Experts’ panel to examine the Danish innovation system

A panel of nine international experts on knowledge production and innovation has been appointed by Denmark’s Minister of Higher Education and Science Tommy Ahlers to examine the Danish innovation system.

Ahlers has identified these experts in consultation with the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility.

The panel will be chaired by Christian Ketels, chief economist of the Boston Consulting Group and former researcher at Harvard Business School, where for 17 years he headed Michael Porter’s research team at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness.

Other members are:

• • Tony Raven, CEO of Cambridge Enterprise, United Kingdom;
  
• • Margareta Drzeniek-Hanouz, director at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland;
  
• • Professor Stefan Kuhlmann from the University of Twente in the Netherlands;
  
• • Jackie Hunter, CEO of BenevolentBio in the UK;
  
• • Göran Marklund, deputy director general at Vinnova, the Swedish government innovation agency;
  
• • Uri Gabai, chief strategy officer at the Israel Innovation Authority;
  
• • Kai Husso, chief planning officer at the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment; and
  
• • Pieter Heringa, senior advisor at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands.

The establishment of the panel was called for in the December 2017 government strategic plan for future research and innovation, "Denmark – Ready for the Future. The goals of the government for Danish research and innovation".

The strategy commits the government to strengthening technological research and supporting more high-quality research by investing at least 1% of GNP – gross national product – in research and development each year.

Concrete proposals

The strategy says the experts’ panel should work out concrete proposals for how Danish research-based innovation can become world class and ensure that actors in the Danish knowledge production system are collaborating closely and actively towards a common overarching national goal.

The terms of reference for the international expert panel are:

• • To illustrate with the best international case studies the use of instruments in knowledge-based innovation.
  
• • Use the case studies to analyse how Denmark can adapt to attract investments in knowledge-based innovation.
  
• • Make recommendations on how Danish investments in knowledge-based innovations can be improved.

The panel is tasked with reviewing the Danish knowledge-based innovation support system as a whole, including the value chain from research to innovation in established and new companies.

Drawing on this review, the panel will make recommendations on ways in which Denmark can strengthen its public policy efforts in areas including knowledge-based technological services for businesses; i-collaboration, networking and matchmaking; and knowledge-based entrepreneurship.

Technology transfer

The panel will in particular examine universities’ efforts at technology transfer.

A Danish group of seven experts, including heads of technology transfer offices at universities, is going to participate in the processes.

As a background document for the expert panel, the IRIS Group – a team of consultants – in November 2018 published a Literature Review and Assessment of the Danish Knowledge-based Innovation Support System, a 73-page document in English which is a goldmine for anyone interested in comparative European perspectives on national research and innovation policies.

In May 2018 the Danish government concluded a political agreement to reform the public system of support for transferring research into business opportunities. The reforms will include changes to parts of the public framework of funding instruments for knowledge-based innovation from January 2019.

New model

A new model supporting knowledge-based entrepreneurship is to be developed by Innovation Fund Denmark in cooperation with Universities Denmark, the Danish rectors’ conference.

Jesper Langergaard, director of Universities Denmark, told University World News that Universities Denmark and the GTS institutes – which are Danish government-approved research and technology organisations – are jointly preparing a report highlighting how and where they can cooperate.

“A survey of this information will be provided for the international expert panel. Besides this initiative, we are involved in hearings and meetings regarding other parts of the ongoing reforms, including the evaluation of Innovation Fund Denmark," Langergaard said.