Innovation policy in the European Union: instruments and objectives

We provide an overview of the specific innovation policies that are implemented at European level, highlighting, where possibile, the connections between these policies and the guidance documents issued by the Community’s institutions. We describe the kinds of policy interventions that are implemented, providing at the same time some useful elements in order to understand the assumptions and theories that underpin them.Innovation policy; European institutions; Lisbon strategy; Structural funds; European research policy; European enterprise policy

Indicators of university-industry knowledge transfer performance and their implications for universities: evidence from the UK’s HE-BCI survey

Focusing on the measurement of universities’ performance in knowledge transfer, we outline some critical issues connected with the choice of appropriate indicators: in particular, we argue that, in order to allow universities to correctly represent their knowledge transfer performance, indicators should include a variety of knowledge transfer activities, reflect a variety of impacts, allow comparability between institutions, and avoid the creation of perverse behavioural incentives. To illustrate these issues empirically, we discuss the case of the United Kingdom’s Higher Education –Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey. We show that the indicators used to measure and reward universities’ engagement in knowledge transfer are not fully comprehensive, they are better suited to capture the impact of certain types of activities than others and they are influenced by institutional strategies and characteristics rather than simply reflecting different performances. The conclusions explore some promising directions to address some of these problems

Cooperation networks and innovation: A complex system perspective to the analysis and evaluation of a EU regional innovation policy programme

Recent developments in innovation theory and policy have led policymakers to assign particular importance to supporting networks of cooperation among heterogeneous economic actors, especially in production systems composed of small and medium enterprises. Such innovative policies call for parallel innovations in policy analysis, monitoring and assessment. Our analysis of a policy experiment aimed at supporting innovation networks in the Italian region of Tuscany intends to address some issues connected with the design, monitoring and evaluation of such interventions. Combining tools from ethnographic research and social networks analysis, we explore the structural elements of the policy programme, its macroscopic impact on the regional innovation system, and the success of individual networks in attaining their specific objectives. This innovative approach allows us to derive some general methodological suggestions for the design and evaluation of similar programmes.Innovation policy, cooperation networks, evaluation, regional development, SMEs production systems, complex systems

Networked by design: can policy constraints support the development of capabilities for collaborative innovation?

While there has been some recent interest in the behavioural effects of policies in support of innovation networks, this research field is still relatively new. In particular, an important but under-researched question for policy design is “what kind of networks” should be supported, if the objective of the policy is not just to fund successful innovation projects, but also to stimulate behavioural changes in the participants, such as increasing their ability to engage in collaborative innovation. By studying the case of the innovation policy programmes implemented by the regional government of Tuscany, in Italy, between 2002 and 2008, we assess whether the imposition of constraints on the design of innovation networks has enhanced the participants’ collaborative innovation capabilities, and we draw some general implications for policy

On Computing the Translations Norm in the Epipolar Graph

This paper deals with the problem of recovering the unknown norm of relative translations between cameras based on the knowledge of relative rotations and translation directions. We provide theoretical conditions for the solvability of such a problem, and we propose a two-stage method to solve it. First, a cycle basis for the epipolar graph is computed, then all the scaling factors are recovered simultaneously by solving a homogeneous linear system. We demonstrate the accuracy of our solution by means of synthetic and real experiments.Comment: Accepted at 3DV 201

Spectral Motion Synchronization in SE(3)

This paper addresses the problem of motion synchronization (or averaging) and describes a simple, closed-form solution based on a spectral decomposition, which does not consider rotation and translation separately but works straight in SE(3), the manifold of rigid motions. Besides its theoretical interest, being the first closed form solution in SE(3), experimental results show that it compares favourably with the state of the art both in terms of precision and speed

The efficiency of universities' knowledge transfer activities: a multi-output approach beyond patenting and licensing

Using data from the United Kingdom, we analyse the relative efficiency with which university institutions engage in knowledge transfer activities, and study the institutional and environmental factors that influence their efficiency. While most current studies limit their focus to intellectual property disclosures, we focus on a broad range of knowledge transfer outputs that include also research and consultancy contracts, professional training courses, and public engagements

