Thursday, March 31, 2011

CSSP Discussion Forum launched

CSSP Discussion Forum is launched on Wednesday, 31st March 2011.
CSSP Discussion Forum is coordinated by the Centre for Studies in Science Policy (CSSP), Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. This forum is created to share information, knowledge networking and debating on the issues related to STS (Science, Technology & Society), Innovation Studies and Science Policy. This Forum is presently moderated by Dr. Anup Kumar Das and Swapan Kumar Patra of CSSP.

A registered member can share any relevant information to other members of this community and can make this a vibrant interactive platform.

To join this group click here http://groups.google.com/group/cssp-forum/ To post to this group, send email to cssp-forum@googlegroups.com


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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Conference on Global Networking and its Implications for Euro-Asia Business Management and Research

The 17th International Euro-Asia Research Conference on "Global Networking and its Implications for Euro-Asia Business Management and Research"

Venue: Noida campus of Indian of Management, Lucknow, India

Dates: 28-29 October 2011


Call for Papers
Following a number of conferences held in France, Ireland, Norway, Japan, China, Spain and Indonesia since 1994, the Seventeenth International Euro-Asia Research Conference will take place in New Delhi (India) on October the 28 and 29, 2011. Research contributions addressing any aspect of Global Networking and its Implications for Euro-Asia Business Management and Research are welcome. Besides this theme, other papers in the fields of economics and management with a particular reference to Asia may also be submitted.
The research conference is a joint undertaking between the Indian Institute of Management, India, Yokohama National University, Japan, IAE of The University of Poitiers France, The University of Pau (Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour), France, TELECOM Ecole de Management, France, The School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, The U.K., and The University of Limerick, Ireland.
The Conference is intended to bring together researchers engaged in Management, Economics and related fields from Europe, Asia and other parts of the World. Doctoral students are also strongly encouraged to submit papers for consideration.

Conference Venue, Conference Fee
The conference will be at the Noida campus of Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, which is adjacent to New Delhi, India. The conference fee is 160 € (or 12,000 Indian Rupees) and includes welcome dinner, two lunches, two dinners, coffee breaks, a copy of the conference proceedings, and also includes local sight visits.

Submission Rules
Papers, in English should be original and not submitted for publication elsewhere. They may either be related to a particular country or be of a comparative nature. Papers accepted for presentation at the conference will be published as Conference Proceedings. Furthermore, a number of selected papers will be published in a scholarly journal or as a book.
A two-page abstract in English or French (including bibliography) should be submitted by March the 31st, 2011 to Ms Céline PHELIPPON, IAE – University of Poitiers, France at the following e-mail address: CPhelippon@iae.univ-poitiers.fr. Please address a copy of your submission to Professor Jacques JAUSSAUD at the following at jacques.jaussaud@univ-pau.fr.
A title page with a complete list of authors, their academic position, addresses, phone and fax numbers as well as E-mail should be included separately. The decision of the Scientific Committee will be communicated to the authors by April the 30th, 2011.
The final paper, including an abstract of around 300 words, should be forwarded by June the 15th, 2011. Length should not exceed 6,000 words or 15 single-spaced pages (including tables, figures, and references). Papers should be submitted in hard copy (or by e-mail as an attachment) as well as on disc (Word 6 or a later version).

Secretariat of the Euro-Asia Research Conference
Céline PHELIPPON
IAE de Poitiers, 20 rue Guillaume VII Le Troubadour, BP 639,
86022 Poitiers Cedex, France
Phone: + (33) 5 49 45 44 89 Fax: + (33) 5 49 45 44 90
E-mail: CPhelippon@iae.univ-poitiers.fr

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

CfP:: ICTPI International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation (ICTPI)

13th International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation (ICTPI)

