Universities and R&D networking in a knowledge-based economy

Innovation studies have mainly focused on the diffusion, management and utilization of knowledge from the perspective of the business enterprise sector. This study focuses on the development of research collaboration from the university perspective. The basic assumption is that it is important to understand the conditions, mechanisms and actual developments in academic research and knowledge production besides those related to knowledge transfer and utilization. The study utilizes a complex set of data from R&D funding statistics to interviews of researchers. The university perspective is complemented by survey data from Finnish industry. Some of the main questions addressed in the study are: how have Finnish universities and different fields of science developed their external linkages during the 1990s; how do university researchers see research cooperation; and, how does the business-enterprise sector collaborate with universities? The report is part of Sitra’s Research Programme on the Finnish Innovation