Science, technology and Innovation Policy

In this paper we focus on stakeholder views around the development of advanced biofuels from microalgae. Research for the development of microalgal-derived biofuels was initiated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) more than 30 years ago. However, interest in this eco-innovation has been growing significantly over the last five years in various countries. The high productivity of algae indicates that algal biofuels could contribute to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels while avoiding the undesired impacts of first generation biofuels. There are still numerous challenges that need nevertheless to be addressed. The aim of this paper is to explore stakeholder perceptions of the current barriers and opportunities associated with this promising emergent technology.

This Impact Report identifies and summarises the diverse impacts, resulting from the £500m of UK funding of Science and Technology in 2013, using numerous quantitative metrics and short case study extracts.  It shows how the varied impacts of a national science and technology organization and its many funded programmes can be annually identified, captured, tracked, and summarised in a public document.

The report was produced for, and by, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) -  the UK Research Council responsible for funding: (1) all UK astronomy, particle and nuclear physics research, (2) related UK science and technology facilities (e.g. as Harwell and Daresbury), (3) the UK contribution to international science (e.g. CERN, international telescopes and space missions), (4) innovation and business spin-off programmes, and (5) UK public engagement activities.

The Report was co-researched and co-authored by the STFC Impact Team, including myself while Impact Evaluation Manager in 2013, with Dr. Claire Dougan-McCallie (lead author/Head of Impact) and Jenny Beard, with additional input from senior managers, and many data and case study contributions from other key managers across STFC.

Varied key impacts are identified and reported including:

• Research amongst the best (by citation impact) in astronomy, nuclear and particle physics.
• Supported research of 226 Principal Investigators in 70 universities, led to 1,100 peer-reviewed papers in 2012.
• Facilities (the Diamond Light Source, ISIS and CLF) were used in 2012/13 by over 4,200 unique users , in over 2,400 experiments, producing over 1,000 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

• Technology from CERN benefited the UK economy by over £100 billion every year.
• Funding the development of the UK’s space, internet and computer animation industries, returned over £500 billion to the UK economy per annum.
• Funded Innovation Campuses hosted over 230 enterprises and supported over 5,000 jobs.
• UK industry won £43 million in contracts from the international subscriptions funded, and had accumulated a total of £150 million since 2005.

• Funded research inspired future generations to study STEM subjects, attracting 90% of UK undergraduates to study physics, funded 782 PhD students  and 16,800 student training days.
• Between 2009 to 2012 public engagement programmes engaged people on 58 million occasions, with 2 million people engaged in face-to-face activities in 2013 alone.

Evolution of technology is a stepwise advancement
of a complex system of artifact, driven by
interactions with sub-systems and other technological
systems, considering technical choices,
technical requirements, and science advances,
which generate new and/or improved products or
processes for use or consumption to satisfy
increasing needs of people and/or to solve complex
problems in society.

The countries of CARICOM share organizations and institutions that have relevance to innovation. It is however not clear to what extent it may be said that there exist functional innovation systems at both the national and/or supra-national (regional) level. The Innovation System Framework can be used as a map to first identify the presence or absence of the organizations and the institutional arrangements incident on the innovative activities of firms and entrepreneurs in a given country, and allows for an evaluation of the level of interactions and information flow among the various components. The aim of this work is to determine to what extent there exists within the CARICOM Region the elements of an innovation system. A hybrid analytical framework for National Innovation Systems informed by OECD (1997), Chang and Shih Mytelka was formulated as a means to elucidate the issue. The region's extremely low input into science and technology is reflected in the equally low output as measured by publications and patents. On the other hand, given the rich cultural and musical heritage of the region an examination of other areas of intellectual property like Trademarks, Copyright and Geographical Indications may tell a different story. The analysis of the system's components suggests that the CARICOM region possesses a fairly high density of shared educational, R&D and financial organizations that compliment its common legal and institutional heritage. These together with its common history, language, rich cultural expressions and natural resources, including the islands' beauty, constitute promising elements of an emerging innovation system that can be harnessed to improve the region's competitiveness. The way forward for the region in creating a truly robust and sustainable innovation system will require better regional coordination and interaction, deep and accurate knowledge of available human resources within the region as well as the Diaspora and a concerted effort to focus on new and emerging possibilities including the services and creative industries where the region has an obvious advantage. Emerging consumer trends like ethical consumerism, health and wellness and deep emersion tourism combined with social networking technologies and behaviour are powerful nuclei around which to reconceptualise and rebrand what we as a region offer to the world.

