The understanding of environmental change and how it is influenced by innovation processes and advances in science and technology is multifaceted given the inherent uncertainty of the pace and direction of technology change, but also given the limits to anticipate future environmental effects of new technology. The doctoral thesis is organised in two parts. The covering essay constitutes the first part and is aimed at introducing the scope of the research; outlining theoretical perspectives and central concepts and positioning the research to other research studies. Reprints of the six papers included in the thesis comprise the second part of the thesis. The first aim of this doctoral thesis is to contribute to an increased understanding of the conditions for environmental policy and planning through innovation, science policy and technological change. Particular attention is paid to the institutional frameworks for policy processes, public-private interactive policy and strategic planning with futures studies. The second aim is to explore and analyse approaches applied for assessing the output, impact and structure of science in the area of strategic environmental research. This includes an examination of research assessment criteria and an analysis of knowledge networks in strategic environmental research, characterised by socio-economic expectations of generating innovations that benefit the environment through the industrial application of science. Four types of environmental planning are studied using a combined qualitative and quantitative research approach. These are corporate environmental planning, public environmental planning, strategic long-term planning, and strategic science planning targeting advances in science and technology to attain environmental objectives. The findings of the study show that institutional frameworks of science and technology policy affecting environmental planning are found in organisational forms, such as science parks, but also in institutions understood as values and norms of the science system. With an increased focus on assessment of research as well as future technology, the findings of the study also contributes by examining approaches applied for assessing the output, structure and impact of research, using bibliometrics and social network analysis in the area of strategic environmental research. / QC 20101027

<p>The understanding of environmental change and how it is influenced by innovation processes and advances in science and technology is multifaceted given the inherent uncertainty of the pace and direction of technology change, but also given the limits to anticipate future environmental effects of new technology.</p><p>The doctoral thesis is organised in two parts. The covering essay constitutes the first part and is aimed at introducing the scope of the research; outlining theoretical perspectives and central concepts and positioning the research to other research studies. Reprints of the six papers included in the thesis comprise the second part of the thesis.</p><p>The first aim of this doctoral thesis is to contribute to an increased understanding of the conditions for environmental policy and planning through innovation, science policy and technological change. Particular attention is paid to the institutional frameworks for policy processes, public-private interactive policy and strategic planning with futures studies. The second aim is to explore and analyse approaches applied for assessing the output, impact and structure of science in the area of strategic environmental research. This includes an examination of research assessment criteria and an analysis of knowledge networks in strategic environmental research, characterised by socio-economic expectations of generating innovations that benefit the environment through the industrial application of science. Four types of environmental planning are studied using a combined qualitative and quantitative research approach. These are corporate environmental planning, public environmental planning, strategic long-term planning, and strategic science planning targeting advances in science and technology to attain environmental objectives.</p><p>The findings of the study show that institutional frameworks of science and technology policy affecting environmental planning are found in organisational forms, such as science parks, but also in institutions understood as values and norms of the science system. With an increased focus on assessment of research as well as future technology, the findings of the study also contributes by examining approaches applied for assessing the output, structure and impact of research, using bibliometrics and social network analysis in the area of strategic environmental research.</p>

Evaluation of the performance of science parks is an important topic in the context of Lithuania. The research object is the evaluation of Science and Technology Parks System in the contexts of the national innovation system and global competitiveness. In this work the general characteristics of the holistic innovation system model and new factors of competitiveness are identified, evaluation criteria are formed and a model to evaluate the competitiveness of Science and Technology Parks is created, which allows the use of these evaluation criteria in practice. This is the first time when Science and Technology Parks System in Lithuania has been examined as an inseparable element of the national innovation system, acting in complex political, economical and socio-cultural contexts. The evaluation criteria formulated allow wider observation of parks' current social functions to relate them to other state politics implemented, thus avoiding the duplication of funding and measures. / Mokslo ir technologijų parkų efektyvumo vertinimas – Lietuvoje nuolat akcentuojama problema, tačiau mokslo ir technologijų parkų efektyvumas yra tik viena iš prielaidų globaliam mokslo ir technologijų parkų konkurencingumui, valstybės ekonomikos ir visuomenės transformacijai. Mokslinio tyrimo objektas - mokslo ir technologijų parkų sistemos vertinimas nacionalinės inovacijų sistemos ir globalaus konkurencingumo kontekstuose. Šiame darbe nustatomos holistinio inovacijų sistemos modelio pagrindinės charakteristikos, būdingi konkurencingumo veiksniai, suformuojami mokslo ir technologijų parkų sistemos konkurencingumo vertinimo kriterijai, sukuriamas konkurencingumo vertinimo modelis, leidžiantis šiuos vertinimo kriterijus pritaikyti praktikoje. Pirmą kartą mokslo ir technologijų parkų sistema nagrinėjama kaip neatsiejama nacionalinės inovacijų sistemos dalis ir jos posistemė, veikianti sudėtinguose politiniuose, ekonominiuose ir socialiniuose-kultūriniuose kontekstuose. Suformuoti mokslo ir technologijų parkų konkurencingumo vertinimo kriterijai leidžia plačiau pažvelgti į jų jau dabar atliekamas visuomenines funkcijas, jas susieti su valstybės įgyvendinamomis kitomis politikomis, taip išvengiant besidubliuojančio finansavimo ir priemonių.

Recognizing the importance of innovation, we see that entrepreneurship and its supporting ecosystem contributes to increased prosperity in society. We also understand that the entrepreneurial phenomenon increases in efficiency through internationalization. Within the international context, knowledge transfer can be complex and requires people of multicultural background for successful interpretation. Demanding abilities to code and decode the transferred knowledge and integrate it into practices, interactions and learning for successfully creating new knowledge as a result. Our purpose for this research was to emphasize and give clarity of the process from initiatives to internationalization to successfully transferring knowledge. Being master students in an entrepreneurial program and working with related projects in our worklife, we were accustomed to- and possessed necessary background information for the topic. This gave us abilities to contact and form interviews for various science and technology parks (STP). We were motivated to collect data through a qualitative study, interviewing STPs with practical insight measuring selected theories presented in our literature review. Our findings correlate the selected theories, and give impressions that networking platforms provided by government, universities and international organizations contribute significantly in connecting STPs to international players. We also record that the government’s position is crucial in providing infrastructure and financial support to STPs. Further the challenge of knowledge transfer is positively related to complementary interest and trust, which is better resolved through awareness of multicultural networks. Further research can be recommended to investigate the objectives of institutions in an entrepreneurial ecosystem, between and in relation to the tenants. For direct understanding of international activities, we would also like to propose a research measuring science and technology parks’ engagement for internationalization and the financial results of tenants within the same time period.

Lern- und Innovationsprozesse erfordern den Zugang zu externem Wissen und die Zusammenführung von Wissensbasen verschiedener Akteure und Akteursgruppen (u.a. Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, öfffentliche Verwaltung, sowie weitere Innovationsträger). Wissenschafts- und Technologieparks (WTP) sind in diesem Zusammenhang ein wichtiges Instrument der wissensbasierten Regionalentwicklung, um konkrete Orte des Lernens und von Innovationen zu schaffen. Jedoch die relativ schwache Interaktion zwischen Unternehmen und Wissenschaft in diesen Innovationsräumen sowie die gleichzeitig zunehmend empirisch belegte Relevanz von globalen Wissensflüssen und Innovationsnetzwerken erfordern die Spezifizierung der maßgebenden Einflußfaktoren von Wissensbeziehungen. Mehrdimensionale Nähe- und Distanzbeziehungen kennzeichnen interorganisatorische Beziehungen des Wissensaustauschs und der Wissensgenerierung. Diese Arbeit analysiert die spezifischen Nähekonstellationen zwischen Unternehmen und wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen in direkten sowie - durch Wissensnetzwerk-Management systematisch organisiert - in indirekten Wissensbeziehungen. Die konzeptionellen Ansätze der Proximity-Forschung sowie des Wissensmanagements bieten die Grundlage für die empirische Untersuchung der Wissensnetzwerke von Technologiefirmen in den WTP Berlin-Adlershof und Sevilla-Cartuja. Unterschiedliche Typen von Technologieunternehmen in Hinblick auf die Struktur und räumliche Dimension der Wissensbeziehungen zu Wissenschaft und Forschung stellen ein wesentliches Ergebnis der Arbeit dar. Die Arbeit belegt zudem die Funktion mehrdimensionaler Nähe in den Wissensbeziehungen. Des Weiteren wird die Organisation notwendiger und wichtiger Nähedimensionen durch Instrumente des Wissensnetzwerk-Managements aufgezeigt, um Wissensbeziehungen zu erschließen, zu aktivieren und nutzbar zu machen. Aufbauend auf den Ergebnissen werden Handlungsempfehlungen für das Management von WTP und weiteren räumlichen Innovationssystemen abgeleitet. / In the knowledge-based ecomomy, innovation is characterized by a dynamic and interactive learning process involving diverse actors; industry, science, public administration, as well as other entities and sub-systems. In this regard, science and technology parks (STP) have become a prominent instrument of regional governments to create specific localities of learning and innovation. However, empirical evidence increasingly points to rather weak local industry-academia interaction in STPs in specifically and the equivalent importance of local and non-local connections as roots of knowledge diffusion and innovation more generally. Multi-faceted proximity determines the multi-scalar process of knowledge sourcing and knowledge interaction. This dissertation thesis analyses the specific proximity configurations given in direct ties and organized through knowledge network management (KNM) in STP resident firms’ indirect linkages to scientific knowledge sources. The theoretical approaches of the proximity framework and knowledge management provide the analytical framework for the empirical analysis of egocentric knowledge networks to academia of high-technology firms located in the Berlin-Adlershof and Seville-Cartuja science parks. Based on this theoretical and methodological framework, I identify distinct types of knowledge-seeking STP resident companies in regard to the quality, form and geography of interactive ties to science. Furthermore, the thesis sheds light on the specific proximity configurations relevant in successful industry-academia knowledge relations. Furthermore, it reveals the underlying mechanisms of specific KNM instruments organizing necessary and critical proximities in order to forge, activate and harness knowledge networks on distinct geographical scales. Based on the analysis’ findings, specific policy recommendations for the management of STPs and other kinds of territorial innovation systems are developed.