Exploring the interdependencies of research funders in the UK

Investment in medical research is vital to the continuing improvement of the UK's health and wealth. It is through research that we expand our understanding of disease and develop new treatments for patients. Medical research charities currently contribute over £1 billion annually to medical research in the UK, of which over £350 million is provided by Cancer Research UK. Many charities, including Cancer Research UK, receive no government funding for their research activity. Cancer Research UK is engaged in a programme of work in order to better understand the medical research funding environment and demonstrate the importance of sustained investment. A key part of that is the Office of Health Economics‟ (OHE) 2011 report “Exploring the interdependency between public and charitable medical research”. This study found that there are substantial benefits, both financial and qualitative, from the existence of a variety of funders and that reductions in the level of government financial support for medical research are likely to have broader negative effects. This contributed to other evidence which found that the activities and funding of the charity, public and private sectors respectively are complementary, i.e. mutually reinforcing, rather than duplicative or merely substituting for one another. “Exploring the interdependencies of research funders in the UK” by the Office of Health Economics (OHE) and SPRU: Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Sussex, represents a continued effort to build the evidence base around the funding of medical research. This report uncovers the extent to which funders of cancer research are interdependent, nationally and internationally. Key figures show that two thirds of publications acknowledging external support have relied on multiple funders, while just under half benefited from overseas funding, and almost a fifth are also supported by industry. In addition the analysis shows that the general public would not want tax funding of cancer research to be reduced, but would not donate enough to charities to compensate for any such reduction

Open Design: Collaborative Organization and Digital Democratization

Contemporary post-industrial development has changed the organizational make up of labour in every sector, with a shift towards flexible and collaborative networks of knowledge work, to address issues such as decentralization, coordination and participation. This paper relates to recent developments in the fields of design, technology, and the social sciences in the ‘networks’ that inform knowledge development and creativity in design. Since the rise of internet, and a knowledge-based society, the concept of “network” stands for a different scheme of organization -- from hierarchical structures towards more horizontal geometries, which can develop and spread forms of collaborative creativity. While the image of the designer/artist is often someone who works alone in his office, creating unique masterpieces, design in fact happens to be highly affected by the dynamics of networking. New technologies and their accessibility are shaping a society where ‘everybody’ cam design, enabling new critical experiences of participation and also activism. This contribution to the design literature will focus on the scenarios concerning the new roles of designer, facing society, and its organisational structure through networks, while experimenting on self-production. Here, design can play a new role as an intelligent actor in complex networks, not just giving solutions with a top-down approach, moreover, spreading and developing tools for collaboration

Evolutionary Microeconomics and the Theory of Expectations

This paper sketches a framework for the analysis of expectations in an evolutionary microeconomics. The core proposition is that expectations form a network structure, and that the geometry of that network will provide a suitable guide as to the dynamical behaviour of that network. It is a development towards a theory of the computational processes that construct the data set of expectations. The role of probability theory is examined in this context. Two key issues will be explored: (1) on the nature and stability of expectations when they form as a complex network; and (2), the way in which this may be modelled within a multi-agent simulation platform. It is argued that multi-agent simulation (a-life) techniques provide an expedient analytical environment to study the dynamic nature of mass expectations, as generated or produced objects, in a way that bridges micro and macroeconomics.

Leadership Development in Context

Welcome to the third in a series of research reports from Leadership South West, the regional Centre of Excellence in leadership, based at the Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter. This report builds on from the last one, ‘What is leadership development: purpose and practice’, which explored the range of approaches to leadership development available to individuals and organisations and the assumptions and principles that underlie them. This is done by considering the impact of context on the appropriate content, style and format of leadership development. The report is divided into two main sections. The first looks at how different organisational and individual priorities shape the content and format of leadership development. Thus, for example, what are the sorts of things an organisation needs to pay attention to when embarking on a process of strategic change? What is distinct about development initiatives targeted at different client groups (e.g. women managers, senior executives)? And how can topics such as ethics and self-awareness be effectively conveyed within leadership development? The second section takes more of a sector/occupational focus on leadership development, looking at what tend to be the most significant factors and challenges facing organisations in these different environments. Thus, for example, what is distinct about the police or military context and what types of intervention seem best placed for organisations of this type? What are the key issues for leaders in local government and/or the education sector and how can leadership development help? And what are the main issues when dealing with people from different occupational groups and how can they best be engaged? The report concludes with a summary of themes arising from the different sections and an integrated framework for leadership development.South West Regional Skills Partnershi

Platform Organisations in Social Innovation: A Lot of Old Wine in a Bottle

The article investigates the influence of platform ideas, schemes, and production models outside the high-tech industry. To do this, it studies the organisational models of seven social innovation initiatives active in Italy in different sectors and promoted by different actors. The initiatives, even if non-high-tech, can be put in order as platform organisations because they host interactions between a variety of organisations and people, differently arranged with respect to them and largely autonomous and heterogeneous in terms of their interests, social networks, and purposes. The main purpose of this research has three sub-objectives. The first is to observe the development of extensive 'platformisation' processes of production systems. The second is to deepen trends in the high-tech sector through the observation of the non-high-tech sector. Finally, to create useful and usable knowledge to help political parties, trade unions, associations and governments plan solutions to protect workers of the platforms. Using a critical approach, the article reveals that these organisations are less innovative than their supporters report for three reasons. Firstly, because the concept of community is abused to describe these organisations, which present themselves mainly as coalitions or networks because their members lack a common sense of membership; secondly, because the research downsizes the presence of prosumers and peer-to-peer production and describes production and consumption processes that take place at separate times and in which peer production is only a marginal part of the production reality. In the end, because of these organisations work thanks to the job of a small group of people with high cognitive skills and relational capital that trigger production by activating, managing and capitalising a small crowd of workers

Transformation of a small-to-medium-sized enterprise to a multi-organisation product-service solution provider

This paper aims to: (1) précis the extant literature on servitization and enterprization transformations, focusing on the role of information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) and their inter-relationships; (2) illustrate these interrelationships by showing how a small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME) can move from being a predominantly independent SME, delivering only products, to become part of a multi-organisation enterprise able to deliver product-service solutions; and (3) provide generic learning by proposing a new integrated business transformation model. The methodology used is abductive action research. A literature review is conducted to provide academically grounded themes to inform and interpret practical actions. An empirical case study is conducted with a UK SME from the construction industry that provides empirical data to illustrate a business transformation. Inductive reasoning is used to propose a new integrated transformation model. Findings show that enterprization and servitization transformation themes are highly interdependent and co-implementable when an IT/IS focus is taken. Furthermore, these transformations can be used as part of a successful strategy for growth by an SME. A new operating structure, labelled a product-service enterprise (PSE), is proposed as part of a business transformation model to assist future deliveries of product-service solutions (PSSns). Actions and findings are based on a single empirical case abducted with academic themes. Whilst it is probable that the themes and actions have contributed towards the organization's successful growth, no absolute deterministic causality is claimed

Cognitivism and Innovation in Economics - Two Lectures

This issue of the Department W.P. reproduces two lectures by Professor Loasby organized by the CISEPS (Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Economics, Psychology and the Social Sciences at Bicocca) in collaboration with the IEP, the Istituto di Economia Politica of the Bocconi University in Milan. The first lecture was delivered at the University of Milano-Bicocca on 13 October 2003 and the second was staged the day after at the Bocconi University. The lectures are reproduced here together with a comment by dr. Stefano Brusoni of Bocconi and SPRU. Two further comments were presented at the time by Professor Richard Arena of the University of Nice and by Professor Pier Luigi Sacco of the University of Venice. Both of them deserve gratitude for active participation to the initiative. Unfortunately it has not been possible to include their comments in the printed form. In these lectures Brian Loasby opens under the title of Psychology of Wealth (a title echoing a famous essay by Carlo Cattaneo) and he develops an argument in cognitive economics which is based on Hayek’s theory of the human mind with significant complements and extensions, mainly from Smith and Marshall. The second lecture provides a discussion on organization and the human mind. It can be read independently although it is linked to the former. Indeed, in Professor Loasby’s words, “the psychology of wealth leads to a particular perspective on this problem of organization”. The gist of the argument lies in the need to appreciate the significance of an appropriate “balance between apparently conflicting principles: the coherence, and therefore the effectiveness, of this differentiated system requires some degree of compatibility between its elements, but the creation of differentiated knowledge and skills depends on the freedom to make idiosyncratic patterns by thinking and acting in ways which may be radically different from those of many other people”. This dilemma of compatibility vs. independence can find solution in a variety of contexts, as Loasby’s analysis shows. In his comments Richard Arena had focussed on the rationality issues, so prominent in Loasby’s text. For example, he had suggested that the cleavage between rational choice equilibrium and evolutionary order offers ground to new forms of self-organization. Pier Luigi Sacco had emphasized that Loasby’s approach breaks new ground on the economics of culture and paves the way to less simplistic conceptions of endogenous growth than is suggested by the conventional wisdom of current models. Unfortunately, as hinted above, is has proved impossible to include those comments in the present booklet along with Loasby’s lectures. A special obligation must be recorded to Dr. Stefano Brusoni, who has prepared a written version of his own comment which has been printed in this booklet and can be offered to the reader. Among other participants Roberto Scazzieri, of the University of Bologna, Tiziano Raffaelli, of the University of Pisa, Luigino Bruni of Bicocca, Riccardo Cappellin of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’ and others were able to offer significant comments during the two sessions of the initiative. The organizers are particularly grateful to Professor Brian Loasby for the active and generous support of the initiative. Together with our colleagues and students we have been able to admire his enthusiasm and intellectual creativity in treating some of the more fascinating topics of contemporary economics.