This chapter considers the relationship between the U.S. federal income tax system and innovation, using the sharing economy as a focal point for analysis. It makes two main points. First, the tax system is currently a questionable tool for encouraging innovation. Regulators are understandably concerned that taxpayers will use tax incentive provisions in unanticipated ways, and thus are inclined to tightly limit such provisions’ scope. This reduces incentive provisions’ net benefit to taxpayers, and can even cause such provisions to miss their marks entirely. Moreover, small and new companies are key drivers of innovation, and evidence suggests that they are relatively unresponsive to tax incentives.

Second, innovation can help improve the tax system. To fix a problem, one must first identify it; innovation provides opportunities to see where tax law is achieving its goals and where it is falling short. The sharing economy experience suggests some strengths, such as the tax system’s definition of income, as well as weaknesses, such as the dividing line between independent contractors and employees.

Technology affects all areas of our lives very deeply.  It makes the world easier, faster, more productive and more efficient.  This being the case, impact of technology over economy becomes enormous.  It would not be an exaggeration to say that technology is one of the most influential components determines social welfare level of states. Technological developments occur by innovations and inventions which are produced in the result of research and development activities. There is no doubt that Science and Technology activities such Research and Development are one of the most important assets of economies since these activities are able to make economies competitive with all Worlds leading economies. ‘Science, technology and innovation is a key tool for moving the world onto a sustainable path.’  While importance of technology is extremely obvious, analyzing of Turkey’s position in terms of technological development matters to be able to make substantial interpretations for future economy.
The objective of this study is to examine Turkey’s science and technology (S&T) policies. The aim of this examination is that measuring Turkey’s development in this field, identifying Turkey’s comparative position to rest of the world and revealing influential factors which create this comparative position.

A apresentação reflecte sobre o Sistema Nacional de Tecnologia e Inovação dos países em via de desenvolvimento; descreve e critica algumas das características da Estratégia Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação e identifica os principais desafios de Moçambique. É, também, uma desculpa para discutir os alicerces para o desenvolvimento de Moçambique e a sua inserção no global network.

Engineering activities are based on the development of new Knowledge (Scientia), new 'made things' (Techné), and/or new ways of working and doing (Praxis). Scientia, Techné, and Praxis are three important dimensions of a comprehensive conception of Engineering as a whole. Engineering, as Scientia, is mostly developed in academia; as Techné, is practiced in industry generating technological innovations; and as Praxis, is carried out in technical and non-technical organizations, supporting managerial activities and technical procedures, via methodical and methodological design and implementation. This is why Engineering provides one of the most solid academic and professional substrata for bridging among universities, industries and governments.

Increasingly, a range of 'things' (e.g. infrastructure, data, knowledge, bodies, etc.) are configured and/or reconfigured as assets, or capitalized property. Accumulation strategies have changed as a result of this assetization process, which characterizes a particular form of technoscientific capitalism. Rather than entrepreneurial strategies based on commodity production, technoscientific capitalism is increasingly underpinned by rentiership, or the appropriation of value through ownership rights (e.g. intellectual property), monopoly conditions, and regulatory or market devices and practices (e.g. investment dispute courts, exclusivity agreements, etc.). While rentiership and rent-seeking are often presented as negative phenomena (e.g. distorting markets, unearned income) in both neoclassical and Marxist literatures – and much in-between – it is my intention in this paper to unpack rentiership as an increasingly constitutive political-economic process underpinning technoscientific capitalism. Rather than being framed as a problematic 'side-effect' of capitalism, I argue that rentiership can help us to understand how different forms of value extraction are constituted by and come to constitute different forms of technoscience. This has significant analytical, political, and normative implications for understanding the relationship between science, innovation, and business (e.g. how do rentier rationales configure research agendas, how does innovation enable rentiership, what are the consequences for social equity, etc.).

