IFRIS - Institut Francilien Recherche Innovation Société

Science, technology and innovation (STI) are crucial elements of economic development and growth. They undoubtedly had a key role in the past, but their significance is going to dramatically increase in the next future. As a matter of fact, these days, from different ankles and perspectives, public opinion points to the discovery and development of new technologies as “the main solution” to many of the challenges that the whole world faces ahead. All these decisions, strategies and investments, might be supported by research and innovation policies, as well as a comprehensive approach in financing STI activities, that have to be put in place in economic and institutional contexts, which are fairly more complex than what occurred to be in the past.

The Early Career Research Conference “Sowing the seeds of the future: The financing of tomorrow’s innovations” intends to increase our understanding on the topic of “financing STI activities”, with special emphasis on the most suitable policy tools and their most appropriate governance mechanisms to alleviate in the future the existing financing barriers towards STI activities. In particular we aim at collecting both empirical and theoretical contributions that provide new insights on the below reported topics, building on the available evidence on the interrelationships between different public and private stakeholders interacting in the complex STI landscape. Papers that embrace different approaches/levels of analysis and adopt an international perspective are especially welcomed.

Here follows a potential list of streams, by way of example:

– Policies for the financing of breakthrough innovations.

– Policies for achieving sustainable innovations in ‘grand social challenges’ in the areas of health, energy and environmental issues.

– Design and governance of policy schemes for easing financing of STI activities, including public-private collaboration arrangements in the equity and credit market.

– Interdependencies between governments’ research policies and other public policies for the financing of STI activities.

– Financial markets, bank regulation and the provision of finance for R&D intensive firms.

– Financial markets conditions and incentives for entrepreneurship.

– Raising external capital for high-tech entrepreneurship: policy issues.

– Crowdfunding: opportunities, challenges and critical factors.

– Crowdfunding, venture capital and bank debt: complements or substitutes?

– Venture capital, innovation and high-tech start-ups performance.

– Innovation at a global scale: governance mechanisms across different actors.

– Innovative policy tools to support the provision of finance for innovative firms and high-tech start-ups.

– Best practices in the management and governance of public policies for the financing of high-tech entrepreneurship and innovative firms.

– Policies for the financial support of technology transfer.

– University-Venture capital and the financing of academic start-ups.

– Financial and growth strategies of innovative firms and high-tech start-ups.

– Initial public offerings and Mergers & Acquisitions of innovative and high-tech entrepreneurial firms.

– The effects of the financial crisis on STI activities.

– Innovative policy tools to finance Science and Technology.

– Macro perspectives on financial markets, innovation, high-tech entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Audience:

The workshop aims to target a selected group of scholars (25-35 participants). Participation from scholars at the Assistant Professor level, at the post-doc or at early stages of their career will be particularly encouraged. PhD candidates at the final stage of their dissertation will also be encouraged to attend. Selection will be based upon presentation of a full paper or an extended abstract, as well as a CV (for PhD candidates). A selected group of delegates from companies, policy agencies (e.g. EU Commission, government and government agencies), financial operators (e.g. banks, venture capitalists), and public research institutions (e.g. University) will be invited to participate in order to favour networking and exchange of ideas.