How do public programmes shape strategic R&D collaborations? Project-level evidence from the 5th and 6th EU Framework Programmes.

We analyze the micro rationale of EU-sponsored collaborations compared to non-sponsored, spontaneous collaborations. We compare the incentives and coordination mechanisms of each type of collaboration, and derive propositions that we test empirically. Our econometric analysis uses recent data on (sponsored and non-sponsored) projects conducted by participants in the 5th and 6th European R&D Framework Programmes. Our empirical findings support our main propositions. Compared to spontaneous collaborations, EU-sponsored collaborations clearly have different characteristics and follow a different rationale. However, there is no major difference between the different types of EU-sponsored collaborations.Strategic R&D Collaborations; European Framework Programmes; Research Joint Ventures.

Firm Size and Openness: the Driving Forces of University-Industry Collaboration

A large number of works have studied university-industry relationships either from a qualitative point of view or relying on a case study of a single university. The aim of this paper is to provide some statistical evidence at the cross-country, cross-industry level to verify some of the hypotheses put forward in the qualitative literature. On the basis of the results of the KNOW survey carried out in seven EU countries in 2000, we examine two main issues. First, the contribution made by Public Research Organisations (PROs) to the innovative process of firms is analysed. Second, the existence and the extent of co-operative R&D projects between firms and PROs are examined. A two-equation econometric model evaluates the effect of firm-specific, sector-specific and country-specific factors (such as firm size, appropriation and signalling, searching of knowledge sources, government support) upon the propensity for and the extent of collaborations between PROs and firms. The analysis in this paper provides some preliminary evidence which allows a better understanding of the firm and industry characteristics that affect the contribution of PROs to firms' innovative activities and to their involvement in R&D collaborations with firms. The estimations produce some evidence to highlight how the size of the firm and its openness to the external environment have a significant and important effect on both the extent of and propensity of PRO-firm collaboration.university-industry relationships, European Public Research Organisations, firm innovation

Factors Affecting University–Industry R&D Collaboration : The importance of screening and signalling.

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the determinants of research cooperation between firms and Public Research Organisations (PROs) for a sample of innovating small and mediumsized enterprises. The econometric analysis is based on the results of the KNOW survey carried out in seven EU countries during 2000. In contrast to earlier works that provide information about the importance of PROs’ research, we know how many collaborative projects a firm has had with PROs. This allows us to study the determinants of firms’ collaboration with PROs in terms of both the propensity of a firm to cooperate with a university (do they cooperate or not) and the extent of this cooperation (the number of collaborations). Two questions are addressed. Which firms cooperated with PROs? And what are the firm characteristics that might explain the number of collaborations with PROs? The results of our analysis point to two major phenomena. First, the propensity to forge an agreement with an academic partner depends on the ‘absolute size’ of the industrial partner. Second the openness of firms to the external environment, as measured by their willingness to search, screen and signal, significantly affects the development of cooperations with PROs. Our findings suggest that acquiring knowledge through the screening of publications and involvement in public policies positively affects the probability of signing an agreement with a PRO, but not the level of collaboration developed. In fact, firms that outsource research and development (R&D), and patent to protect innovation and to signal competencies show higher levels of collaboration.Public Research Organisations, University-Industry R&D cooperation, Openness.

A Paradigmatic Approach

The main objective of the paper is to provide an analytical framework based on evolutionary arguments, explaining the role and rationale of technology policies based on inter-organisation cooperations. We try to combine different arguments developped in the literature in order to define a coherent approach of technology policies : organisational, failure and paradigmatic approaches. We will argue that the role of technological policies and their design are contingent on whether knowledge creation emerges in an existing technological paradigm or will be at the origin of a new one. In the first part of the paper, we will define two broad kinds of cooperative policy : one (pre-paradigmatic) devoted to create radically new knowledge by exploring new avenues in order to initiate a new technological paradigm and the other (paradigmatic) devoted to create new knowledge by using exploitation mechanisms in order to maintain technological options and variety, inducing innovation and reducing negative lock-in effects. We specify also for each situation the kind of intervention (coordination, institutional structure) compatible with the objective of the policy. In the second part of the paper, we will illustrate our theoretical arguments by focusing on two types of cooperative programme : one devoted to create a new knowledge base in a pre-paradigmatic phase (the development of a digital switching system in France) and the other more devoted to foster knowledge in existing paradigms (the case of Brite-Euram)

Research Impact Assessment: from ex post to real-time assessment

International audienceThis paper presents an ongoing research and development project to build research management tools based on real-time impactanalysis (the toolset is labelled ASIRPArt). The ambition is to use the lessons learned from ex post research impact assessment (RIA), building from the ASIRPA project which was launched in 2011. The ASIRPA approach is currently implemented on a routine base at the French public research organisation INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique). Therefore, the project draws on lessons learned from ex post RIA and the experience of researchers and actors involved in research programming. The aim of ASIRPArt is to design an approach and tools to help conduct research projects or programmes with the aim to amplify impacts. The challenge of the current project is to develop management tools based on a better understanding of the mechanisms that generate research impact. These tools will be coproduced with potential users. Given the uncertainty and complexity that characterise the transformation processes linked to research activities, we do not intend to design ballistic steering tools but to produce tools to foster learning processes, coordination and reflexivity of the actors involved. Our approach takes inspiration in different streams of literature

