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Background: The paper examines the regional effects of a general innovation policy, i.e. a policy tool that does not target specific industries or subnational regions. General policy tools are an important part of the portfolio of innovation policy measures. However, there is a question over whether general tools are equally relevant for all types of firms, irrespective of their size, sector and location. Findings: The economic geography and innovation study literature, as well as the EU's Smart Specialization approach, are based on the view that innovation policy tools must be adapted to specific regional conditions. General policy tools are insufficient unless they are adapted to individual regions. This paper examines the regional distribution of support from the Norwegian Skattefunn scheme, which is a tax incentive scheme designed to stimulate R&D activity in all types of enterprises, which has supported more than 24,000 approved R&D projects between 2002 and 2013. Based on our regression analysis, we observe that regional innovation system (RIS) variables are important for explaining the region's ability to attract Skattefunn funding. Conclusions: Skattefunn projects are quite evenly spread across labour market regions, which are grouped into a geographical centre-periphery pattern. That is, being in a peripheral location is not a disadvantage. However, at a more detailed regional level, the Skattefunn scheme tends to favour firms in specific industries and in regions with a relatively developed regional innovation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at exploring how the university understands, manages and improves the quality culture related to the national and European/international principles of quality assurance, based on interviews having as subject academic staff, students and partners/employers. After a brief introduction and the presentation of the scope and methodology of the research the paper relates some issues of quality culture in the higher education to the literature, followed by a briefing presentation of the results. The main findings are discussed in correlation with the questions used with the interviews: the presence of the university in the social-economical life, the continuing improvement of the quality of teaching-learning process, the satisfaction of participation/collaboration on research projects, the students' involvement in the university governance and life and the role of quality culture system in assuring the university beneficiaries expectations. Finally, a quality culture system and some reflective views are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for a firm understanding of the working practices of researchers in the humanities emerges as a prerequisite for the development of effective digital research infrastructures. This paper will focus on the rationale behind the design and implementation of two related studies conducted in the context of two European e-Infrastructures projects, DARIAH and EHRI. Within DARIAH the challenge involved conducting, analysing and understanding research practices of arts and humanities researchers, a largely ill-defined community encompassing a wide spectrum of disciplines. Each of them deals with a variety of objects employing an extensive number of methods. In the context of EHRI, the challenge is slightly different, due to the involvement of a better-defined research community. Holocaust researchers share well-identified objects, common ground on methods, and handle similar setbacks. In this paper we discuss the approach adopted for designing and implementing qualitative user-centric studies aimed at capturing activities, methods, and types of information objects employed by researchers grounded in identified research goals and questions. It addresses both generic and specific entities and processes, and supports the understanding of researchers' working practices in settings as diverse and wide as DARIAH, or as specialized as EHRI. The outcomes of the analysis of working practices are used in determining user requirements for digital infrastructures to serve the respective research communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current European policy agenda strongly accentuates the importance of research and development (R&D) as a driver of economic growth. The basic assumption is that high European wage levels make it unlikely that less research-intensive parts of the economy can withstand competition from low-wage countries with increasingly skilled labour forces. Thus, the inferior growth of the European Union (EU) in the 1990s compared with the USA has been explained by the latter’s higher rate of R&D investments. The paper challenges this rather simplistic view of innovation and examines the regional consequences of such policies. EU growth has caught up with that of the USA during recent years and low-tech industries continue to have considerable economic importance in Europe in terms of jobs and value added, especially outside the main growth regions, but also in the major urban regions. Empirical evidence from Denmark and the UK provided in the paper suggests that low- and high-tech industries are closely interconnected because low-tech firms play important roles both as partners in the innovation processes of high-tech firms and as buyers of high-tech products. Therefore, EU industrial policy is not appropriate because it overlooks the continuing significance of low-tech industries. Furthermore, the rather uniform focus on R&D is associated with a strong emphasis on large city-regions where research-intensive industries are concentrated and, thus, increasing regional inequality in Europe is being produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on a European scale and European aeronautics activities internationally. In this context, "aeroacoustics" encompasses all aerospace acoustics and related areas. Each year the committee highlights some of the research and development projects in Europe. This paper is a report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe in 2022, compiled from information provided to the ASC of the CEAS. In addition, during 2022, a number of research programmes involving aeroacoustics were funded by the European Commission. Some of the highlights from these programmes are also summarized in this article, as well as highlights from other programmes funded by national programmes or by industry. Enquiries concerning all contributions should be addressed to the authors who are given at the end of each subsection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the acceleration phase transitions often increase in depth and scope, and thereby create knock-on effects for wider system structures. In the renewable energy transition, for example, higher shares of intermittent renewable energy sources call for new grid technologies to increase flexible grid operation. At the same time, there are different ways of achieving renewable energy transitions and providing flexibility. In Europe, important tensions exist