EU - Problems and Perspectives

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Part 1 R&D Investment for the

Knowledge-Based Economy

Scientific and technological knowledge and its wide dissemination

play a vital role in the knowledge-based economy. It is widely




agreed that research and development (R&D), along with the

availability of a highly skilled workforce, the creation of an intense

interplay between the stakeholders of national innovation systems,

and the effective use of information and communication technologies,

are the key conditions for successful innovation and the competitiveness

of advanced economies.

The capacity to create and apply knowledge has become more important

in the production of goods and services. On the one hand,

production is more research-intensive, drawing on the utilisation

of research findings; on the other hand, it is technology-intensive,

drawing on the exploitation of new technology, and on the command

of the knowledge base of advanced and tailored services and

complex production processes.

This part of the document first examines the investments that various

countries are making in R&D, and the main sectors making

those investments. Secondly, some key figures on Community

funding of research by means of the Framework Programmes are

presented. Thirdly, since in most countries the business sector plays

the most important role in terms of R&D spending, private investment

will be examined in more detail. As venture capital (VC)

investment ¨C from private as well as public sources ¨C becomes more

and more important for the creation of new firms and employment,

key data on VC investment will conclude this part.

Key findings

¡ö Since the mid-10s, the gap in R&D financing between the EU

and the US has almost doubled in volume terms. The gap is

mostly because the growth in R&D activities in the main EU

economies has been low by comparison to that in the US,

especially in France, the UK and Italy.

¡ö There are substantial differences between Europe and its

main competitors in the structure of their R&D funding. In

the EU, while governments account for a much larger share

of R&D investment than in the US and Japan, the situation is

the reverse in the case of business R&D. The absolute volume

and the growth of R&D investments being made by

European companies are substantially below the levels found

in the US.

¡ö The EU countries have converged in terms of the development of

their R&D system. On the one hand, most of the small EU

economies, and those that are catching up, have recorded the

highest growth rates for R&D investment and R&D intensity

(the amount of R&D investment per unit of GDP). On the other

hand, the major EU economies have registered either comparatively

moderate or negative rates for growth of R&D investment

and R&D intensity.

¡ö The business sector finances and executes a high share of R&D

in several EU countries. However, comparing the EU average to

the US and Japanese shares respectively, the EU¡¯s business sector

is lagging far behind.Perspectives

In order to meet the objective set at the Lisbon Summit in March

000 to make the EU the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-

based economy in the world by 010, the EU has a major

challenge ahead. While both the private and the public sectors

need to invest more in R&D, these investments should be made in

an effective way, with special focus on mechanisms to stimulate efficiency

throughout the whole R&D system. During the past few

years, growth in R&D financing has been insufficient, but more

progress has been made in the way the funds are allocated. For instance,

public funds are increasingly awarded on a competitive basis,

often through intermediary public funding organisations and

via public-private co-financing programmes.

Aiming at achieving the % objective by the year 010, much attention

is being paid to enhancing private sector efforts in research.

In particular, as Europe lags significantly behind the US in venture

capital financing, additional efforts have been made to support

venture capital financing in seed, start-up and expansion phases of

new business activities; these are expected to generate new business

sector R&D activities and R&D performers. Also, public sector

R&D should be strengthened with new resources for research

along with increases in public funding for private sector R&D.

Because of the potential systemic failures of national innovation

systems (mismatches, inefficiencies, lack of collaboration), an increase

in funding is not enough on its own. Other factors affecting

the volume of R&D and the level of R&D intensity should be taken

into account as well. These include, for example the regulatory

environment for R&D; the stock of human resources in research;

and the capacity of the innovation system to absorb any increases

in funding; and the capability of R&D financiers and

performers to co-operate and use funding in a productive way.

The role of governments is increasingly seen to be to act as a facilitator,

creating a favourable regulatory framework and environment

for the various players in the innovation system to conduct

research and to collaborate with each other. The key issue is stimulating

public¨Cprivate partnerships in both financing and in research

and development. In this regard, Community funding

through Framework Programmes has opened up new avenues for

more intensive collaboration and participation in multi-annual

pre-competitive R&D bringing together partners from various

countries and from different sectors of the economy. This trend is

enhanced by the implementation of the Sixth Framework Programme

with the introduction of new instruments, and by the

favourable development of Community funding for co-operative

R&D activities.Part Human Resources in S&T

Human resources are an important element of the knowledgebased

economy. The role of human resources in economic processes

is being re-defined ¨C from the creator of knowledge in

S&T processes to the applicant of knowledge within broader the

economy. Human resources in S&T are measured by the numbers

of people in S&T related occupations, and the level of formal

educational qualifications in the labour force.

This section analyses key indicators on human resources in S&T,

including numbers of researchers, graduates in S&T (especially

new PhDs), investment in tertiary education, international mobility

of students and researchers and women in S&T.

Key findings

¡ö In the EU Member States, the proportion of researchers in the

labour force is low compared to the US and Japan; only Finland

and Sweden are at the same high level.

¡ö The EU produces more S&T graduates than the US or Japan,

both in absolute terms and in relation to population size.

¡ö EU Member States invest less of their national resources in tertiary

education than the US, but more than Japan.

¡ö The main foreign destinations of EU students are the US and

Canada. The main regions of origin of foreign researchers in the

EU are other European countries, Asia and Oceania.

¡ö In the EU, women are less well represented than men in S&T and

the situation is even worse among researchers.

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