Samarbete utan gemensamma mål Att styra och stimulera innovation

Sammanfattning: In Sweden, three of the four largest institutional research funders have the explicit goal to not only support research but also to stimulate economic growth. How this should be done in practice, however, is more uncertain. Often used theories, e.g. triple helix, national innovation systems and clusters, are all based on the notion that different skills and organizations should be combined in dynamic partnerships in order to shorten the time from research to application.In this dissertation, I present how an R&D program with the requirement to both produce valuable research results and to stimulate innovation was put into practice. The program is explored from multiple levels of analysis. Based on the case, it is showed how innovation policy acts as an organizing force on its environment and that it affects the organization of R&D activities. This dissertation identifies problems that arise and investigates how the process can be improved in order to meet the objectives of stimulating innovation and growth.By applying the ideas of Serres and Luhmann, using the term innovation in these instances can be regarded as a form of parasite, which affects the system as such. I argue that this can be a fruitful way of conceptualizing how we can strive to manage closed systems that are otherwise challenging to govern. We can develop the debate on how to stimulate innovation by shifting the perspective from a sequential top-down process in which policy is being implemented to have a planned effect (and where any deviation constitutes an unsuccessful implementation), to discuss how we can disrupt a system in a particular direction.Based on the empirical data, I explore and analyze a number of identified events that will be rewarding for professionals working with similar efforts or are planning further research in this area. Among other things, it is demonstrated how a process perspective can be a rewarding way to study not only structural aspects but also seize the dynamics of the system. I demonstrate that this perspective better allows us to understand which aspects are important for stimulating innovation.The dissertation further discusses the concept of dual technologies, intellectual property, applied research and the conflict between different levels of innovation.