Cyclical Interaction at the Science-Industry Interface, theoretical foundations and implementation examples

Executive Summary Tomorrow's quality of life is determined by today's innovation power. Therefore, greater insight into innovation processes and how they can be better facilitated is of major strategic value to governments, business* organizations and knowledge institutes. Changes in society today are being driven by both revolutionary scientific and technological discoveries, and the development of new business models for private and public organizations. The result is a dynamic society that is undergoing massive transformation – on all scales, and at all levels. To get a better understanding of the complex processes behind those transformations, an integrated framework is necessary: one that leads to a system-based perspective of innovation, and facilitates effective communication between the different stakeholders. The Cyclic Innovation Model (CIM) is proposed as such a framework. In CIM, an innovation-driven society is described by coupled cycles, each cycle representing a network of forward and backward interaction processes across science and industry. These coupled cycles form a never-ending loop, and recognize the innovation processes in all sectors of society. CIM argues that future organizations will be increasingly guided by human needs and concerns, leading to service-driven goals and boundary-crossing models in both science and industry; it provides insight into the (re)design of these models for sustainable policy-making, business development and multidisciplinary research. CIM concludes that the competitiveness of a nation is increasingly determined by its ability to integrate innovation processes within and across all cycles of the innovation system.