ACTION 2 : SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Part 1: Economy of science and knowledge - societal issues and technological developments.
At the Lisbon Summit (23-24 March 2000), four key areas - innovation, employment, economic reform and social cohesion - were defined. These areas fit into the general objective of making Europe a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy. The pursuit of this objective requires close monitoring and "benchmarking" of developments that inevitably occur in the area of technology, as well as of the socio-economic and cultural impact of these developments.
This part of the research project concerns new indicators for the purpose of evaluating the technical developments being studied and assessing their impact. This will be done with explicit consideration for the globlisation of socio-economic processes, which are likely to result in radical changes to decision-making in various areas and the evaluation associated with it.
Part 2: Science, ethics and society
Part II of this action will focus on the ethical aspects of scientific activities and their impact on the decision-making process.
Science affects all aspects of human activity and constitutes a fundamental tool for planning and building humanity's future. Scientific activity and its repercussions increasingly have an impact on human beings' quality of life and well being. These activities raise a series of questions to which the public debate should provide answers: What are the important new ethical questions? Who are the different actors who must become involved in this debate? What are the roles of the scientist and the industrialist in particular? How should the public sector structure its intervention? What attitude should be adopted towards new technologies?
INTRODUCTION TO TRANSVERSAL ACTIONS
The phenomenon of the globalisation of our economies, new communication technologies, the emergence of regional and international organisations, economic and social disparities within states and regions and the emergence of powerful private sector actors are all elements with a considerable impact on economic growth, the functioning of our society and the art of governing as practised by the various public authorities in our country.
The great increase in the complexity of political issues linked to the approaches that underlie them at national and supranational level (European in particular with the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, and international as regards the process of globalisation of decision-making) has led to increased emphasis on the integration of themes that translates as far as research is concerned into an intensification of the multidisciplinary approach. Moreover, major social changes (globalisation, the introduction of new technologies, the phenomenon of techno-globalisation, the knowledge society, etc.) and, consequently, all the mechanisms that accompany their emergence calls for the establishment of new reference points and new media with a view to a framework compatible with sustainable development.
These changes are accompanied by a greater need for new knowledge, the consequences of which over the short and long term must be assessed via the introduction of new harmonised indicators facilitating insertion into a process of integration of national policies at European level and of globalisation of decision-making and of economies. Countries must also step up and improve exchanges of data and make research results more freely accessible.
The new programmes "Plan for scientific support for a policy of sustainable development" and "Programme concerning current problems in the area of social cohesion" facilitate, each within its own field, investment in knowledge and/or the provision of more specific responses to certain questions via the production and acquisition of data and information.
To enable research to respond to certain challenges engendered by increasing interdependence between Belgium and the other countries of the global community in areas such as social interaction, international relations, economic development and cultural exchanges, or access to information and participation in society, we propose to implement a programme of transversal actions grouped around three axes based in the context described above.
The three axes are:
- Belgian public institutions and decision-making in a globalised society (S1);
- Science and society (S2);
- Viable cities (S3).
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Part 1: Economy of science and knowledge - societal issues and technological developments.
Priority themes
Indicators concerning forms of organisation of work (teleworking and telemedicine)
ICT applications make it possible to overcome the geographical barriers confronting the human race. The workplace and the employer's geographical location no longer need necessary coincide. Although a great deal of literature on teleworking exists, a comparable international indicator has not yet been developed. Teleworking is not yet very widespread in the medical sector. However, in the industrialised countries, health is one of the socio-economic sectors experiencing the most rapid growth. ICT applications are also in vogue in this sector. In this expanding field, particular attention should be paid to biomedical sciences and to developments in telemedicine. This is why these subjects are on the agenda for negotiations within the OECD within the framework of revision of the Frascati manual. This case study offers an opportunity to study the impact of ICT applications on the organisation of work (teleworking and telemedicine).
Indicators applicable to companies and the knowledge economy
The (mainly) quantitative information obtained via R&D surveys provides a picture of the dynamic of this area in the Belgian economy. To supplement this mainly quantitative information, it is necessary to proceed with case studies to obtain more qualitative information.