M ost impact evaluations of R&I policy interventions focus either on scientific-technical effects or on economic effects. For this purpose, suitable indicators, data bases and methods have been created and continuously developed in recent decades. However, the comprehensibility and assessment of social and societal effects of R&I policy interventions has only recently gained new attention. One reason for this is the orientation of R&I policy towards major societal challenges ('new mission-oriented R&I policy' 1 ).

This paper was prepared for the Securing Australia's Future (SAF) STEM: Country Comparisons project conducted by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education for the Australian Council of Learned Academies. This paper provides a 'snapshot' of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) policies and programs of numerous countries, regions and specialist topics examined, including: Western Europe, Finland, France, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Israel, Canada (Indigenous), United States (Indigenous), South Africa, International Agencies and Literature Review (Student Identity). Characteristics, lessons for Australia and key policies and programs are presented for each country, regional or special interest. These features are drawn from the researchers reports delivered for the STEM project.

El objetivo de este capítulo consiste en describir los procesos de institucionalización de la prospectiva CTI en los países seleccionados (Argentina, Colombia, México y Perú), analizando de qué manera la interacción entre los especialistas en prospectiva tecnológica y los actores involucrados en la definición de la PCTI en Argentina, Colombia, México y Perú, permite comprender el proceso y nivel de introducción de la prospectiva tecnológica como un componente de la planeación de las políticas en este ramo.

Mapping Research and Innovation in the State of Israel is the fifth of a series of country profiles prepared by UNESCO’s Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments (GO-SPIN). The series is designed to expose – through the rigorous application of an assessment lens—usable insights about science, technology, engineering and innovation (SETI) policies and their context. The GO-SPIN programme is helping Member States to reform and upgrade national science systems and governance. It promotes building capacity to monitor and evaluate the policy performance, through a structural analysis (covering the explicit policy, the SETI national ecosystem, the legal framework and operational policy instruments), because such analysis points to implicit policies and gaps, and situates the performance of Israel’s policy. In this way, the scope of standard SETI assessment can be widened, to take into account country-specific contexts, as well as emerging knowledge of technological advances that contribute to sustainable development. While complementing efforts to promote evidence-based SETI policy-making as well as efforts to evaluate policy performance, GO-SPIN offers a good baseline for the promotion of scientific and technological foresight studies.