Bogotá, Colombia

8-9 September 2011


About ICTPI-2011 in Bogotá
ICTPI-2011 is being organized by the Alianza Universidad-Empresa-Estado (AUEE) de Bogotá-Región, a joint venture that has been established by the universities based in this city, the business sector and government, with the purpose of promoting the application of science and technology to foster regional economic development by creating value through innovation. This is being done through strengthening university-industry collaboration. In Colombia there are similar initiatives that have emerged in various regions, reflecting the current national policy of regionalizing science and technology development programs.
The Colombian Government is significantly increasing the investment in science, technology and innovation by assigning part of the royalties received from a variety of sources to supporting programs in this area. This increased funding is closely related to the fact that a special emphasis is being placed on the use of science and technology as an instrument of economic regional development. For this reason, there is special interest in becoming better acquainted with such issues as:
a) A better understanding of recent experiences with National Innovation Policies in order to identify key elements or characteristics that have contributed to the success of these policies, or that have been major limitations to their effectiveness.
b) What are the main policy instruments through which Innovation Policies and Strategies are implemented?
c) How can the main stakeholders be involved in this process? How can private sector investment in technological development and innovation be promoted?
d) Two important dimensions of Technology and Innovation Policy are currently being discussed:
  • The territorial dimension, which leads to issues related to promoting/supporting Regional Innovation Systems and the emergence of Regional Clusters.
  • The sectorial dimension, which relates to "Sectorial Innovation Policies" in key sectors of the economy (i.e. agriculture, telecommunications, mining, etc.).
e) A better understanding of major technological trends that are shaping the Globalized Networked Economy, and thus the context in which we operate.

Conference themes
The main themes of the Conference around which researchers are being invited to present papers are as follows:
1. Lessons learned from recent National Innovation Strategies:
2. Funding Strategies for Innovation:
3. Regulations in the Global Networked Economy and its impact on innovation:
4. Technological trends that shape the context in which innovation takes place:
5. The territorial dimension: Building Regional Innovation Systems
6. The sectorial dimension: Promoting innovation in the agricultural-rural sector:
7. The sectorial dimension: Promoting innovation in the service sector:
8. Education and Social Innovation:

Call for Papers:
Invitation to present papers:
The 13th ICTPI-2011 Conference will take place in Bogotá, Colombia, on September 8 and 9, 2011, on the topic of "Building a National Innovation Strategy in a Globally Networked Economy". Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers on any of the themes that have been selected for the Conference, which may be consulted in the section on "Themes of ICTPI-2011".
Paper selection will be based upon submission of an extended abstract of at least 300 words, which should be typed double-spaced in English. The extended abstracts should clearly state the objectives, methodology, results and conclusions of the work with supporting main references. It must include e-mail and/or FAX addresses. Please ensure that the abstract is representative of the research work to be submitted for presentation during the Conference and include KEY-WORDS and the MAIN THEME to which your presentation relates (select one from "Themes of ICTPI-2011".)

Interested authors may click here to submit their abstracts.


Important deadlines:
a) 1/2 Page Abstracts due before May 31, 2011
Abstracts should be no longer than 1.000 words and clearly present the objectives, methodologies and (expected) results of the work, as well as indicate the Conference topic(s) that the paper will address, or alternatively other topics under the Conference theme, and pertinent keywords
b) Notification of Action of Acceptance by June 20, 2011.
c) Full–papers due before August 15, 2011.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Design!publiC: Bringing Design Thinking to the Challenges of Governance Innovation

Design!publiC: Bringing Design Thinking to the Challenges of Governance Innovation

Background
The problem of governance is perhaps as old as society, as old as the rule of law. But it is only more recently -- perhaps the last five hundred years of modernity -- that human societies have been able to conceive of different models of government, different modalities of public administration, all having different effects on the configuration of society. The problem of governments, of governmentality, and of governance is always also the problem of how to change the very processes and procedures of government, so as to enhance the ends of the state and to promote the collective good.

Since the establishment of India's republic, many kinds of changes have been made to the policies and practices of its state. We may think of, for instance, successive stages of land reforms, the privatization of large-scale and extractive industries, the subsequent abolition of the License Raj and so and so forth. We may also consider the computerization of state documents beginning in the 1980s, and more recently, the Right To Information Act (RTI). More recently there have been activist campaigns to reduce the discretionary powers of government and to thereby reduce the scope of corruption in public life.

While all these cases represent the continuous process of modification, reform, and change to government policy and even to its modes of functioning, this is not what we have in mind when we speak of ‘governance innovation.' Rather, intend a specific process of ethnographic inquiry into the real needs of citizens, followed by an inclusive approach to reorganizing and representing that information in such a way that it may promote collaborative problem-solving and solutioneering through the application of design thinking.

The concept of design thinking has emerged only recently, and it has been used to describe approaches to problem solving that include: (i) redefining the fundamental challenges at hand, (ii) evaluating multiple possible options and solutions in parallel, and (iii) prioritizing and selecting those which are likely to achieve the greatest benefits for further consideration. This approach may also be iterative, allowing decisions to be made in general and specific ways as an organization gets closer and closer to the solution. Design thinking turns out to be not an individual but collective and social process, requiring small and large groups to be able to work together in relation to the available information about the task or challenge at hand. Design thinking can lead to innovative ideas, to new insights, and to new actionable directions for organizations.

This general approach to innovation -- and the central role of design thinking -- has emerged from the private sector over the last quarter century, and has enjoyed particular success in regards to the development of new technology products, services and experience. The question we would like to address in this conference is whether and how this approach can be employed for the transformation public and governmental systems. More...

Organizers:
Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS)
Centre for Internet and Society (CIS)
Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) and others

Thursday, March 17, 2011

INSEE Conference on Nature, Economy and Society: Understanding the Linkages

The Sixth Biennial Conference of INSEE

on

Nature, Economy and Society: Understanding the Linkages

October 20-22, 2011

Venue: Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad

Organized by

Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) & Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad

The conference shall address a diverse repertoire of issues at the interface of nature, economy and society and explore how to use the understanding for policy formulation. Papers, panels and symposia on the themes and sub-themes identified are invited below:

  1. Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services for Life and Human Well-being
  2. Accounting for Nature: macro and micro economic approaches
  3. Global and Local Impact of Economic Growth, Trade and Globalisation on the Environment (at different scales)
  4. Alternative Approaches to Nature and Society and Assessing the Role of Knowledge and Power
  5. Social Norms, Culture and Human Behaviour in relation to the Environment
  6. Towards Green and Sustainable Socio-economic Systems: including ecological agriculture, energy efficient industry and sustainable urban habitats
  7. Equity and Governance Issues in relation to the global, national and local commons
  • Deadline for Abstract of 400 words [kindly mention the theme]: February 28, 2011
  • Communication of acceptance of abstract: March 31, 2011
  • Submission of Full paper of 12,000 words [maximum], to be reviewed: May 15, 2011
  • Communication of Final acceptance: August 31, 2011.

Other Events planned:

  • Pre-conference Workshop on ‘Pathways to Inter-disciplinarity’ (19th October, 2011)
  • Workshop for PhD Students working on Environmental and Ecological Economics (22nd October, 2011)
  • Panel Discussions on (a) Ecological/Rainfed Agriculture, and (b) Valuation Issues in South Asia.
  • Other Interdisciplinary Panel proposals on Ecological Economics are invited. Visit www.ecoinsee.org for details.

For Information on other Panels, Plenary Speakers, Conference Publication, Prearranged Local Visits, Travel Grant, Conference Registration, Local Hospitality and Crèche kindly visit website www.ecoinsee.org.

Contact:

Sushil Kumar Sen, Office Manager, INSEE, c/o. Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi Enclave, Delhi-110007 India

Fax: 011-27667410, email: sushil@iegindia.org

Further Details

Friday, March 4, 2011

Measuring R&D: Challenges Faced by Developing Countries

Measuring R&D: Challenges Faced by Developing Countries

Published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Montreal, Canada: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2010.
ISBN 978-92-9189-094-1

About
The study of knowledge systems relies heavily on the use of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) indicators to establish cross-national comparisons and to follow their evolution over time. Of the different types of STI indicators, research and experimental development (R&D) statistics are probably the most important. To produce R&D statistics, the methodology proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the Frascati Manual (FM) is used extensively in developing countries despite the fact that it was originally written for R&D surveys in OECD member countries. This confirms the FM as the most widely accepted international standard practice for R&D surveys. In addition, the involvement of UNESCO and other international organizations has only served to further its development and diffusion.

However, the characteristics of research systems in developing countries differ significantly from the ones that gave rise to the current statistical standard. When producing statistics and indicators, the tension between prioritizing international comparability – embodied in the frequently uncritical application of the FM by developing countries – and producing policy-relevant results that reflect the particular characteristics of these countries becomes evident. The main challenge is in obtaining cross-nationally comparable indicators while at the same time adequately reflecting the characteristics of developing countries.

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has taken on the task of preparing an Annex to the FM that will provide guidance to developing countries on how to use the standards proposed in the Manual for measuring R&D. The Annex will provide suggestions on how the concepts in the FM should be interpreted to ensure that data better reflect the particular characteristics of R&D activity in developing countries while still maintaining international comparability.

This Technical Paper is a stand-alone document on measuring R&D in developing countries and will serve as the basis for an Annex to the FM. In addition to providing guidance on how the concepts in the FM should be interpreted, this guide also offers suggestions on how to strengthen STI statistical systems in developing countries. This document will also address and provide recommendations for specific situations that fall outside the framework of the FM. In time, some of the recommendations in this guide could serve as input for future revisions of the Manual.

Download Full-text PDF

Related background documents: