Ebook: Knowledge Generation and Technical Change: Institutional Innovation in Agriculture

Knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms are being transformed in important and controversial ways. Investment in research and development has increased in response to recognition that scientific productivity is tightly connected to economic dynamism. Patent protection has been expanded in order to stimulate higher levels of private investment. Intellectual property rights held by public organizations and researchers are now increasingly transferred to private organizations to accelerate the diffusion and enhance the value of knowledge produced by public agencies and universities. Additionally, new institutions such as university offices of technology transfer, venture capital markets, and a variety of consortia in knowledge-intensive industries are being established throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. These changes have led to a repositioning of the state in systems of innovation and an increase in the proprietary character of technical information.
The purpose of this book is to review and analyze i) contemporary transitions in agricultural knowledge generation and extension arrangements from an empirical perspective, and ii) emerging and contradictory perspectives as to how knowledge systems can be assessed effectively. The authors aim to provide the reader with a better understanding of

• the implications of new biotechnologies and new intellectual property rights regimes on public-private relations in science,
• the extent to which benefits from scientific knowledge are being appropriated by private sector actors,
• the diversity and possible outcomes of privatization initiatives in extension, and
• prospects for public goods production and ecological sustainability given contemporary trends.

The book presents contrasting views on the degree of complementarity and substitution between private and public sector investments in research and extension. Recognizing that the labels `public' and `private' are incomplete and at times misleading descriptions of the structure and function of coordinating bodies in social systems, the analyses highlight ways in which public and private spaces and modes of functioning combine. In addition to illustrating a broad range of analytic methodologies useful for studying organizational questions in knowledge systems, the authors identify the implications of a range of past and potential institutional innovations.

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Knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms are being transformed in important and controversial ways. Investment in research and development has increased in response to recognition that scientific productivity is tightly connected to economic dynamism. Patent protection has been expanded in order to stimulate higher levels of private investment. Intellectual property rights held by public organizations and researchers are now increasingly transferred to private organizations to accelerate the diffusion and enhance the value of knowledge produced by public agencies and universities. Additionally, new institutions such as university offices of technology transfer, venture capital markets, and a variety of consortia in knowledge-intensive industries are being established throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. These changes have led to a repositioning of the state in systems of innovation and an increase in the proprietary character of technical information.
The purpose of this book is to review and analyze i) contemporary transitions in agricultural knowledge generation and extension arrangements from an empirical perspective, and ii) emerging and contradictory perspectives as to how knowledge systems can be assessed effectively. The authors aim to provide the reader with a better understanding of

• the implications of new biotechnologies and new intellectual property rights regimes on public-private relations in science,
• the extent to which benefits from scientific knowledge are being appropriated by private sector actors,
• the diversity and possible outcomes of privatization initiatives in extension, and
• prospects for public goods production and ecological sustainability given contemporary trends.

The book presents contrasting views on the degree of complementarity and substitution between private and public sector investments in research and extension. Recognizing that the labels `public' and `private' are incomplete and at times misleading descriptions of the structure and function of coordinating bodies in social systems, the analyses highlight ways in which public and private spaces and modes of functioning combine. In addition to illustrating a broad range of analytic methodologies useful for studying organizational questions in knowledge systems, the authors identify the implications of a range of past and potential institutional innovations.

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Knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms are being transformed in important and controversial ways. Investment in research and development has increased in response to recognition that scientific productivity is tightly connected to economic dynamism. Patent protection has been expanded in order to stimulate higher levels of private investment. Intellectual property rights held by public organizations and researchers are now increasingly transferred to private organizations to accelerate the diffusion and enhance the value of knowledge produced by public agencies and universities. Additionally, new institutions such as university offices of technology transfer, venture capital markets, and a variety of consortia in knowledge-intensive industries are being established throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. These changes have led to a repositioning of the state in systems of innovation and an increase in the proprietary character of technical information.
The purpose of this book is to review and analyze i) contemporary transitions in agricultural knowledge generation and extension arrangements from an empirical perspective, and ii) emerging and contradictory perspectives as to how knowledge systems can be assessed effectively. The authors aim to provide the reader with a better understanding of

• the implications of new biotechnologies and new intellectual property rights regimes on public-private relations in science,
• the extent to which benefits from scientific knowledge are being appropriated by private sector actors,
• the diversity and possible outcomes of privatization initiatives in extension, and
• prospects for public goods production and ecological sustainability given contemporary trends.