Os parques tecnológicos são habitats de inovação que estão espalhados por quase todos os países do mundo. Assim como qualquer empreendimento, os parques demandam o estabelecimento de uma organização que realize a gestão executiva do empreendimento, que, no caso dos parques, contempla tanto aspectos imobiliários quanto os relacionados a ciência, tecnologia e inovação. Desta forma, o modelo de negócio da organização gestora, ou seja, a forma pela qual tal organização estrutura seus serviços e infraestruturas visando resultados que permitam a continuidade de suas atividades e a geração de retorno ao investimento recebido, precisa estar adequado ao contexto financeiro. Neste sentido, emerge a pergunta de pesquisa: Qual o modelo de negócio de organizações gestoras de Parques Tecnológicos que leva à sustentabilidade econômico-financeira das mesmas no contexto brasileiro? Esta pesquisa tem como foco o entendimento do modelo de negócio de tais organizações visando propor um modelo no contexto brasileiro, que se adeque às características do empreendimento "parque tecnológico" e que permita uma menor dependência de recursos públicos para a sua operacionalização. A partir de abordagem qualitativa e exploratória, fortemente enraizada nos dados, foram elaborados os casos de organizações gestoras de parques de diferentes naturezas, quais sejam: a) Núcleo de Gestão do Porto Digital (Porto Digital/Recife/ Brasil), COPPETEC (Parque Tecnológico do Rio/ Rio de Janeiro/ Brasil), departamento da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (Tecnopuc/ Porto Alegre/ Brasil), Bidwells (Cambridge Science Park/Cambridge/ Inglaterra); departamento da University of Surrey (Surrey Research Park/Surrey/Inglaterra), e Birmingham Science Park Aston Ltd (Birmingham Science Park Aston/ Birmingham/ Inglaterra). A proposição dos elementos do modelo de negócios levou em consideração a revisão bibliográfica e as práticas observadas nos estudos de caso. O modelo passou por avaliação crítica de especialistas e, a partir dos parâmetros do mesmo, foi realizado um ensaio de viabilidade financeira. Dos ajustes promovidos pela análise crítica e pelo ensaio de viabilidade, foi realizada a proposição final do modelo, que contempla os componentes do modelo de negócio para uma gestora de parque tecnológico instituída como organização privada sem fins lucrativos. Em relação à literatura relacionada a ambientes de inovação, esta tese contribui de forma original na medida em que trata de assunto ainda pouco estudado, ainda mais considerando o nível de detalhamento apresentado. Apesar de já ser utilizado como ferramenta na avaliação de negócios inovadores, a utilização de forma exploratória do modelo de negócio vinculado à operação de organizações gestoras de parques é algo ainda não utilizado em publicações acadêmicas e, portanto, uma aproximação diferenciada do tema. Ainda, a tese apresenta, de forma detalhada, os principais componentes de receitas e custos deste tipo de empreendimento e suas possibilidades jurídicas de operação no contexto brasileiro, ao mesmo tempo que lança críticas sobre tal contexto. Esta pesquisa sistematizou elementos que antes haviam sido estudados de forma individualizada e os coloca na perspectiva de um outro conjunto de elementos (modelo de negócio) que necessitam ser complementares e ajustados a um contexto para que a operação do parque possa acontecer com a menor dependência de recursos públicos. Nesta perspectiva, esta tese pode contribuir, na prática, para a estruturação das organizações gestoras dos parques e lança a sugestão do estudo de novos modelos que contemplem características diferentes e que estariam dentro de um contexto institucional também diferente, que não era escopo desta pesquisa.
Technology parks are innovation habitats spread over almost all the countries around the world. As any other business, the parks require the establishment of an organization that performs the executive management of the enterprise which, in the case of parks, covers both aspects of real estate as those related to science, technology and innovation. Thus, the business model of the management organization - i.e. the way such organization settles its services and physical infrastructure in order to enable the continuity of its activities and generates return on investment - must fit the financial context. In this sense, emerges the research question: What is the business model of technology parks management organizations that contributes to their economic and financial sustainability in the Brazilian context? This research focuses on understanding the business model of such organizations aiming to propose a model in the Brazilian context that fits the characteristics of the enterprise "technology park" and allows less dependency on public funds to its operation. The research has a qualitative and exploratory approach, and is strongly rooted in the data drawn from management organizations cases of different parks, which are: a) Núcleo do Porto Digital (Porto Digital / Recife / Brazil), COPPETEC (Rio Technology Park/ Rio de Janeiro/Brazil), Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (Tecnopuc/Porto Alegre/Brazil), Bidwells (Cambridge Science Park /Cambridge/England); Department of the University of Surrey (Surrey Research Park/Surrey/England), and Birmingham Science Park Aston Ltd (Birmingham Science Park Aston/ Birmingham/England). The proposition of the business model took into account the literature review and practices observed in the case studies. The model was submitted to critical evaluation by experts. From the parameters of the model, it was performed a financial feasibility essay. After the adjustments that emerged from the evaluation of experts in parks and from the financial feasibility essay, it was presented the final proposition of the model that comprises the business model components for a technology park management organization established as a non for profit private organization. Regarding the literature on innovation habitats, this thesis contributes in an original way, as it deals with poorly studied subject so far, especially considering the level of detail presented. Despite being used as a tool in the evaluation of innovative businesses, the exploratory use of the business model tool linked to the operation of management organizations of parks is not yet applied in academic publications and, therefore, it is a differentiated approach to the theme. The thesis presents in detail the major components of revenues and costs of this type of enterprise and its legal scope of operation in the Brazilian context, while launches criticism on such context. This research systematized elements that had previously been studied individually and put them in the perspective of another set of elements that need to be complementary and fit a context for the operation of the park in a way it can happen with less dependence on public resources. In this perspective, this thesis can contribute in practice to the structuring of management organizations of parks and suggest the development of a research about new models that include different features and also would be in a different institutional context, as it was not the scope of this research.

