Post-crisis Research and Innovation Policy. WIFO Position Paper on the 2020 RTI Strategy

The credit crunch further added to the problems experienced by public households. Consolidation measures and a slow recovery will impact on budgets up to 2014. Against this background, WIFO discusses the findings and recommendations of an evaluation of the Austrian innovation system with a view to the 2020 RTI strategy. Basically, it is possible to increase public spending on innovation and education despite the need to consolidate the budget. The study points out options of how to implement a front-runner strategy in spite of scarce public resources. The focus is on increasing the leverage effect of public funds and tools and on activating private sources of financing. The measures should aim at ensuring that the overall system is efficient and effective and should consider the bottleneck effect of the education system.