The following thesis presents an analysis of power and control in the English National Health Service. Notably, it focuses upon power and control over knowledge; over defining what is 'valid' knowledge; over the production of that valid knowledge; and over how, what, when and where that knowledge is used in everyday clinical practice. The issue reaches to the heart of professional conception and definition and hence, control over professions themselves. The thesis attempts to demonstrate the relationship between the different professional groups in the NHS, through the analysis of national, regional and local documents, and interviews with managers, doctors, nurses, dietitians and physiotherapists in three case studies, the thesis shows the complex pattern of relations and behaviour at play. Particular attention is paid to Michael Power's notion of audit and the 'Audit Explosion', which provides a framework for the thesis, and to the work of Michel Foucault, especially his ideas about power, control and panopticism. These are used as a useful metaphor to understand and explain NBS research and audit in relation to the NHS professions. The thesis ends with a cross-case analysis which draws together the rich variety of data and concludes with an analysis of the wider sociological implications ofthe thesis.

INTRODUÇÃO: A importância de se avaliar sistemas e serviços de saúde: aumento de gastos, avanços tecnológicos, envelhecimento da população, deficiências com as práticas na assistência, iniquidades na alocação de recursos, necessidade de prestação de contas aos órgãos controladores e à sociedade, melhorias e reformas no sistema e serviços de saúde. A avaliação de desempenho de serviços de saúde demonstra parte importante do desempenho do sistema de saúde, permitindo comparações de desempenho de processos e resultados, à medida que os serviços avaliados tenham articulações entre si, e que o desfecho tenha relações com todos os níveis da atenção avaliados. OBJETIVO: avaliar o desempenho dos serviços públicos de saúde de um município paulista de médio porte, no período de 2008 a 2015, quanto a resultados de qualidade nas dimensões do acesso, da efetividade e da adequação de serviços. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: estudo exploratório, com análise descritiva de dados quantitativos. Utilizados indicadores de saúde dos sistemas de informação do Ministério da Saúde, e populacionais do IBGE. Foram distribuídos nas dimensões do acesso, efetividade e adequação, conforme modelo do PROADESS - Metodologia de Avaliação do Desempenho do Sistema de Saúde; para a interpretação do desempenho foi realizada comparação entre o nível municipal e outros três níveis (estado de São Paulo, região Sudeste e Brasil). RESULTADOS: acesso: taxa de internação, cirurgia de revascularização, angioplastia e imunização por tetra/pentavalente demonstraram melhor desempenho dos serviços de saúde municipais em relação aos demais níveis; cobertura Estratégia Saúde da Família e vacinação do idoso contra a gripe demonstraram pior desempenho, porém com tendência de melhora ao longo do tempo. Adequação: consultas de pré-natal do município com melhor desempenho em relação aos demais níveis, e mais próximas do preconizado; histerectomia e partos cesáreos com pior desempenho. Efetividade: mortes em internações por infarto agudo do miocárdio com melhor desempenho para o município; internações por Condições Sensíveis à Atenção Básica, sífilis congênita em menor de um ano e amputação de membros inferiores em diabéticos com pior desempenho municipal em relação aos outros três níveis do estudo. CONCLUSÃO: quanto ao acesso, no conjunto dos indicadores o desempenho foi positivo, com melhor resultado para a atenção hospitalar em relação à atenção básica; quanto à adequação, o desempenho foi desfavorável ao município em comparação com os demais níveis, assim como na efetividade o desempenho municipal também foi inferior aos outros três níveis pesquisados, demonstrando fragilidade na atenção básica da assistência. / INTRODUCTION: The importance of evaluating health systems and services: increased expenditures, technological advances, aging of the population, deficiencies with assistance practices, iniquities in resource allocation, accountability to controlling organs and society, improvements and reforms in the health system and services. The performance evaluation of health services demonstrates an important part of the performance of the health system, allowing comparisons of performance of processes and results, as the services evaluated have articulations among them, and that the outcome has relations with all levels of attention evaluated. