Science policy and technology policy in a competitive economy

Abstract

In the past 15 years there have been major changes in the conduct of science and technology policy in advanced industrial countries. Recognizing that this is an area where Clem Tisdell has made notable contributions, reviews the recent developments around three themes: the nature of science and technology as distinctive bodies of knowledge arising in different institutional contexts; the market failure approach and its development into an evolutionary rationale for science and technology policy; and the UK Technology Foresight Programme as a specific example of the shift in the focus of science and technology policy.