The Changing Nature of Scientific Organisation

Knowledge transfer profiles of public research organisations: the role of fields of knowledge specialisation

“…Of course, there are many other factors not covered in this research that should be considered in PRO policy design (e.g. environmental patterns and organisational structure) in order to systematically plan the consequent changes in knowledge flow and direction (Bozeman and Crow 1990), taking into account the organic scientific change in policy-driven changes (Boden et al 2004). This could help to better consider the needs, performance, and role of those PROs located in the boundaries of our profiles.…”

“…the UK's National Physical Laboratory was founded in 1900). Since the Second World War the institutional environment of PROs has become increasingly turbulent in many countries (see Bozeman and Crow 1990 for the US case or Boden et al 2004 for the UK), with a complex mix of external forces shaping the development and reforms of PRO systems. In the case of the UK, the PRO system received further boost in the post-war era (Charles and Howells 1992) which saw large government investment in public research laboratories, to promote national competitiveness in areas of strategic interest such as energy and space, in line with similar trends occurring in the USA and in other European countries (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD 1989;Slaughter and Roades 1996;Lawton-Smith 1997).…”

“…PROs have been allowed to received private funding (Science and Technology Act, 1965) and more recently some government funds were specifically earmarked to support PROs ' KT activities (the Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund, implemented in 2001HM Treasury 2007). On the other hand, since the late 1980s, under the banner of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of government investment, the UK government has implemented a process of progressive rationalisation of PROs, through mergers, closures, and transfers to the private sector (Lawton-Smith 1997;Lawton-Smith and Swyngedouw 2000;Boden et al 2004; BIS 2015). Following this process, the UK PRO sector is smaller than it used to be and has converged on what Cruz-Castro et al (2020) define as 'government laboratories' 1 : public institutions mainly focused on applied research activities that contribute to solving public policy issues, with some involvement in basic research (Baker 1999).…”