History and Past Activities
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History and Past Activities |
Antti Pelkonen & Ulla Peltola
Department of Sociology, Research Group for Comparative Sociology
University of Helsinki
Helsinki
Finland
e-mail: antti.pelkonen@helsinki.fi, ulla.peltola@helsinki.fi
BALANCING BETWEEN GOVERNMENTAL AND COMMERCIAL INTERESTS:
THE CASE OF NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AGENCY IN FINLAND
In advanced western countries both scientists and policy makers have regarded that new knowledge and technologies play a crucial role in economic development. Science and technology policies strive for developing national competitiveness. Governments aim to promote technological development by supporting research and development activities in universities, research institutes and industry. It is expected that the promotion of collaboration between public and private sector facilitates the transfer of new knowledge to the productive sector and accelerates the commodification of knowledge.
In our paper we take a closer look at the attempts of the Finnish government to advance commercialisation of knowledge by examining the activities of the National Technology Agency (Tekes). As a governmental institution specialized in funding both private and public R&D activities Tekes has an important role in national knowledge transfer process. We explore the means of Tekes to promote production and commercialisation of knowledge. Moreover, we debate whom it actually represents, and study how it aims at and succeeds in bringing together commercial and wider societal interests. We also take a look at how its role has changed as the process of commodification has intensified.
Sociology of Science and Technology NETwork - last update: April 2006