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the performance of public health services in a medium-sized São Paulo municipality, from 2008 to 2015, in terms of quality, access, effectiveness and adequacy of services. MATERIAL AND METHOD: exploratory study, with descriptive analysis of quantitative data. Health indicators of the information systems of the Ministry of Health and of the IBGE population were used. They were distributed in the dimensions of access, effectiveness and adequacy, according to the model of the PROADESS - Methodology for Evaluation of Health System Performance; for the interpretation of the performance was carried out comparison between the municipal level and other three levels (state of São Paulo, Southeast region and Brazil). RESULTS: access: hospitalization rate, revascularization surgery, angioplasty and tetra / pentavalent immunization demonstrated better performance of the municipal health services in relation to the other levels; coverage Family Health Strategy and vaccination of the elderly against influenza showed worse performance, but with a tendency to improve over time. Adequacy: prenatal consultations of the municipality with better performance in relation to the other levels, and closer to that recommended; hysterectomy and cesarean delivery with worse performance. Effectiveness: deaths in hospitalizations due to acute myocardial infarction with better performance for the municipality; hospitalizations for conditions sensitive to primary care, congenital syphilis in less than one year and amputation of lower limbs in diabetics with worse municipal performance in relation to the other three levels of the study. CONCLUSION: with regard to access, in the set of indicators, performance was positive, with a better result for hospital care in relation to primary care; in terms of adequacy, the performance was unfavorable to the municipality in comparison to the other levels, as well as in the effectiveness, the municipal performance was also inferior to the other three levels surveyed, showing weakness in the basic assistance care.

INTRODUÇÃO: A importância de se avaliar sistemas e serviços de saúde: aumento de gastos, avanços tecnológicos, envelhecimento da população, deficiências com as práticas na assistência, iniquidades na alocação de recursos, necessidade de prestação de contas aos órgãos controladores e à sociedade, melhorias e reformas no sistema e serviços de saúde. A avaliação de desempenho de serviços de saúde demonstra parte importante do desempenho do sistema de saúde, permitindo comparações de desempenho de processos e resultados, à medida que os serviços avaliados tenham articulações entre si, e que o desfecho tenha relações com todos os níveis da atenção avaliados. OBJETIVO: avaliar o desempenho dos serviços públicos de saúde de um município paulista de médio porte, no período de 2008 a 2015, quanto a resultados de qualidade nas dimensões do acesso, da efetividade e da adequação de serviços. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: estudo exploratório, com análise descritiva de dados quantitativos. Utilizados indicadores de saúde dos sistemas de informação do Ministério da Saúde, e populacionais do IBGE. Foram distribuídos nas dimensões do acesso, efetividade e adequação, conforme modelo do PROADESS - Metodologia de Avaliação do Desempenho do Sistema de Saúde; para a interpretação do desempenho foi realizada comparação entre o nível municipal e outros três níveis (estado de São Paulo, região Sudeste e Brasil). RESULTADOS: acesso: taxa de internação, cirurgia de revascularização, angioplastia e imunização por tetra/pentavalente demonstraram melhor desempenho dos serviços de saúde municipais em relação aos demais níveis; cobertura Estratégia Saúde da Família e vacinação do idoso contra a gripe demonstraram pior desempenho, porém com tendência de melhora ao longo do tempo. Adequação: consultas de pré-natal do município com melhor desempenho em relação aos demais níveis, e mais próximas do preconizado; histerectomia e partos cesáreos com pior desempenho. Efetividade: mortes em internações por infarto agudo do miocárdio com melhor desempenho para o município; internações por Condições Sensíveis à Atenção Básica, sífilis congênita em menor de um ano e amputação de membros inferiores em diabéticos com pior desempenho municipal em relação aos outros três níveis do estudo. CONCLUSÃO: quanto ao acesso, no conjunto dos indicadores o desempenho foi positivo, com melhor resultado para a atenção hospitalar em relação à atenção básica; quanto à adequação, o desempenho foi desfavorável ao município em comparação com os demais níveis, assim como na efetividade o desempenho municipal também foi inferior aos outros três níveis pesquisados, demonstrando fragilidade na atenção básica da assistência. / INTRODUCTION: The importance of evaluating health systems and services: increased expenditures, technological advances, aging of the population, deficiencies with assistance practices, iniquities in resource allocation, accountability to controlling organs and society, improvements and reforms in the health system and services. The performance evaluation of health services demonstrates an important part of the performance of the health system, allowing comparisons of performance of processes and results, as the services evaluated have articulations among them, and that the outcome has relations with all levels of attention evaluated. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the performance of public health services in a medium-sized São Paulo municipality, from 2008 to 2015, in terms of quality, access, effectiveness and adequacy of services. MATERIAL AND METHOD: exploratory study, with descriptive analysis of quantitative data. Health indicators of the information systems of the Ministry of Health and of the IBGE population were used. They were distributed in the dimensions of access, effectiveness and adequacy, according to the model of the PROADESS - Methodology for Evaluation of Health System Performance; for the interpretation of the performance was carried out comparison between the municipal level and other three levels (state of São Paulo, Southeast region and Brazil). RESULTS: access: hospitalization rate, revascularization surgery, angioplasty and tetra / pentavalent immunization demonstrated better performance of the municipal health services in relation to the other levels; coverage Family Health Strategy and vaccination of the elderly against influenza showed worse performance, but with a tendency to improve over time. Adequacy: prenatal consultations of the municipality with better performance in relation to the other levels, and closer to that recommended; hysterectomy and cesarean delivery with worse performance. Effectiveness: deaths in hospitalizations due to acute myocardial infarction with better performance for the municipality; hospitalizations for conditions sensitive to primary care, congenital syphilis in less than one year and amputation of lower limbs in diabetics with worse municipal performance in relation to the other three levels of the study. CONCLUSION: with regard to access, in the set of indicators, performance was positive, with a better result for hospital care in relation to primary care; in terms of adequacy, the performance was unfavorable to the municipality in comparison to the other levels, as well as in the effectiveness, the municipal performance was also inferior to the other three levels surveyed, showing weakness in the basic assistance care.

Background: The recent political agenda for health and social care requires more client-centred, personalised services. Self-Directed Support, encompassing Direct Payments and Personal Budgets, is designed to provide people with more choice and control over how their needs and outcomes are met. Personal budgets are available for eligible people however take-up is low in mental health services. Research Aims: The study was set in an NHS Health and Social care Trust covering a large predominantly rural area.The aims of this study were: (1) to develop Self-Directed Support within one mental health Trust and; (2) understand more fully service user and carer involvement in the process. Methods: This study used action research incorporating: a spiral methodological framework; a project steering group; and service user and carer co-researchers. Data collection took place between 2007 and 2011, and the project ran in three sequential spirals using qualitative methods to triangulate the findings and identify any divergence in data. Findings: Findings showed that organisational language, structures and power relations provide barriers to effective involvement of service users and carers. Action research is very relevant for researching projects involving transformational change in health and social care, and including service user and carer co-researchers adds rich and authentic data. Findings concerning Self-Directed Support concluded that it afforded people more choice, flexibility and control than previous policy, and an improved quality of life. Concerns about bureaucratic processes, lack of information and knowledge of Self-Directed Supportwere found. Workforce concerns about safety of service users under Self-Directed Support and cultural shifts to more democratic methods of working were reported. Conclusions: This study's results correspond closely with national studies: staff attitudes and culture need changing to empower people to take up Self-directed Support. Concerns about quality assurance and safety are prevalent. Mental health services pose additional obstacles in their structures and reliance on the medical model. Social care knowledge cannot be assumed for all mental health Trust practitioners.