over how centralised or decentralised a renewable energy electricity system should be. This paper explores to what extent and how European framework programmes for research and development have addressed and supported innovation in transmission grid (centralised system) and distribution grid (decentralised) technologies. We analyse European R&D projects that studied electricity grid planning, development and innovation over 2002–2020. We apply social network analysis of the collaboration partners in these projects, and analyse the calls for proposals issued by three European Framework Programmes: FP6, FP7 and Horizon 2020. The framework programmes have addressed energy-related issues, but the priorities have changed over time, reflecting the ongoing energy transition. We ask if the importance of transmission grid vs. distribution grid has changed over time, and if and how the collaboration patterns have changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the reconfiguration of national research and innovation (R&I) systems towards a European Research Area (ERA). We conceptualise R&I activities as either: integrated at European level, coordinated with other European partners or nationally juxtaposed. Such a conceptualisation can be usefully applied to the measurement of progress towards the ERA along the lines of: providing orientation for R&I, programming and funding of R&I, and performing R&I. Based on a newly constructed set of indicators, and using purpose-collected budgetary data from major pan-European R&D initiatives and other R&D statistics, we apply this framework empirically to the process of Europeanisation of publicly funded R&I. Our estimates show that Europeanisation of R&I has increased substantially over the past ten years. Europe has entered a new phase of Europeanisation of R&I, a phase that opens up the opportunity to achieve a further intensification of Europeanised R&I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists regularly deal with large and diverse data sets, which are frequently the only record of excavated and destroyed archaeological sites. They need digital research infrastructures to preserve and provide access to this fragile digital data and to develop tools to manipulate and analyse it. Digital data is also increasing in quantity and size, and is often born digital, but there is a high degree of fragmentation and difficulty of accessing data in an integrated way. There is a small but growing number of national discipline-specific research infrastructures, and there have been a few project based attempts to provide European exemplars. This paper describes ARIADNE, a new research infrastructure for archaeologists, funded by the European Commission. It discusses some of the major issues and challenges and introduces some of the activities that ARIADNE partners will undertake. Given the transnational nature of many archaeological research questions, there is a clear value-added for organising research infrastructures in archaeology at a European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on the European scale, and European aeronautics activities internationally. Each year, the committee highlights several of the research and development projects in Europe. This paper is the 2017 issue of this collection of Aeroacoustic Highlights, compiled from contributions submitted to the CEAS-ASC. The contributions are classified under five main headings: Airframe Noise, Jet Noise, Turbomachinery Noise, Techniques and Methods in Aeroacoustics and Further Applications of Aeroacoustics. A concise summary of the CEAS-ASC workshop held in Dublin, Ireland, in September 2017 is also included in this report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on inter-organizational R&D collaborations as captured by joint research projects funded within the European Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development (EU-FPs). We identify determinants of collaboration, including actor characteristics, relational and network effects as well as geographical effects by means of a discrete choice model. Using data on EU-FP projects from the EUPRO database and from a representative survey of participants, we produce statistically significant evidence that collaboration choices in EU-FPs are primarily facilitated by prior acquaintance, thematic proximity and geographical proximity. Also, network effects are significantly related to collaboration choice. Moreover, the study shows that the impact of geographical effects increases for more intensive collaboration. The results are promising since a deeper understanding of these collaboration processes is needed for future governance of research policies in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Searching for external knowledge has frequently been characterized as crucial for firm success. However, little is known about how the direction of search strategies influences innovation performance. In this paper, we argue that firms need to specialize their search strategy and that its effectiveness is moderated by research and development (R&D) investments and potential knowledge spillovers from a firm's environment. Based on a sample of >5,000 firms from five European countries, our results show that being open for innovation generally pays off. However, both moderating factors have a crucial role to play: on the one hand, in-house R&D investments are most effective when combined with a market-oriented search strategy. On the other hand, a technologically advanced environment requires firms to reach out to sources of scientific knowledge in order to access highly novel knowledge and to enhance innovation performance. We develop targeted management recommendations based on these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) necessitates not only an understanding of the coastal environments to be managed but also an understanding of the nature of the governance systems in place. The latter not only vary between individual European Member States but also within States. This paper explores the governance systems in operation and focuses on the approaches taken in completing the ICZM stocktakes and strategies in North West Europe, as required by the European ICZM Recommendation. The paper not only synthesises existing European documentation, but also incorporates some of the key experiences of ICZM from the COREPOINT project and its partners. The paper findings suggest that effective inter-organisational linkages and coordinated efforts are required to deliver ICZM and the European ICZM Recommendation''s principles of good governance. However, such aspects are largely non-existent in North West Europe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper outlines the DEMO design activities in Europe and some of the design options currently being considered. The key aspect considered in the design is the overall integration of the project, and a great deal of emphasis is placed on this activity. Most of the design choices are based on analysis and/or supporting R&D, but one key issue still remains to be resolved: the maintenance strategy. The paper outlines and discusses the various concepts considered to date. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Early smart grid R&D advancements can indicate future technological developments. • A method for analyzing the evolution of smart grid technologies is proposed. • The Network theory is used to justify the existence of a main path of technologies. • Four innovation trajectories exist around smart energy applications. • The proposed approach complements existing methods of main path analysis. This paper investigates how the strategic decisions of innovative firms to collaborate with other firms in research and development projects shape the early evolution of smart grid technologies as an emerging technological system across Europe. The early innovations and developments in an emerging technological system are crucial for understanding further developments of the system. This early stage is highly influenced by the strategic decisions and lobbying power of the firms experimenting with different technological innovations, and the policies trying to maintain competition and steer the direction of innovative activities. Therefore, it is important to analyze how innovative firms behave in terms of collaborating with other firms and doing research on specific energy solutions, which reflect their strategic priorities. By taking a complex network approach, this paper investigates a network of smart grid R&D projects to analyze the convergence of smart grid research activities towards a stream of innovative solutions, and the variety of innovative activities branching out from these solutions. The results verify the convergence of smart grid activities towards one specific stream of innovations, and reveal the existence of four variations centered around different technological applications. The results can guide strategy development in innovative firms to take part in research collaborations or focus on specific smart energy technologies, and have implications for policy makers aiming to influence the direction of smart grid research programs, as well as for researchers in the field of smart grid innovation and technological innovation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on a European scale and European aeronautics activities internationally. In this context, "aeroacoustics" encompasses all aerospace acoustics and related areas. Each year the committee highlights some of the research and development projects in Europe. Due the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic it was not possible to publish an edition in 2021 and so this paper is a report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe in both 2020 and 2021, compiled from information provided to the ASC of the CEAS. In addition, during 2020 and 2021, a number of research programmes involving aeroacoustics were funded by the European Commission. Some of the highlights from these programmes are also summarized in this article. Enquiries concerning all contributions should be addressed to the authors who are given at the end of each subsection. • Council of European Aerospace Societies Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee yearly review. • Report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe. • Promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Successful technological innovation frameworks are based on synergistic packages of technology-push and demand-pull measures. As the massive deployment of premature renewable energy technologies risks becoming very expensive, the debate on the optimal trajectory of renewable technologies should explicitly consider the balance between deployment incentives and R&D efforts. This paper explores this balance regarding wind and PV technology support in Europe. Based on rather conservative estimates, we calculate future deployment costs and compare these figures to the current public investments in PV and wind R&D. We find that, today, for each Euro spent on R&D to develop future technologies, 35 to 41 Euros are spent on the deployment of existing technologies. Furthermore, private PV and wind technology companies tend to underinvest in R&D for various reasons. In an alternative scenario, we assess the optimal R&D efforts for the PV and wind sectors based on a 7% R&D-to-sales benchmark that is typical for engineering sectors. If public R&D efforts would increase according to this benchmark, and hence compensate for the private underinvestments in R&D, pull/push ratios between 6 and 8 could be achieved. This leads us to conclude that the current balance between deployment and R&D is far from optimal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on an European scale and European aeronautics activities internationally. In this context, “aeroacoustics” encompasses all aerospace acoustics and related areas. Each year the committee highlights some of the research and development projects in Europe. This paper is a report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe in 2008, compiled from information provided to the ASC of the CEAS. During 2008, numerous research programmes were funded by the European Union. Some of the contributions submitted to the editor summarize selected findings from these programmes, while other articles cover issues supported by national associations or by industries. Furthermore, a concise summary of the workshop on “Turbomachinery Broadband Noise” held in Bilbao in October is included in this report. Enquiries concerning all contributions should be addressed to the authors who are given at the end of each subsection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

?Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.Lao-tzu?In the long run, we''re all dead?J. M. KeynesA version of this paper was first presented at the Royal Institute of Navigation NAV 08 Conference held at Church House, Westminster, London in October 2008.SESAR is Europe''s ?Single European Sky Air traffic Research system?, targeted at post-2020. The vision is to integrate and implement new technologies to improve air traffic management (ATM) performance. The focus for planning and executing system operations will increasingly be aircraft navigating high-quality 4D trajectories: a 4D trajectory is the aircraft path, three space dimensions plus time, from gate-to-gate, i.e. including the path along the ground at the airport. A 20+year ATM plan has to use limited information on the success of innovations and the development of large-scale, often safety critical, software, which by its nature can take markedly longer and cost markedly more than early estimates. SESAR must be sufficiently flexible in deployment to maximise financial benefits to individual stakeholders using their specific financial criteria. Airline needs are the main ATM system/business drivers. Airlines do not want to commit to developing an ?ultra-modern system? per se, but rather to one that makes business-sensible investments in new technologies that are indispensable for achieving improved safety and meeting projected capacity requirements. The approach has been