Optimising the Innovation Capacity of Public Research Organisations - An Agent-Based Simulation Approach

Although there is considerable attention for the role of public research organisations in driving innovation, methodologies that can be used to analyse and optimise these roles are limited. An agent-based model could potentially assess ex-post the operation of public research organisations within innovation systems, as well as allows exante analysis of potential intervention effects for optimising their innovation capacity. Such concept needs to entail two perspectives. From the perspective of innovation, it should represent not only organisational capacities and capabilities required for research and development, but also integrate antecedent and subsequent processes related to the act of innovation. From the perspective of innovators, it should integrate the organisational metabolism that enables innovation, as well as contain agglomerate effects of organisational operation on the overall dynamic of innovation networks. Based on such requirements, some options for designing an agent-based model are suggested.