Introduction: The lifespan of Mi’kmaq First Nations men continues to be eight years less than that of other Canadian men. Therefore, this study examined the intersecting relationships between the social determinants of gender, health practices and other factors on the health of Mi’kmaq boys and men living in Elsipogtog First Nation. Goal: To promote the health of Mi’kmaq men living in Elsipogtog First Nation and to decrease the health disparities among Mi’kmaq men and other Canadian men. Objectives: (a) To explore how Mi’kmaq men construct their masculinities across the lifespan within Mi’kmaq culture; (b) To examine Mi’kmaq men’s perceptions of health and health practices and how their practices of masculinity influence these practices; (c) To explore how the experiences of illness and health influence Mi’kmaq men’s perceptions of their masculinity and the configuration of its practices; (d) To contribute to the scholarship of masculinities, health, culture, race, and inequity; (f) To build research capacity among members of the community of Elsipogtog; and (e) To identify strategies or programs that will support the health of Mi’kmaq men and their ability to care for their own health. Method: A community based participatory action research study based on an Indigenist critical social theoretical approach was used to gather and analyze the data. A research team of four Mi’kmaq people worked with me to analyze the data from an Indigenous perspective. A community advisory committee advised the research team regarding recruitment issues and the findings of the study. Thirty Mi’kmaq men and seven women were interviewed. Findings: The masculinities practices of Mi’kmaq men were: (a) respecting women, (b) fathering their children, (c) providing for their families, (d) caring for the environment, (e) respecting self and others, and (f) respecting sexually diverse family friends and self. During their lifetimes, many participants dealt with multiple losses, addiction, racism, sexual abuse, suicide attempts, and poverty. Their masculinity practices, culture, and spiritual health practices served as resiliency factors that contributed to their health status and practices Conclusions: The masculinity practices of Mi’kmaq men were strengths in their health.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Toledo, 2006. / "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nursing." Major advisor: Joanne Ehrmin. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: vii, 111 p. Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: pages 97-103.

Systematic reviews - appraisal and synthesis of all primary research - are increasingly being used to inform policy and practice in health care. Therefore, it is important to understand how the key questions in systematic reviews are identified and prioritised and whether they are relevant to policy makers, practitioners and members of the public. Research priority setting (RPS) is usually defined as any interpersonal activity that leads to the selection of topics and/or choices of key questions to investigate . Diverse approaches to setting research priorities are used in different countries, regions and organisations. There is no consensus in the literature on the most effective processes with which to set these priorities. However, these decisions define the quality and implications of the evidence, and syntheses of it, available to patients, public and policy makers to help them make informed decisions. My initial scoping work, was to design and conduct a survey across an influential international systematic review organisation (Cochrane Collaboration ) on how they set priorities for their reviews. We identified 13 structured approaches to setting priorities. As part of the project, we developed an evaluation framework that demonstrated whether the priority setting processes meet the values and principles of the Cochrane Collaboration. Subsequently, we developed an equity lens for research priority setting exercises to inform the design of research priority setting processes to ensure that they consider the priorities of disadvantaged groups along with advantaged groups. We used the equity lens to do a second evaluation on the priority setting processes in the Cochrane Collaboration. Both evaluation frameworks demonstrated that the Cochrane Collaboration requires better designed priority setting approaches and must be more transparent in reporting those processes. The evaluation of research priority setting exercises in the Cochrane Collaboration, along with the wider literature, demonstrates that research priority setting exercises cannot be evaluated in isolation from organisational cultures, values and context. Therefore, the next step of the project focused on a specific stakeholder group (major research funders) with significant influence on research, including support for systematic reviews. We selected 11 national research agencies in the UK, Netherlands, France, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the USA. We devised and used a checklist based on Chalmers and Glasziou’s “avoidable research waste” framework (and evaluated the processes and policies of these agencies using this checklist). As previous evaluations had demonstrated, this second evaluation found a lack of transparency in the process of setting priorities for research and other related organisational and policy issues. Increased funding is needed for methodological research to evaluate research practices and to monitor how funding research projects is done and reported. My evaluation of funding agencies and the Cochrane Collaboration found a similar lack of transparency and accountability in the context of conflicting values among stakeholders that decreases accountability and scrutiny of researchers and their institutions. However, the projects have led to organisational and policy changes in the two key stakeholder groups (the Cochrane Collaboration and selected funding agencies). Officials of national health research funding agencies have approached me to collaborate with them to address the issues raised by my work on reducing research waste. This led to the establishment of Funders Forum - the Ensuring Value in Research (EViR) Funders’ Collaboration and Development Forum - to enable agencies in various countries to exchange their experience in addressing issues and creating work groups to address them. The Forum is chaired by individuals from three major research funders: NIHR (UK), ZonMW (Netherlands) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI; USA). The Forum organises several meetings to establish common principles, standards and work plans to achieve the common objective around reducing research waste and adding value for research for a national research funder.

