Practical Guide for Active National Policy Makers - what Science and Technology Policy Can and Cannot Do?

The aim of this report is to look at the role of science, technology and innovation policies from the perspective of the national policy process and to offer certain conclusions for the tasks related to the progress toward a knowledge-based society and economy in the European union. Three different national innovation systems (NIS) are presented on the basis of KNOGG country experiences: a country trying mainly to promote technology diffusion, a country intentionally developing national capacities to create, and a country relying on market forces without policy interventions. The most important difference between the NIS of the larger and smaller countries is the greater dependence on the external sources of knowledge and innovations in smaller countries. The realisation of the goals related to the establishment of the European Research Area (ERA) will open new opportunities but also create new challenges for the small countries.