for scientists to move around Europe chasing the hottest labs? Should Europe spend less money on farmers and bridges, and more on scientists and medical schools?

The upshot: The Commission got more than 800 responses to its Green Paper – but there was no clear mandate. In fact, some expressed fears lest the Commission get too powerful in R&D policy. Concluded  Science and Research Commission Janez Potocnik, speaking at a conference last week run by the European Policy Centre, a Brussels think-tank: “Nothing will move if the Commission doesn’t move it – but also, nothing will move if the Commission wants to move it too hard.”  Stalemate?

No, instead it’s time for some lateral thinking – for new ideas that break the policy deadlock.

We at Science|Business have launched our Policy Bridge – a series of workshops and Web coverage on innovation policy  – to  flush out some new ideas from new voices. You can read about it here.

Original answers are what we’re looking for: New, very specific policy suggestions to unblock progress in technology transfer, university reform, labour-market regulation, grantsmanship, IP protection, or any other aspect of innovation policy. You can see some of those ideas online, in our “Bright Ideas” section. But we will also organize open discussions of them here in Brussels, and get feedback on them from the key actors around town.

Do you have a policy idea? Can you express it briefly – just a few hundred words summary (with a link if you like to a longer explanation?) I so, just email us at [email protected]. We’ll consider it for publication.

Or better yet, join our Policy Bridge as an individual or as an organization – along with our nine university members, plus EuropaBio, Microsoft and Procter & Gamble – and take part directly in the debate.  You can read about it here, or email [email protected].