científico e tecnológico de uma nação pode ser mensurado através da análise da capacidade de sua sociedade de gerar conhecimento e transformá-lo em um produto aplicável à realidade da sua população, sendo certo que a eficácia desta dinâmica depende da existência de políticas públicas de proteção à propriedade intelectual (PI), que garantam ao titular da criação segurança e o retorno do investimento realizado. Uma das áreas em que esse processo é mais evidente é a saúde, já que é responsável por atrair volumosos investimentos financeiros tanto do setor público como do privado. O Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) está amplamente inserido no contexto da pesquisa em saúde porque possui como objetivo institucional, além da assistência e do ensino, promover a realização de pesquisas científicas e tecnológicas e de inovação, sendo reconhecido pela excelência nesse campo. Diante disso, o objetivo geral do trabalho consiste na elaboração de uma política institucional para normatizar a proteção e a exploração dos direitos de propriedade intelectual que decorrem das pesquisas em saúde realizadas pela comunidade científica do HCPA. Para tanto, foi realizada pesquisa qualitativa de dados a partir de revisão bibliográfica e análise documental, bem como utilizada a técnica de investigação de estudo de caso. Os resultados obtidos apontaram para a existência de uma vasta gama de possibilidades de pesquisas a serem realizadas na Instituição, as quais podem gerar diversas formas de proteção e exploração da propriedade intelectual, o que possibilitou o desenvolvimento da proposta de redação da política institucional de propriedade intelectual para o HCPA. Conclui-se que há forte cultura sobre pesquisa e desenvolvimento em toda a instituição, mas que a propriedade intelectual ainda é uma matéria que merece maior atenção, a fim de que todo o seu potencial e benefícios possam ser alcançados. / A nation’s scientific and technological development can be measured by its society capacity to generate knowledge and turn it into an useful product for its population. There’s no doubt that the effectiveness of this dynamic depends on the existence of public policies of intellectual property protection, which guarantee to the author security and return of the investment he’s done. Health is one of the areas where this process is most evident, since it is responsible for attracting massive financial investments from both public and private sectors. The Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) is deeply inserted in the context of health research because, besides medical assistance and teaching, it has as an institutional objective to promote scientific and technological research and innovation, being recognized for its excellence in this field. Therefore, the general objective of this work is to compose an institutional policy to regulate the protection and the profiteering of the intellectual property rights that derive from the research in the health area carried out by the HCPA’s scientific community. To achieve it, a qualitative data research was implemented based on bibliographic review and documentary analysis, as well as case study investigation technique. The results obtained pointed out the existence of a wide range of research possibilities to be carried out in the Institution, which enables several forms of protection and profiteering of the intellectual property and made possible to write the proposal of an institutional property policy for the HCPA. It is concluded that there is a strong culture of research and development throughout the institution, but that intellectual property is still a subject that deserves more attention so that its full potential and benefits can be achieved.

científico e tecnológico de uma nação pode ser mensurado através da análise da capacidade de sua sociedade de gerar conhecimento e transformá-lo em um produto aplicável à realidade da sua população, sendo certo que a eficácia desta dinâmica depende da existência de políticas públicas de proteção à propriedade intelectual (PI), que garantam ao titular da criação segurança e o retorno do investimento realizado. Uma das áreas em que esse processo é mais evidente é a saúde, já que é responsável por atrair volumosos investimentos financeiros tanto do setor público como do privado. O Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) está amplamente inserido no contexto da pesquisa em saúde porque possui como objetivo institucional, além da assistência e do ensino, promover a realização de pesquisas científicas e tecnológicas e de inovação, sendo reconhecido pela excelência nesse campo. Diante disso, o objetivo geral do trabalho consiste na elaboração de uma política institucional para normatizar a proteção e a exploração dos direitos de propriedade intelectual que decorrem das pesquisas em saúde realizadas pela comunidade científica do HCPA. Para tanto, foi realizada pesquisa qualitativa de dados a partir de revisão bibliográfica e análise documental, bem como utilizada a técnica de investigação de estudo de caso. Os resultados obtidos apontaram para a existência de uma vasta gama de possibilidades de pesquisas a serem realizadas na Instituição, as quais podem gerar diversas formas de proteção e exploração da propriedade intelectual, o que possibilitou o desenvolvimento da proposta de redação da política institucional de propriedade intelectual para o HCPA. Conclui-se que há forte cultura sobre pesquisa e desenvolvimento em toda a instituição, mas que a propriedade intelectual ainda é uma matéria que merece maior atenção, a fim de que todo o seu