The book presents contrasting views on the degree of complementarity and substitution between private and public sector investments in research and extension. Recognizing that the labels `public' and `private' are incomplete and at times misleading descriptions of the structure and function of coordinating bodies in social systems, the analyses highlight ways in which public and private spaces and modes of functioning combine. In addition to illustrating a broad range of analytic methodologies useful for studying organizational questions in knowledge systems, the authors identify the implications of a range of past and potential institutional innovations.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xxii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Beyond the Endless Frontier....Pages 3-26
Generation and Commercialization of Knowledge....Pages 27-53
Public Research/Private Alignments....Pages 55-62
Challenges for Public Agricultural Research and Extension in a World of Proprietary Science and Technology....Pages 63-77
Finance, Organization, and Impacts of U.S. Agricultural Research: Future Prospects....Pages 79-110
Agricultural Knowledge Systems: Issues of Accountability....Pages 111-123
Institutional Innovation in Natural Resource Management....Pages 125-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Land-Grant/Industry Relationships and the Institutional Relations of Technological Innovation in Agriculture....Pages 151-175
Structure of Public-Private Knowledge Networks in Plant Biotechnology: An EU-US Comparison....Pages 177-192
Offices of Technology Transfer: Privatizing University Innovations for Agriculture....Pages 193-202
Origins of Public-Private Knowledge Flows and Current State-of-the-Art....Pages 203-232
Institutional Relations in Agricultural Information Systems....Pages 233-266
Innovative Models of Technology Generation and Transfer: Lessons Learned from the South....Pages 267-290
Whither Agricultural Extension Worldwide? Reforms and Prospects....Pages 291-311
Agricultural Extension: Generic Challenges and the Ingredients for Solutions....Pages 313-353
Front Matter....Pages 355-355
Conclusion: Institutional Dimensions of Knowledge System Design and Analysis....Pages 357-365
Back Matter....Pages 367-371

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Knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms are being transformed in important and controversial ways. Investment in research and development has increased in response to recognition that scientific productivity is tightly connected to economic dynamism. Patent protection has been expanded in order to stimulate higher levels of private investment. Intellectual property rights held by public organizations and researchers are now increasingly transferred to private organizations to accelerate the diffusion and enhance the value of knowledge produced by public agencies and universities. Additionally, new institutions such as university offices of technology transfer, venture capital markets, and a variety of consortia in knowledge-intensive industries are being established throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. These changes have led to a repositioning of the state in systems of innovation and an increase in the proprietary character of technical information.
The purpose of this book is to review and analyze i) contemporary transitions in agricultural knowledge generation and extension arrangements from an empirical perspective, and ii) emerging and contradictory perspectives as to how knowledge systems can be assessed effectively. The authors aim to provide the reader with a better understanding of

• the implications of new biotechnologies and new intellectual property rights regimes on public-private relations in science,
• the extent to which benefits from scientific knowledge are being appropriated by private sector actors,
• the diversity and possible outcomes of privatization initiatives in extension, and
• prospects for public goods production and ecological sustainability given contemporary trends.

The book presents contrasting views on the degree of complementarity and substitution between private and public sector investments in research and extension. Recognizing that the labels `public' and `private' are incomplete and at times misleading descriptions of the structure and function of coordinating bodies in social systems, the analyses highlight ways in which public and private spaces and modes of functioning combine. In addition to illustrating a broad range of analytic methodologies useful for studying organizational questions in knowledge systems, the authors identify the implications of a range of past and potential institutional innovations.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xxii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Beyond the Endless Frontier....Pages 3-26
Generation and Commercialization of Knowledge....Pages 27-53
Public Research/Private Alignments....Pages 55-62
Challenges for Public Agricultural Research and Extension in a World of Proprietary Science and Technology....Pages 63-77
Finance, Organization, and Impacts of U.S. Agricultural Research: Future Prospects....Pages 79-110
Agricultural Knowledge Systems: Issues of Accountability....Pages 111-123
Institutional Innovation in Natural Resource Management....Pages 125-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Land-Grant/Industry Relationships and the Institutional Relations of Technological Innovation in Agriculture....Pages 151-175
Structure of Public-Private Knowledge Networks in Plant Biotechnology: An EU-US Comparison....Pages 177-192
Offices of Technology Transfer: Privatizing University Innovations for Agriculture....Pages 193-202
Origins of Public-Private Knowledge Flows and Current State-of-the-Art....Pages 203-232
Institutional Relations in Agricultural Information Systems....Pages 233-266
Innovative Models of Technology Generation and Transfer: Lessons Learned from the South....Pages 267-290
Whither Agricultural Extension Worldwide? Reforms and Prospects....Pages 291-311
Agricultural Extension: Generic Challenges and the Ingredients for Solutions....Pages 313-353
Front Matter....Pages 355-355
Conclusion: Institutional Dimensions of Knowledge System Design and Analysis....Pages 357-365
Back Matter....Pages 367-371
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