Radiological assessment of muscle mass and quality (sarcopenia) in women with breast cancer

Purpose Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass, is divided in “primary” or “age-related” and “secondary” when causal factors other than ageing are evident. Cancer is one of the major causes of secondary sarcopenia, associated with negative clinical outcome, even in breast cancer (BC). BC is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Computer Tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard to evaluate sarcopenia, also in BC patients. Other radiological techniques (Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI and Ultrasound, US) can be easily used to assess body composition, especially when CT is not available. The aim of my study was to evaluate with radiological techniques the muscle mass variation in women with BC recruited both prospectively and retrospectively at our University Hospital. A new method to assess muscle mass on breast MRI was developed. The first step was to find if there was a correlation between psoas muscle area (PMA) assessed on CT images and pectoralis muscle area (TPA) assessed on breast MRI. Material and Methods A total of 26 women included in the study was evaluated with both body CT and breast MRI. Reconstructed axial images with both a 1.25-mm and a 5-mm slice thickness and axial T1-weighted images were evaluated by two radiologists to calculate TPA and PMA. Descriptive statistical analysis included inter- and intra-reader agreement and the correlation between TPA on CT and PMA on MRI. Results Comparing axial 5-mm-slice-thickness body CT images and T1-weighted fat-saturated MR images, the Pearson r correlation coefficient was 0.52. Comparing axial 1.25-mm slice thickness body CT images and T1-weighted MR images, the Pearson r (– 1 < r < + 1) correlation coefficient was 0.70 and the coefficient of determination was 0.49, p < 0.05. The inter-reader agreement was almost perfect (0.81–1) for axial 1.25-mm and 5-mm CT images, respectively. The intra-reader agreement of reader 1 was k = 0.98 and k = 0.94 for 1.25-mm and 5-mm CT images, respectively. The intra-reader agreement of reader 2 was 0.95 and 0.94 for 1.25-mm and 5-mm, respectively. On axial pre-contrast T1-weighted images, the inter-reader agreement was 0.61, p < 0.05, considered good (0.61–0.8). Intra-observer agreement of reader 1 and reader 2 for PMA estimation were good (0.62 and 0.64). Conclusion The results demonstrated a strong correlation between PMA assessed on breast MRI and TPA assessed on body CT images. In addition, the technique for measurement of PMA has also been shown to be highly reproducible between different readers.Purpose Pectoralis muscle area (PMA) assessed on breast MRI represented a new method that could be used to evaluate muscle mass in breast cancer (BC) patients, even when body CT is not available. We decided to test the clinical applicability of our method, in particular to evaluate whether the PMA, assessed on breast MRI, varied in BC women, who underwent Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NAC). NAC is a type of systemic therapy administered prior to surgery. Material and Methods A total of 110 consecutive patients who were treated with NAC for histologically proven primary BC and in whom tumor response was checked with standard breast MRI were included. Two radiologists calculated the pectoralis muscle cross-sectional area before and after NAC. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the median values and percentage changes of PMA on MRI examinations, acquired at the beginning of NAC and at the end of NAC. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate if muscle mass loss correlated with age, time between MRI exams, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor status (HER-2), Ki-67 expression, lymph node status, RECIST criteria, histological type, molecular categories, and grade. Inter- and intra-reader agreement were calculated using Cohen’s kappa test. Results Time between the MRI examinations, before starting NAC and after completing NAC, was 166.8 ± 50 days. PMA calculated pre-NAC (8.14 cm2) was larger than PMA calculated post-NAC (7.03 cm2) (p < 0.001). According to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria, there were no significant differences between responders (complete or partial response) and non-responders (p = 0.362). The multivariate regression analysis did not show any significant relationships between ΔPMA and age, time between MRI exams, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor status (HER-2), Ki-67 expression, lymph node status, RECIST criteria, histological type, average lesion size, molecular categories, and grade. Inter-reader (k = 0.72) and intra-reader agreement (0.69 and 0.71) in PMA assessment were good. Conclusion Pectoralis muscle mass varies in breast cancer patients undergoing NAC and this difference can be estimated directly on standard breast MRI. Pectoralis muscle mass variation assessed on breast MRI may help the evaluation of the risk of toxicities and may optimize patient selection for specific therapeutic protocols with better clinical outcomes.Purpose Cancer is one of the most important causes of sarcopenia, i.e. loss of muscle mass, that is associated with negative clinical outcome, even in breast cancer (BC). BC represents the most common tumor type in young women of reproductive age. The aim of the study is to evaluate if there is pectoralis muscle area (PMA) depletion, reflecting loss of muscle mass, on MRI exams during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and to correlate this variation with clinical and histopathological data. Material and Methods A total of 51 patients histologically proven primary invasive ductal breast cancer between January 2019 and September 2021, treated with NAC and in whom tumor response was assessed with breast MRI. Results Time between the two MRI examination (before and after NAC) was 158±25.5 days. Pre-NAC PMA mean value was larger than post-NAC PMA mean value (9.6±2.6 cm2 vs. 8.7±2.2 cm2, p<0.001, delta value 1.41). According to the RECIST criteria, no significant differences between complete and partial response were found. Multivariate regression analysis did not show any significant relationships between ΔPMA and age, time between MRI examinations, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status, Ki-67 expression, lymph node involvement, RECIST criteria, histological type, and different regimes of NAC. Inter-reader (k=0.75) and intra-reader agreement (0.68 and 0.72) in PMA assessment were good. Conclusions The final study showed body composition changes in terms of loss of skeletal muscle mass in young premenopausal patients with invasive ductal breast cancer undergoing NAC regimes, whose radiological response was assessed on consecutive breast MRI examinations. PMA variation on breast MRI could be a potential tool to diagnose early skeletal muscle mass loss during NAC, emphasizing the risk of increased chemotoxicities and improving patient outcome

