Programme on Innovation , Higher Education and Research for Development IHERD

Abstract

The OECD has undertaken a study on " Research-funding instruments and modalities: implications for developing countries " as a part of a project on Higher Education and Research for Development (IHERD), financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The emergence of the knowledge society as a key motif of economic development and welfare has increased focus on science and the organisations that produce and fund science. One of the more significant impacts of this shift has been an increase in the proportion of funds competitively allocated to block grant funding. Another is the move towards increased research collaboration and internationalisation. For these and other reasons, research-funding instruments (arrangements for allocating money to research groups, individuals and organisations) and modalities (practical arrangements for implementing research-funding instruments) have become strategic issues in science, technology and innovation policy. This report provides a descriptive and analytical overview of the state of the art in research-funding instruments and modalities, and presents their implications for middle and low income countries. Research-funding instruments are often non-exclusive with the same instrument being employed for several purposes. Different purposes may also be clustered. For example, internationalisation may be achieved via projects or through grants and stipends. The greatest differences among research funders are found in the modalities they employ for operationalising funding instruments. Modalities are important for the strategic development and management of research funding because they determine the costs of administering and allocating funding. One of the most significant developments in research funding is the heightened importance and means of international collaboration. International collaboration has moved from being an optional issue to an imperative for achieving national science, technology and innovation policy goals. Furthermore, the nature of collaboration has changed: previously, international collaboration focused almost exclusively on the research community and on mobility from middle and low income countries to high income countries; at present, international collaboration includes cooperation among research funders (e.g. through joint programming and ERA-NET instruments). Several emerging economies such as Brazil, India and South Africa are employing international collaboration instruments aimed at South-South collaboration. These developments suggest that new opportunities are opening up in research funding and collaboration in research funding for middle and low income countries. This report argues that capacity in the administration and management of research funding is therefore a key strategic competence for countries that wish to exploit these emerging opportunities.