This paper conceptualises networks of excellence (NoEs), a new funding instrument in the EU's Sixth Framework Programme for research, to propose how to monitor and assess the achievement of their objectives. It analyses the dynamics of NoEs and potential changes taking place in an NoE during its...

In the 1990s two main political objectives have become evident in European public research systems (PRS): a more flexible use of available resources; and strong government action to enhance collaborative networks between the public sector and the users of research results. There are similarities...

The objective of this paper is to perform an experiment of quantitative assessment on changes in allocation mechanisms and in their underlying delegation models, using the quantitative information and the descriptions of national funding systems produced in the PRIME project funding activity....

Nations, universities, and regional governments promote the dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge. They focus on knowledge-based innovations and the university's economic function in terms of technology transfer, intellectual property, university--industry--government relations...

This paper investigates the developments of research councils in Austria, Norway and Switzerland, and analyses their responsiveness to government and science. By use of various data sources and indicators, our results suggest that councils are sometimes more responsive to the beneficiaries'...

In this paper, we critically assess the specificity of the French research system and of its funding mode, which is accepted in most of the literature on the subject. We show that this interpretation is largely a result of the use of categories for the analysis of public funding that are not...

This paper provides an account of the reform of the public research funding system in Poland between 1989 and 2007, a period which includes the dramatic change after the breakdown of the Communist regime with the creation of a completely new system of research funding, yet still characterized by...