TA-Institutionen und -Programme

The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) was established in 1966; it is located on the premises of the University of Sussex. It started with a staff of three, and has grown into an internationally renowned research centre. Its research is funded through grants and contracts from various research councils, UK and US charitable foundations, intergovernmental agencies, government departments, the Commission of the European Communities and industry. The Unit aims to maintain a balance between different types of funding sources.
Within the limited space available for a presentation of SPRU in this newsletter, it is nearly impossible to do justice to the breadth and vitality of SPRU's work. The following is a compilation from an information brochure on SPRU published in June this year. It strives to offer a brief overview of SPRU's main activities without being too short. First, a general introduction to SPRU is given, followed by an enumeration of research themes at SPRU and current research topics in these areas. After that, the major research programmes run by SPRU are presented and its involvement in European research networks (and beyond) is outlined.

The Science Policy Research Unit - an introduction

The Science Policy Research Unit has been carrying out world-class research and teaching on issues relating to scientific discovery and technical change since 1966. The Unit's work is independent, multidisciplinary and international in scope. It is concerned with the technological challenges that confront decision makers in government, industry and international agencies, and with the public debates that surround these challenges.

The staff of over forty researchers come from a variety of backgrounds and academic disciplines and their work covers many different policy and management issues, most of which cross disciplinary boundaries. Several related fields of inquiry are central to the Unit's research:

The nature and determinants of scientific research, technological development, and the adoption and diffusion of innovations, together with methods for measuring and evaluating them.

The effective management of research, development and innovative activities undertaken by research organisations, by firms and by governments, and the factors that account for differencies in performance.

The social, economic, environmental and security consequences of technical change and the implications for public policy.

SPRU's research programmes are enriched by graduate students from around the world. It has a large graduate programme in science and technology policy and technology and innovation management studies leading to MSc, MPhil and DPhil degrees. For advanced scholars and those employed in industry and government, SPRU offers non-degree short course and guided study programmes.

The results of the Unit's research reach an extensive community of academics and decision makers in industry and government and a wide public audience around the world. High priority is being given to strengthening interaction with the beneficiaries and users of its research.

Research Themes at SPRU

Research at SPRU is concentrated on the following four themes:

a) Science, Technology and the Global Economy

Main research topics are

* The Organisation and Evaluation of Scientific Research: What is the changing shape of science?

* Technology, Firm Behaviour and International Competitiveness: How can innovation in complex products and systems be managed?

* Innovation in Design and Production: What is the role of innovation in design and production?

b) Energy and Environmental Policies

Main research topics are

* The Restructuring and Regulation of Energy Markets: What are the changing priorities for energy R&D and technology policy for the UK and the European Union?

* The Reassessment of Nuclear Power: What are the repercussions of changes to the organisation of domestic and international energy markets?

* Sustainable Development: Given the goal of sustainable development, how can energy and material flows through industrial systems be modified?

c) Technology, Development and Economic Growth

Main research topics are

* Evolutionary Economics: What is the contribution of technology to economic growth?

* Industrial Regeneration of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: How is technological activity being re-established in Eastern Europe?

* Technology and Industrial Development: How do some countries catch up in the international economy while others remain marginalised?

d) International Governance of Technology

Main research topics are

* Advanced Information and Communication Systems: Policies and International Regulation - How should communication policy address innovation in complex computer and telecommunications networks?

* Intellectual Property Rights: Is the information society presenting new issues for the management of intellectual property?

* Regulation and Elimination of Weapons of Mass Destruction: How effective are efforts to regulate nuclear, chemical and biological weapon technology?

SPRU's Research Programmes

Since 1982 the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the UK's leading funder of basic and strategic research in the social sciences, has supported a number of research centres at SPRU; today the following programmes are in operation:

Centre for Science, Technology, Energy and Evironment Policy (STEEP)
This ESRC-supported Centre focuses on the main developments in the world of science and technology and their impact on the organisation of economics and societies.

Centre for Information and Communication Technologies (CICT)
The Centre, funded from 1986 to 1995 by the ESRC and now mainly by the European Commission, investigates the social, cultural, economic and policy aspects of advanced information and communication technologies.

The Complex Product Systems (CoPS) Innovation Centre
This new ESRC Centre, funded for five years from October 1996, aims to make a fundamental contribution to our knowledge of high value, complex industrial products and systems, and to harness this understanding for UK competitive advantage. The Centre is a joint venture between SPRU and the Centre for Research in Innovation Management at the University of Brighton.

The research areas developed within these Centres are integrated into the mainstream of research at SPRU. In all, 52 ”principal research subject areas” are listed in the 1996 information brochure, grouped under the four main themes of research at SPRU.

SPRU's involvement in European research networks and beyond

SPRU is actively involved in European research in science and technology policy, and its researchers are coordinators of, or partners in, several projects funded under the European Commission's Framework IV Programme. Formal research networks include:

European Network for Communication and Information Perspectives (ENCIP), which conducts research on the development, diffusion and use of information and communication technologies.

European Network for Energy Economics Research (ENER), which in concerned with the relationship between national energy policies and European Union-wide developments.

... and beyond

SPRU's formal research links also extend to organisations outside Europe. Formal research networks now include:

Cooperative Programme on Energy and Development (COPED), which involves collaborative research with the principal energy policy research groups in seven developing countries and with the Institute of Energy Economics in Grenoble (IEPE).

Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) on chemical/biological warfare armament and arms limitation, which links work at SPRU, Harvard University and the international organisation in The Hague overseeing the Chemical Weapons Convention.

International Programme on the Management of Engineering and Construction (IMEC), which is concerned with the analysis and promotion of better practice in the management of innovation in large complex projects.

SPRU Energy Club, which guides research on national and international problems of public policy, particularly those involving technical change, fuel availabilities and costs, the economics of pricing and investment, and external influences on energy decisions. Members include representatives from industry and the UK government.

Postgraduate Teaching and Training

Each year approximately 45 students register on the SPRU MSc programmes and 15-20 students join the DPhil research programme. At any one time about 100 students from all parts of the world are in residence and create an active and lively student community.

The Unit offfers a faculty with wide-ranging research skills and interests in science and technology policy, and technology and innovation management; a specialist research library; and access to computerised databases.

SPRU graduates go on to a wide range of careers in, for example: national science and technology development programmes; government ministries of trade, energy, the environment, communications; academic research and teaching; government research; management research and consultancy; regional and international organisations such as the OECD, the European Parliament and the World Bank.

Over half of SPRU postgraduates come from outside the UK. When they complete their studies, they tend to maintain their links with SPRU and thus contribute to expanding SPRU's global network of contacts each year.

A detailed Study Prospectus can be obtained from SPRU; requests should be addressed to the Postgraduate Studies Office at SPRU.

For further information, please contact

Information Officer
Science Policy Research Unit
University of Sussex
Mantell Building
Falmer, Brighton
East Sussex BN1 9RF
United Kingdom
Tel.: + 44 (0) 1273 686758
Fax: + 44 (0) 1273 685865
E-mail: M.E. WinderUtu2∂sussex ac uk
Web Site: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/

The Science Policy Research Unit and its TA-relevant projects (56 in all; 36 of them in progress) are also documented in the TA-Database run by ITAS.