ASIRPA - Analyse des Impacts de la Recherche Publique Agronomique. Rapport final

Le rapport fait le bilan de trois années de recherche concernant les méthodologies d'évaluation d'un organisme public de recherche finalisée. Au cours de trois années de recherche, l’équipe ASIRPA a construit une approche d’évaluation fondée sur la réalisation d’études de cas standardisées, conciliant analyse qualitative et quantitative des impacts des recherches selon cinq dimensions d’analyse. La démarche a été utilisée avec succès par les départements de recherche de l’institut. Une analyse transversale des 30 études réalisées à ce jour a permis de construire une typologie de 5 familles de chemins d’impact caractéristiques de l’institut. Le présent rapport démontre la pertinence des études ex post pour permettre à un organisme finalisé de mieux connaître l’impact de ses recherches, et favoriser les échanges avec les chercheurs et les partenaires autour de cette questio

Mediators of lifestyle behaviour changes in obese pregnant women. Secondary analyses from the DALI lifestyle randomised controlled trial

A better understanding of what drives behaviour change in obese pregnant overweight women is needed to improve the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in this group at risk for gestational diabetes (GDM). Therefore, we assessed which factors mediated behaviour change in the Vitamin D and Lifestyle Intervention for GDM Prevention (DALI) Lifestyle Study. A total of 436 women, with pre-pregnancy body mass index ≥29 kg/m 2 , ≤19 + 6 weeks of gestation and without GDM, were randomised for counselling based on motivational interviewing (MI) on healthy eating and physical activity, healthy eating alone, physical activity alone, or to a usual care group. Lifestyle was measured at baseline, and at 24–28 and 35–37 weeks of gestation. Outcome expectancy, risk perception, task self-efficacy and social support were measured at those same time points and considered as possible mediators of intervention effects on lifestyle. All three interventions resulted in increased positive outcome expectancy for GDM reduction, perceived risk to the baby and increased task self-efficacy. The latter mediated intervention effects on physical activity and reduced sugared drink consumption. In conclusion, our MI intervention was successful in increasing task self-efficacy, which was related to improved health behaviours

Sustainable soil and land management: a systems-oriented overview of scientific literature

Healthy soil is vital for our wellbeing and wealth. However, increasing demand for food and biomass may lead to unsustainable soil and land management practices that threaten soils. Other degradation processes such as soil sealing also endanger soil resources. Identifying and accessing the best available knowledge is crucial to address related sustainability issues and promote the needed transition towards sustainable soil and land management practices. Such knowledge has to cover all knowledge domains, system knowledge, target knowledge, and transformation knowledge. However, a comprehensive overview of existing research addressing societal needs related to soil is still missing, which hinders the identification of knowledge gaps. This study provides a detailed analysis of scientific literature to identify ongoing research activities and trends. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of scientific literature related to sustainable soil and land management was conducted. A systems-oriented analytical framework was used that combines soil and land related societal challenges with related knowledge domains. Our analysis revealed a significant increase in scientific publications and related interest in soil and land use-related research, above the average increase of publications within all scientific fields. Different forms of reduction and remediation of soil degradation processes (e.g. erosion, contamination) have been studied most extensively. Other topic areas like land take mitigation, soil biodiversity increase, increase of ecosystem services provision and climate change mitigation and adaption seem to be rather recent concerns, less investigated. We could highlight the importance of context-specific research, as different regions require different practices. For instance, boreal, tropical, karst and peatland regions were less studied. Furthermore, we found that diversifying soil management practices such as agroforestry or including livestock into arable systems are valuable options for increasing biomass, mitigating/adapting to climate change, and improving soil related ecosystem services. A recent trend towards the latter research topic indicates the transition from a soil conservation-oriented perspective to a soil service-oriented perspective, which may be better suited to integrate the social and economic dimensions of soil health improvement alongside the ecological dimension

Analyse Transactionnelle Suisse romande – Recueil d'articles 2020

Articles diffusés par l'Association Suisse d’Analyse Transactionnelle – Suisse romande durant l'année 2020. Articles - Qu’est ce que l’AT apporte au monde ? - Enseignement spécialisé et AT – Entrevue - Conseil pédagogique et AT – Entrevue - L’accouchement-marathon - Les enjeux relationnels de la coopération - Les étapes de la coopération - La fosse de rösti – une mine d’or pour des expériences sur la diversité -La complexité par la diversité – Quelle signification pour la gestion des organisations ? - L’économie de l’autonomie – Les martiens ont-ils disparu ? - La coopération dans les institutions et hôpitaux – Entrevue Résumés - Le sens des valeurs que l’on porte - Interventions dans l’accompagnement professionnel de couples - Brunch entre amis - Lors des moments difficiles, l’AT nous porte - Counselling de couple avec AT et sexualité : un couple inégal ? - On devait toujours parler de tout... discussion père fille Divers - Éditorial - Prendre soin de nous durant la pandémie - Célébrons Fanita English, joyeux 104e anniversaire - Pleine conscience – regards croisés : retour sur la journée de l’ASAT-SR - Hommages à Jenni Hine - Entrevue avec Sally Cuénin - Anciens numéro

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher’s alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e. at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000–25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500–6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa