Comparative approaches to R & D policy coordination

Abstract

Approaches to the interagency coordination of R & D policy adopted by the governments of five West European countries and the United States are described and analyzed comparatively in terms of four variables: (1) procedures; (2) aims; (3) distribution and sources of influence among participating agencies; and (4) the frame of reference which orders governmental actions in R & D for coordination purposes. Differences stem from general features of policy formation within each system and changes over time in the conception and goals of “science policy”. The inherent ambiguities of the coordination concept and the difficulties in defining the “perfectly coordinated” system are the primary obstacles in evaluating coordination formats both within and across systems.