A whole series of elements that have not been adequately covered by these surveys include:
- The organisation of work and the location of R&D activities within the enterprise;
- The influence of R&D on knowledge flows within the enterprise and in relation to the external world;
- The scale of changes that the organisation of work may recently have undergone within enterprises in the wake of the ICT revolution, and their impact on the capacity to absorb knowledge;
- The consequences of the increasing codification and commercialisation of knowledge engendered by the ICT revolution, leading to an increase in the scale, volume and impact of the exchange of knowledge flows and thereby dissemination of technology;
- Etc.
Finally, this study must provide information leading to a better understanding of data provided by the various surveys on R&D activities and help to improve the design of future surveys.
Indicators concerning relationships between knowledge-generating and knowledge-consuming institutions
Universities, colleges and collective public research centres constitute an important source of information. They generate knowledge by conducting either basic or applied research. In a knowledge society, knowledge generated by these actors must be able to circulate to the greatest extent possible within society.
As scientific publications attest, the production of knowledge in Belgium exceeds the European average. Other authors suggest that this knowledge is nonetheless put to insufficient use in enterprises and that other countries do more to optimise it than Belgium does. Does this hypothesis correspond to reality?
Indicators concerning relationships between knowledge-generating and knowledge-consuming institutions in an international context
As we have already said, scientific publications reveal that the production of knowledge in Belgium exceeds the European average. Other indicators, such as for example Belgium's participation in the framework programme, reflect the same tendency. We may also observe that this knowledge is insufficiently optimised in Belgium (cf. the authors cited above). The number of Belgian patents is below the European average; the same is true for the number of private technological alliances. Subjected to a comparison at European level, will the number of new technology start-ups in Belgium indicate a similar trend?
How can this (apparent) contradiction between large-scale scientific production and a low level of optimisation of this production in Belgian companies be explained? An in-depth analysis of patents published may provide some partial responses to this question. It is indeed striking to realise that although the number of patent applications filed by Belgian firms is relatively low, the number of patents in which Belgians are involved (as co-inventors, for example) is relatively large. One possible explanation for this phenomenon lies in the presence, in Belgium, of many multinationals that could appropriate the results of Belgian research, or at least arrange for them to be optimised outside Belgium. The fact that Belgium multinationals are quite rare could further reinforce this trend. Does this hypothesis coincide with the observed increase in the Belgian balance of payments outcome in the field of technology? How should the results of the Federal Planning Office's efforts as concerns "transfers of production" be interpreted?
Indicators concerning carrier elements in the knowledge economy
With the creation of the single market in Europe and the development of trade in the rest of the world, bringing in its wake an increase in capital flows, knowledge flows have also increased. These flows of knowledge are conducted by human capital parallel to more codified knowledge or knowledge integrated into capital goods, etc.
The time is therefore particularly propitious for highlighting all the possibilities and shortcomings of the Belgian statistical system and to take inventory of methods, while indicating which methods are the most appropriate for the specific situation of Belgium.
Part 2: Science, ethics and society
Priority themes
Given the extent of the issue, all the questions formulated above will be studied within the framework of crisis management, of life sciences and more particularly of biotechnology.
S2/001/02: Regional development through knowledge-driven enterprise: the role of knowledge-creating institutions
S2/001/04: Research into the spread of teleworking, its conditions and implications
S2/001/06: Organisational structure and mobilisation of human resources: indicators for an enlarged innovation policy
S2/001/08: The importance of international spillovers for a small open economy: micro-evidence for Belgium
S2/005/10: Patents, trademarks, New Molecular Entities (NME) registrations, international R&D collaboration and multinational corporations in Belgium
S2/011/12: Implementing an integrated evaluation scheme of the institutional set-up through the generation of new S&T indicators
S2/064/01: ICT and its applications in Belgium. An international perspective
S2/10/002: Political regulation of biotechnologies: GMO´s and MAP in Belgium and France
Régulation publique des biotechnologies : biomédecine et OGM agroalimentaires en Belgique et en France : rapport final
Schiffino, Nathalie - Varone, Frédéric Gent : Academia Press, 2005 (PB6135)
Recherche sur la propagation, les conditions et les implications du télétravail : rapport final
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2003 (SP1216)
[To download]
Onderzoek naar de verspreiding, voorwaarden en implicaties van telewerk : finaal rapport
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2003 (SP1217)
[To download]
Research into the spread of teleworking, its conditions and implications : final report
Brussels : Federal Science Policy Office, 2003 (SP1218)
[To download]