Thaksin Shinawatra was one of the most powerful prime ministers of Thailand. Undergirded by a set of new policies termed Thaksinomics, great political power, his CEO style of management, and his intention to make Thailand a developed country, his administration could have been a formidable force in transforming Thailand's weak and fragmented innovation system into a stronger and more coherent one and in laying a long-lasting foundation for the country's technological and industrial upgrading, as experienced in Japan and the East Asian NIEs. Thaksin's administration paid much attention to the neglected meso and micro foundations of Thailand's competiveness. For the first time, Thailand had explicit vertical industrial policies that were tailored to specific sectors and geographical clusters. These policies pushed existing central and regional government agencies to adjust themselves accordingly. Thaksin's government also induced changes in the roles and behaviours of other actors in the country's national innovation system. Nonetheless the government, to a large extent, failed to make an enduring impact on industrial and technology upgrading. There are two key factors underlying this failure: (a) deficiencies of Thaksin's policies and implementation of those policies themselves and (b) resistance to changes by other actors in the national innovation system.

Countries of all income levels are prioritizing their transition to digital and green economies. On the one hand, countries have committed to reaching their ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline. In parallel, most countries are convinced that their future economic competitiveness will depend upon how quickly they manage to transition to digital societies. The UNESCO Science Report’s subtitle, ‘the race against time for smarter development’, is an allusion to these dual development priorities....

Los modelos organizativos de las políticas públicas en ciencia, tecnología e innovación (CTI) ponen de manifiesto el perfil del Estado y el papel desempeñado por los distintos actores, ya sean públicos o privados. Consecuentemente, dar cuenta de las políticas en CTI reciente implica centrar la atención en las herramientas que utiliza el Estado para posicionarse y orientar las instituciones en función de los intereses y visiones que predominan en el contexto político y económico. El artículo analiza los instrumentos de políticas de CTI a partir de sus objetivos
específicos, facilitando con ello la aproximación a la interpretación de los perfiles de política. Particularmente, se observan las manifestaciones dentro de América Latina, dando cuenta de tendencias generales y casos específicos.

Organizational models of public policies in science, technology and innovation (STI) show the profile of the State and the role performed by the different actors, whether public or private. Consequently, giving an account of recent STI policies involves focusing on the tools used by the State to position and guide institutions according to the predominant interests and views in the political and economic context. The article
analyzes STI policy instruments from the viewpoint of their specific objectives, thereby facilitating the approach to interpreting policy profiles. It studies the manifestations of this phenomenon in Latin America in particular, accounting for general trends and specific cases.

Coconut trees can grow in nearly all parts of tropical countries because it does not require any special requirements for growth. In particular, value-added products by processing coconut, among others: coco chemical, coco fiber, coconut oil, desiccated coconut, Nata de coco, activated charcoal, etc. In the Philippines, the significant coconut squanders incorporate coconut shell (12%), coconut husks (35%), and coconut coir dust. This study aims to understand the productivity condition and innovation system in the coconut industrial cluster as part of the sectoral innovation system. The study is carried out by identifying and analyzing the interaction between coconut industry actors and the landscape of coconut industry policies and provide recommendations for better improvement on the interaction model for the coconut industry in the Philippines. These research outputs identify actors and their interaction in the Philippines coconut industry, its constraints and challenges, the conclusion to the case and proposed model for better off coconut productivity and innovation, and further recommendations. This research identified the Philippines coconut industry actors, from the Government actors (PCA) and its program, strategies, and policies, Business actors (Davao based firms), and Civil society and Academia actors, analyze its interactions and proposed better model in helices of the interaction of actors (Academic, Business, Government, and Civil Society) of the Philippines coconut industry.

Although Thailand’s electronics industry has been considered as one of the strategic sectors, the evidence in this article shows that it is dominated by midstream and downstream activities. Despite accounting for a quarter of electronics exports, semiconductors manufacturing is confined to low value-added activities. The lack of industrial policy
has restricted technological upgrading in the industry. Upgrading efforts made by both public and private initiatives have so far failed. The case studies show that firms in Thailand must acquire and develop technological capabilities to stimulate the industry’s transformation from low-to-high value-added activities.

