The Importance of Co-ordination in National Technology Policy: Evidence From the Galileo Public Private Partnership.

Abstract

Policy makers seek to identify an institutional framework that facilitates the commercialization of publicly funded R&D. In the space industry, the formation of such a framework is complicated by certain non-economic factors, such as national security considerations and the fact that numerous sovereign nations are often included in the commercialization process. In this paper, a model is outlined, that incorporates both economic and non-economic factors. The paper then demonstrates the importance of co-ordination in national technology policy to achieve an optimal result. The benefits of co-ordination are illustrated through a case study of the design of a major European public-private partnership (PPP) in the space industry, referred to as Galileo.