to use simple corporate finance ideas to examine the different viewpoints and business environments of air traffic service suppliers (ANSPs) and individual airlines. The key decision-making point is that ANSPs act as an agent for airlines as a whole. The key financial point is that a typical airline has to work hard to survive and needs quick paybacks on investment. The design of the SESAR R&D and project portfolios can learn lessons from information technology systems design and deployment. ?Real option analysis? of systems can increase business value by improving the sequencing and partitioning of projects, helping to ensure that the system is adaptable to technological innovation and changes in business needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has focused on online political forums as newly emerged public spaces that contribute to the enhancement of public deliberation. Its aim has been to study the deliberative feature of the Internet and assess the extent to which ordinary citizens contribute to the political process through public debate online. The main research question is concerned with the way in which the Internet facilitates participation in politics, enables democratic deliberation, and provides a forum for reasoned argumentation. The extent to which this occurs has been studied through the content analysis of open public forums in Greece, the Netherlands and Britain. Research findings show a high level of interactive communication, high degree of search for information, diversity of opinions and publics and a moderate degree of substantiated argumentation indicating an enlargement of public space in principle. However, the analysis stresses that unless citizens test their opinions in public systematically, the notion of the Internet as a tool for democratic deliberation is seriously undermined and runs the risk of being replaced by a push-button democracy. In that respect, cyberspace resembles the familiar world of everyday politics as an arena for the ongoing struggle for power and influence, despite the hype surrounding it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on a European scale and European aeronautics activities internationally. In this context, "aeroacoustics" encompasses all aerospace acoustics and related areas. Each year the committee highlights some of the research and development projects in Europe. This paper is a report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe in 2019, compiled from information provided to the ASC of the CEAS. In addition, during 2019, a number of research programmes involving aeroacoustics were funded by the European Commission. Some of the highlights from these programmes are also summarised in this article, as well as highlights from other programmes funded by national programmes or by industry. Furthermore, a concise summary of the CEAS-ASC annual scientific workshop: "New Materials for Applications in Aeroacoustics" held in the University of Roma Tre, Italy in September 2019 is included in this report. Enquiries concerning all contributions should be addressed to the authors who are given at the end of each subsection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the patent system is to stimulate innovation, by providing incentives for research and development investment by fostering follow-on innovations through the public disclosure of new inventions. Making this aim a reality is a great challenge to the European policymaker, and reflects the special set-up of the 'European patent system' and the many competing voices involved. This special issue takes up the debate across a range of important topics from various inter-disciplinary perspectives. The introduction here sets the scene by outlining some of the core issues involved in the broader discussion about an area that goes to the heart of Europe's science and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on a European scale and European aeronautics activities internationally. In this context, "aeroacoustics" encompasses all aerospace acoustics and related areas. Each year the committee highlights some of the research and development projects in Europe. This paper is a report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe in 2018, compiled from information provided to the ASC of the CEAS. In addition, during 2018, a number of research programmes involving aeroacoustics were funded by the European Commission. Some of the highlights from these programmes are also summarised in this article, as well as highlights from other programmes funded by national programmes or by industry. Furthermore, a concise summary of the CEAS-ASC annual scientific workshop: "Future Aircraft Design and Noise Impact" held in the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) – Amsterdam in September 2018 is included in this report. Enquiries concerning all contributions should be addressed to the authors who are given at the end of each subsection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The COREPOINT (COastal REsearch and POlicy INTegration) project aimed to advance integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in northwest Europe through a network of local authorities, research organisations and NGOs. It involved 12 partners from Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Belgium. The project enabled a comparison of approaches to ICZM at the northwest Europe scale and a series of workshops was hosted to promote the principles contained in the European Union''s recommendation on ICZM. At the local level, linkages were formed between research organisations and coastal management practitioners in local authorities in an attempt to bridge the science-management divide. This special edition contains several papers that deal with different facets of the project''s results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several types of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel have been developed over the past 30years in China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia and the USA for application in ITER test blanket modules (TBMs) and future fusion DEMO and power reactors. The progress has been particularly important during the past few years with evaluation of mechanical properties of these steels before and after irradiation and in contact with different cooling media. This paper presents recent RAFM steel results obtained in ITER partner countries in relation to different TBM and DEMO options. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Europe is not delivering on its commitment under the Lisbon agenda to increase its R&D-to-GDP ratio to 3% by 2010. But does the European Commission's practice of benchmarking each and every member state against the headline 3% figure make sense? R&D intensity is influenced by industrial specialisation, but also by other factors such as a large integrated market for technology and a favourable environment for academic research. What can be done by the EU and by the governments of the member states to improve the situation? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]