The life science sector: evolution of agro-biotechnology in Europe

This article reports on a detailed study of large agro-biotechnology companies, conducted during the recent period of rapid industrial restructuring. The concept of life science synergy, involving a useful cross-fertilisation of ideas between the development of new drugs and new crop protection products, has floundered. Although negative public reaction to GM (genetically modified) crop development is a significant cause, our research suggests that there are other more subtle causes, such as organisational culture differences between agro-chemicals and biotechnology disciplines and between seeds and chemicals firms. We found three distinct approaches to life science and technology trajectory-seeking in top agro-biotechnology companies

A critical evaluation of partnerships in municipal waste management in England

Partnership working is becoming popular as a strategic and operational approach to developing sustainable waste management. However, the evidence base to support partnership working is poor and the impact and potential of partnerships in the waste sector has not been analysed and assessed. This paper starts to address the gap in knowledge. It focuses on partnership working for the management of municipal waste, and identifies and characterises a range of different types including partnerships between local authorities and between local authorities and their service providers. Five models of partnerships are presented and illustrated through case-studies. The paper is novel in applying an analytical framework for partnership working developed in healthcare (Hudson and Hardy, 2002) to the public service delivery of waste and recycling services. The theoretical concepts of synergy and governance are used to inform this analysis and discuss the implications arising from emerging trends. Partnerships have defined members, a written understanding, a shared vision and a joint commitment to work together towards common objectives. Findings suggest successful partnerships have developed over the long-term, a partnership lifecycle exists where motivations, characteristics and activities change over time. Current partnerships appear to be primarily concerned with meeting targets and delivering efficiencies, which can lead towards more centralised decision making and aggregated services. We suggest that policy rhetoric promoting partnerships for delivering sustainable resource management and as a local governance mechanism is not borne out in practice and should be treated with caution

Bioeconomy and the global economy: industrial policies and bio-innovation

The last decades have witnessed major growth in the bioeconomy. Emergence of the bioeconomy as a broad, creative and rapidly expanding part of the global economy coincides with the maturation of the established drug discovery system. This paper presents research evidence focused on the relationships between changes in the bioeconomy and changes in the global economy. It argues that new forms of governance and regulation are key to strengthen industrial policies needed for emerging and developing countries to take account of the complex interactions in life science innovation between technology, markets, regulation and civil society, which could significantly impact on global distribution of the industry