potencial e benefícios possam ser alcançados. / A nation’s scientific and technological development can be measured by its society capacity to generate knowledge and turn it into an useful product for its population. There’s no doubt that the effectiveness of this dynamic depends on the existence of public policies of intellectual property protection, which guarantee to the author security and return of the investment he’s done. Health is one of the areas where this process is most evident, since it is responsible for attracting massive financial investments from both public and private sectors. The Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) is deeply inserted in the context of health research because, besides medical assistance and teaching, it has as an institutional objective to promote scientific and technological research and innovation, being recognized for its excellence in this field. Therefore, the general objective of this work is to compose an institutional policy to regulate the protection and the profiteering of the intellectual property rights that derive from the research in the health area carried out by the HCPA’s scientific community. To achieve it, a qualitative data research was implemented based on bibliographic review and documentary analysis, as well as case study investigation technique. The results obtained pointed out the existence of a wide range of research possibilities to be carried out in the Institution, which enables several forms of protection and profiteering of the intellectual property and made possible to write the proposal of an institutional property policy for the HCPA. It is concluded that there is a strong culture of research and development throughout the institution, but that intellectual property is still a subject that deserves more attention so that its full potential and benefits can be achieved.

científico e tecnológico de uma nação pode ser mensurado através da análise da capacidade de sua sociedade de gerar conhecimento e transformá-lo em um produto aplicável à realidade da sua população, sendo certo que a eficácia desta dinâmica depende da existência de políticas públicas de proteção à propriedade intelectual (PI), que garantam ao titular da criação segurança e o retorno do investimento realizado. Uma das áreas em que esse processo é mais evidente é a saúde, já que é responsável por atrair volumosos investimentos financeiros tanto do setor público como do privado. O Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) está amplamente inserido no contexto da pesquisa em saúde porque possui como objetivo institucional, além da assistência e do ensino, promover a realização de pesquisas científicas e tecnológicas e de inovação, sendo reconhecido pela excelência nesse campo. Diante disso, o objetivo geral do trabalho consiste na elaboração de uma política institucional para normatizar a proteção e a exploração dos direitos de propriedade intelectual que decorrem das pesquisas em saúde realizadas pela comunidade científica do HCPA. Para tanto, foi realizada pesquisa qualitativa de dados a partir de revisão bibliográfica e análise documental, bem como utilizada a técnica de investigação de estudo de caso. Os resultados obtidos apontaram para a existência de uma vasta gama de possibilidades de pesquisas a serem realizadas na Instituição, as quais podem gerar diversas formas de proteção e exploração da propriedade intelectual, o que possibilitou o desenvolvimento da proposta de redação da política institucional de propriedade intelectual para o HCPA. Conclui-se que há forte cultura sobre pesquisa e desenvolvimento em toda a instituição, mas que a propriedade intelectual ainda é uma matéria que merece maior atenção, a fim de que todo o seu potencial e benefícios possam ser alcançados. / A nation’s scientific and technological development can be measured by its society capacity to generate knowledge and turn it into an useful product for its population. There’s no doubt that the effectiveness of this dynamic depends on the existence of public policies of intellectual property protection, which guarantee to the author security and return of the investment he’s done. Health is one of the areas where this process is most evident, since it is responsible for attracting massive financial investments from both public and private sectors. The Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) is deeply inserted in the context of health research because, besides medical assistance and teaching, it has as an institutional objective to promote scientific and technological research and innovation, being recognized for its excellence in this field. Therefore, the general objective of this work is to compose an institutional policy to regulate the protection and the profiteering of the intellectual property rights that derive from the research in the health area carried out by the HCPA’s scientific community. To achieve it, a qualitative data research was implemented based on bibliographic review and documentary analysis, as well as case study investigation technique. The results obtained pointed out the existence of a wide range of research possibilities to be carried out in the Institution, which enables several forms of protection and profiteering of the intellectual property and made possible to write the proposal of an institutional property policy for the HCPA. It is concluded that there is a strong culture of research and development throughout the institution, but that intellectual property is still a subject that deserves more attention so that its full potential and benefits can be achieved.