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From thematic to organizational prioritization : The challenges of implementing RDI priorities

Hellström, Tomas LU ; Jacob, Merle LU and Sjöö, Karolin LU (2017) In Science and Public Policy 44(5). p.599-608
Abstract

While priority setting for research, development and innovation (RDI) traditionally focuses on which thematic areas should be supported, less is known about how such goals are implemented on the agency level. Key challenges are how to translate broad priorities into programs and projects, how to govern the knowledge base, and how to handle organizational tensions during implementation. Many of these challenges must be addressed by 'street-level' administrators and agency experts during implementation. We take these agency challenges to be of central concern for RDI policy implementation, and propose a process perspective on priority setting. We apply this perspective to a case study of the Swedish Energy Agency and highlight a number of... (More)

While priority setting for research, development and innovation (RDI) traditionally focuses on which thematic areas should be supported, less is known about how such goals are implemented on the agency level. Key challenges are how to translate broad priorities into programs and projects, how to govern the knowledge base, and how to handle organizational tensions during implementation. Many of these challenges must be addressed by 'street-level' administrators and agency experts during implementation. We take these agency challenges to be of central concern for RDI policy implementation, and propose a process perspective on priority setting. We apply this perspective to a case study of the Swedish Energy Agency and highlight a number of insights such as the tension between existing organizational capabilities and new goals for research and innovation. We argue that these insights are particularly relevant to other research funders with a sectoral mandate, for example, health, defense, or agriculture.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Agency organization, Implementation, Priority setting, RDI
in
Science and Public Policy
volume
44
issue
5
article number
scw087
pages
10 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85032004765
  • wos:000412842800001
ISSN
0302-3427
DOI
10.1093/scipol/scw087
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
634030d1-5123-456b-9a6d-5a8a498bdd8f
date added to LUP
2017-11-02 13:00:55
date last changed
2024-06-11 05:22:02
@article{634030d1-5123-456b-9a6d-5a8a498bdd8f,
  abstract     = {{<p>While priority setting for research, development and innovation (RDI) traditionally focuses on which thematic areas should be supported, less is known about how such goals are implemented on the agency level. Key challenges are how to translate broad priorities into programs and projects, how to govern the knowledge base, and how to handle organizational tensions during implementation. Many of these challenges must be addressed by 'street-level' administrators and agency experts during implementation. We take these agency challenges to be of central concern for RDI policy implementation, and propose a process perspective on priority setting. We apply this perspective to a case study of the Swedish Energy Agency and highlight a number of insights such as the tension between existing organizational capabilities and new goals for research and innovation. We argue that these insights are particularly relevant to other research funders with a sectoral mandate, for example, health, defense, or agriculture.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hellström, Tomas and Jacob, Merle and Sjöö, Karolin}},
  issn         = {{0302-3427}},
  keywords     = {{Agency organization; Implementation; Priority setting; RDI}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{599--608}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Science and Public Policy}},
  title        = {{From thematic to organizational prioritization : The challenges of implementing RDI priorities}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scw087}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/scipol/scw087}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}