Robust Rotation Synchronization via Low-rank and Sparse Matrix Decomposition

This paper deals with the rotation synchronization problem, which arises in global registration of 3D point-sets and in structure from motion. The problem is formulated in an unprecedented way as a "low-rank and sparse" matrix decomposition that handles both outliers and missing data. A minimization strategy, dubbed R-GoDec, is also proposed and evaluated experimentally against state-of-the-art algorithms on simulated and real data. The results show that R-GoDec is the fastest among the robust algorithms.Comment: The material contained in this paper is part of a manuscript submitted to CVI

Innovation, generative relationships and scaffolding structures: implications of a complexity perspective to innovation for public and private interventions

The linear model of innovation has been superseded by a variety of theoretical models that view the innovation process as systemic, complex, multi-level, multi-temporal, involving a plurality of heterogeneous economic agents. Accordingly, the emphasis of the policy discourse has changed over time. The focus has shifted from the direct public funding of basic research as an engine of innovation, to the creation of markets for knowledge goods, to, eventually, the acknowledgement that knowledge transfer very often requires direct interactions among innovating actors. In most cases, policy interventions attempt to facilitate the match between “demand” and “supply” of the knowledge needed to innovate. A complexity perspective calls for a different framing, one focused on the fostering of processes characterized by multiple agency levels, multiple temporal scales, ontological uncertainty and emergent outcomes. This contribution explores what it means to design interventions in support of innovation processes inspired by a complex systems perspective. It does so by analyzing two examples of coordinated interventions: a public policy funding innovating networks (with SMEs, research centers and university), and a private initiative, promoted by a network of medium-sized mechanical engineering firms, that supports innovation by means of technology brokerage. Relying on two unique datasets recording the interactions of the organizations involved in these interventions, social network analysis and qualitative research are combined in order to investigate network dynamics and the roles of specific actors in fostering innovation processes. Then, some general implications for the design of coordinated interventions supporting innovation in a complexity perspective are drawn