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Sectoral Research as a Contested Concept in Sweden Magnus Eklund, PhD

Sectoral Research as a Contested Concept in Sweden Magnus Eklund, PhD Department of Economic History, Uppsala University Workshop on Rhetoric of Innovation in Contemporary Society University of Helsinki, 8-9 February 2010. The Project.

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Sectoral Research as a Contested Concept in Sweden Magnus Eklund, PhD

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  1. Sectoral Research as a Contested Concept in Sweden Magnus Eklund, PhD Department of Economic History, Uppsala University Workshop on Rhetoric of Innovation in Contemporary Society University of Helsinki, 8-9 February 2010.

  2. The Project Three-year research grant from the Handelsbanken Research Foundations. Started in October 2009: work in progress! I previously studied how the innovation system concept was adopted in Sweden as a strategy to preserve bureaucratic and societal influence over public research funding (Eklund 2007). The rhetorics of resistance against the innovation paradigm.

  3. The Approach of Conceptual History Concepts shape our perception of the world. When a concept is created or used to cover a social issue, that issue is more easily defined as a problem and subjected to political action. British school: the political struggle behind changes in concepts and their application (Tully 1988, Skinner 2002, Palonen 2003). The speech act behind the use of a concept. Concepts as ‘neutral’ containers. Apologists: actors manipulating concepts to defend a contested social institution. Innovative ideologists: actors manipulating concepts to attack a contested social institution.

  4. The History of Post-War Research Policy Ruivo (1994): Most industrialised countries have strikingly similar research policy periodisations. Science as motor of progress  science as problem solver  science as a source of strategic opportunity. Deviation from a Vannevar Bush – Michael Polanyi ideal of science – the Ruivo-trend should be controversial! Where is the resistance? The Society for Freedom in Research 1940-46 (Werskey 1978, McGucken 1984). Most countries did not have a dominant contemporary concept for these deviations. In retrospect, scholars have given the periods many different names.

  5. Similar Periods, Different Names

  6. The Concept of Sectoral Research The concept of sectoral research played an important part in a Swedish counter-offensive against the Ruivo-trend! Mostly a Scandinavian concept (Finland, Norway). Originally denoting research procured by government agencies to facilitate policy in their respective policy areas/sectors (problem solver). The concept increasingly encompasses all instrumental research with a bureaucratic influence over the allocation of funding (like research funded to support future technical change – strategic opportunity). The concept is increasingly normatively associated with ‘bad research’. Appropriating the concept of sectoral research, extending it and defining it as a problem (innovative ideologists)!

  7. Historical Development of the Concept: A Preliminary Outline Few research institutes in Sweden, universities functions as research institutes for ”all of society”. 1960s and 1970s – sectoral research funding expands. The problem with sectoral research was that Swedish research policy was too divided (sectoralized). 1980s and 1990s – a section of the academic world attacks sectoral research and tries to increase academic control over its funding (Gustavsson, Elzinga, Nybom, Wittrock). The concept moves from the unified research policy debate to the academic freedom debate! 2000 – the concept of sectoral research largely disappears from the Swedish debate.

  8. Successful Mobilisation? Fairly successful 1980-2000. Forced sectoral agencies to reluctantly create structures resembling research councils (Persson 2001). In spite of Carl Tham at the Ministry of Education, two investigations took the university side (SOU 1996: 29, SOU 1998:128). Much sectoral research funding transferred to FAS and FORMAS. Many complaints that Swedish research policy too much favoured curiosity-driven basic research (Arnold et al. 1999, Elan & Glimell 2004, Gergils 2006). Post-2000 – most concepts are used to legitimise Ruivo’s trend (Mode 2, Triple Helix, Innovation System, Cluster etc). Difficult to establish that having a concept was the cause of the successful mobilisation, but makes it interesting to study conceptual use!

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