Singapore’s foray into biotechnology is generally considered an economic and scientific success, its most visible sign being Biopolis, launched in 2003 as an integrated cluster of research facilities in an urban setting. Biopolis, however, is itself the result of a long-term effort to build up capacities for biotechnological research. The present paper analyzes the early (pre-Biopolis) biotechnology discourse in Singapore, with special emphasis on its representations in the official media and on its strategic uses by the various stakeholders involved. Against the backdrop of the global emergence of biotechnology from the late 1970s onwards, the paper traces the motivations for Singapore’s formulation of its own biotechnology policy, paying attention throughout to the dynamic between scientists and policymakers. It is this relationship, along with the ambiguities that characterize it, which is responsible for the sustained establishment of biotechnology in Singapore. At an interpretative level, an attempt is made to compare the case of Singapore’s biotechnology policy with competing discourses of technology and modernity. The discourse on biotechnology can thus be recognised as a means of mobilizing its intended audience for the various stages in the country’s path towards (real or perceived) modernization.

What is the state of the research on crowdsourcing for policymaking? This article begins to answer this question by collecting, categorizing, and situating an extensive body of the extant research investigating policy crowdsourcing, within a new framework built on fundamental typologies from each field. We first define seven universal characteristics of the three general crowdsourcing techniques (virtual labor markets, tournament crowdsourcing, open collaboration), to examine the relative trade-offs of each modality. We then compare these three types of crowdsourcing to the different stages of the policy cycle, in order to situate the literature spanning both domains. We finally discuss research trends in crowdsourcing for public policy and highlight the research gaps and overlaps in the literature.

Though the Thai economy has recorded impressive growth rates over the past 50 years, the country is now in the ‘middle-income trap’ unable to achieve the status of high-income economy and catch-up with the forerunner countries of Asia in technologically sophisticated industries. At the same time, it is losing out to countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam in labour-intensive and resource-based industries. Passive and slow technological learning behaviour of firms in Thailand are the underlying problems. Apart from deficiencies in technological efforts and the strategic intent to upgrade, several firms have continued to perpetuate ineffective technology and innovation policies. Seven unhealthy habits are outlined here to explain Thailand’s ineffective policies. The analysis offers lessons for other developing countries aiming to avoid getting caught in the middle-income trap.

Despite elaborate efforts at Science Technology and Innovation (STI) policy enunciation, Africa has yet to optimally engage with how best to locate and position Indigenous or traditional knowledge (IK/TK) and its stakeholders in the new and emergent technological dynamics often designated as the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and its bioeconomy components. Given the disconnect over IK/TK systems in African STI policy instruments, the paper argues for a deliberate indigenous knowledge sensitive continental STI strategy without excluding integral opportunities in other realms such as intellectual property. Such approach to STI is necessary to ensure that Africa is well positioned to leverage and optimise its factor endowments in indigenous knowledge and underlying systems for its production. Indigenous knowledge is crucial for continental Africa’s participation and ability to benefit from all facets of knowledge production under the 4IR innovation ecosystem. The significance of indigenous knowledge and its ramification for STI in Africa continues to resonate in the context of the push for equitable access to the benefits of science, technology and innovation especially taking into account the bioeconomy adjunct of the 4IR.

This paper focuses on the cases of Malaysia and Thailand and investigates the possibility of upgrading these countries from the middle-income trap and the possible roles of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR)
in this process. The 4IR may induce firms to introduce factory automation to facilitate upgrade into higher segments with local spillovers. A key factor for this positive scenario is local institutions facilitating the
training and upskilling of their local workforce. By contrast, increased problems are expected for other countries with the mid-range level of wages and mid-level of educated population, and firms in these economies mostly execute labor-intensive production and are likely
to be substituted by additional factory automations or their multinational firms may move to neighboring countries for low wages.

Unlike previous snapshot studies, this research traces ‘historical learning events’ to enable us to examine the evolution of roles and underpinning capabilities of intermediaries in an innovation system. By following this approach, the rationale, obstacles and lessons learned of intermediaries in performing their roles and building up required capabilities can be vividly illustrated. The National Food Institute (NFI) of Thailand was selected as the case study. As an intermediary organization, NFI has enhanced its capabilities step by step in analysing and disseminating information, training, testing policy development and consultancies through major ‘learning events’ that provide NFI with learning opportunities. As a result, over time it can perform its intermediary roles better by reducing ‘systemic failures’ in the Thai food industry’s
sectoral innovation system. Recently, however, due to the lack of an official mandate, continuous government budgetary support and organizational lock-in problems, NFI’s role has not evolved with the changes in strategies and capability needs of Thai food
exporters as these firms change from OEM to OBM manufacturers.