Understanding the network structure of agri-food FP7 projects: An approach to the effectiveness of innovation systems

Innovation systems’ response to changes in the institutional impulse: Analysis of the evolution of the European energy innovation system from FP7 to H2020

“…This study analyses the evolution of the EEIS between two periods-2007-2013 and 2014-2020-corresponding to two different EU research and innovation FPs, FP7 and H2020, respectively, to assess how the innovation system evolution corresponds to the changes in the policy goals and challenges set forth by newer programme H2020. In line with previous studies (Esmailzadeh et al, 2020;Calvo-Gallardo et al, 2021;De Arroyabe et al, 2021;Van der Loos et al, 2021), it was found that these conditions-changes in the institutional impulse-played a relevant and complex role in the evolution of the innovation systems. They overlap, link, have different weights, and evolve over time ( Van der Loos et al, 2021).…”

“…First, the innovation system has a larger number of players, of which 88% are newcomers, indicating a higher participation recurrence compared to the average number of connections, along with a lower share of entities that acted as coordinators. Van Rijnsoever et al (2015) and Zhang and Guan (2019) pointed out that although network size is a relevant property in terms of information diffusion and collaboration, partners' connectivity is a critical element in influencing network efficiency Arranz et al, 2020;De Arroyabe et al, 2021). Second, despite the reduction in the share of REC and HES in the taxonomy and participation, these entities continue to hold a prominent position, especially those that acted as coordinators, with the biggest influence on network cohesion and, consequently, on the innovation system performance.…”

“…This system is defined as a unified research area that enables the free circulation of researchers, scientific knowledge, and technologies following the definition of the innovation system proposed by Metcalfe (1995). To drive and promote this innovation system, the EU is funded through FP collaborative research and innovation that addresses the main EU policy objectives (De Arroyabe et al, 2021).…”

“…In this context, governments and supranational authorities, as endogenous elements, seek to identify ways to strengthen their innovation systems (Chou et al, 2019;De Arroyabe et al, 2021). This urge of these elements is also referred to as institutional impulse.…”

“…For this purpose, the study focuses on the European Union (EU) as the promoter of the European Innovation System known as the European Research Area (ERA). The EU is promoting the ERA through European framework programmes (FPs) (Amoroso et al, 2018;De Arroyabe et al, 2021) as a key element of EU research and innovation policy (Pinheiro et al, 2016;De Marco et al, 2020). This is relevant, as the EU is investing a significant part of its budget on the promotion of research and innovation.…”