As the nations of Central and Eastern Europe transform their economies from planning and centralized control to free market systems, they face the need to change their systems of innovation. The problems of restructuring the R&D and innovation systems of the post-socialist countries have so far been treated as marginal within the overall institutional transformations that are taking place in these nations. Progress in science, technology, and innovation policy making in the transitional countries has been modest and has failed to keep pace with other areas of social, political, and economic change. 

Most of the transitional countries lack the institutional capability for sophisticated policy making on S&T and innovation and for building consensus among policy makers, corporate decision makers and members of the research community on S&T and innovation policy issues. There is relatively little recognition of the growing importance of knowledge and continuous life-long learning as the bases for economic success in the Twenty-first Century. 

One of the tools that may help the modernization of S&T and innovation policy making is the training and retraining of policy makers and knowledge and innovative managers. CIPRE will offer mid-career opportunities to bring professionals from the CEE countries up-to-date on contemporary S&T and innovation policies and methods. The overall goal of CIPRE’s series of training seminars is to advance the state of the art of science, technology, and innovation policy in the nations of Central and Eastern Europe by providing mid-career training and re-training. 

In March, 7-11 experts from CEE countries met in Budapest in a UNESCO supported workshop and discussed the importance of different topics for training seminars suggested by CIPRE’s Advisory Board. They concluded that the education of policy makers has to start with the topic “The changing role of national governments in STI policy making in the age of globalization and regionalization” It is not necessary to explain the importance and relevance of this topic. Not only is the transition from a planned economy to a market system posing great challenges for science, technology and innovation policy making, but the rapid changes that are taking place in the world are making the situation even more difficult and complex.

The Center plans to offer short advanced training courses in science policy twice a year in Budapest. The length of each seminar will be two weeks (ten working days). The participants will take part in two different courses in Budapest over a one or two year period. In order to make the experience an interactive one, they will have regular contact with CIPRE staff  between the seminars.  This divided structure of the courses will help to develop good policy making skills and build up frequent communication among the  participants themselves. The regular interaction among participants that CIPRE hopes to stimulate will  upgrade co-operation among the CEE nations.

The seminar will be aimed at future leaders in science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy in the CEE countries.  As noted above, the theme of the first seminar will be “the changing role of national governments in STI policy making in the age of globalization and regionalization.” High-ranking government officials in the CEE countries will be engaged as mentors for the seminar participants. Two such mentors will participate in the seminars. Each CEE participant will be assigned a mentor from his or her country and will consult with their mentor between the seminars and afterwards. The mentor system will reinforce the diffusion of knowledge and the development of skills among the participants.

ANNAMÁRIA INZELT (Hungary)
Founding director of Innovációs Kutató Központ (Innovation Research Centre, IKU) at the Budapest University of Economic Science and Public Administration, a position she has held since 1991.  Dr. Inzelt is a member of the editorial advisory boards to several journals; and founder of two Hungarian journals. She is the author of several  books and numerous articles and editor of several books in English and in Hungarian. Since the beginning of transition period she has been involved in international scientific activities as a researcher and consultant.  She is also founding co-director of CIPRE.

JOHN JANKOWSKI (United States)
Director of the Research & Development Statistics Program (RDS) within the National Science Foundation’s Division of Science Resources Studies.  He has authored numerous reports, articles and conference papers on science and technology issues, worked at the Office of Management and Budget helping prepare the Federal Government's R&D budget estimates, assisted the Commerce Department in developing an R&D satellite module to the U.S. National Income and Products Account, and aided the Indonesian Government in drafting its first Science & Technology Indicators volume.

JOSÉ MOLERO ZAYAS (Spain)
Doctor in Economics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) since 1979.  Since 1989 he is Professor of Applied Economics in this University.  Today he is Vice Rector for Postgraduate Studies and Continuing Education of the UCM and Director of the Institute for International Studies. He has carried out research and consultancy activities with Spanish and international institutions. His main research areas are: Industrial Economics, Economics of Technical Change, European Integration, Transnational Corporations and Industrial Policy.

KEITH PAVITT (United Kingdom)
R.M. Phillips Professor of Science and Technology Policy at Sussex University in England. During his 30 years at the Science Policy Research Unit, he has published widely on the management of technology, and science and technology policy.  His central research interests are: corporate and public strategies for technical innovation; the nature and measurement of technology; the reasons why countries, companies and sectors differ in their rates and directions of technical change; the usefulness of basic research; the links between public science and private technology in a period of globalisation; the co-evolution of technology and organisation.

AL TEICH (United States)
Director of Science & Policy Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a position he has held since 1990. He is responsible for the Association's activities in science and technology policy. He is a Fellow of AAAS; a member of the editorial advisory boards to several journals; the author of numerous articles and editor of several books, consultant to government agencies, national laboratories, industrial firms, and international organizations, also founding co-director of CIPRE and a member of several advisory board.

ATTILA VARGA (Hungary)
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Pécs.  Field of specialisation: Regional and Urban Economics, Economics of Technological Change, Applied Spatial Econometrics.  He is author of several books and articles, member, organiser and advisor to numerous organisations and committees, and referee for a number of journals and periodicals.

• Welcome and introduction to the seminar by Annamaria Inzelt and Al Teich
• The changing role of national governments in policy making by Keith Pavitt
• Public policy activities (shaping and managing policy), process of priority setting by Inzelt
• Lessons from European Union member states: requirements for design and implementation of S&T policy by Jacques De Bandt
• Budgeting S&T and innovation, policy programs and R&D budget by Teich
• Facilitating and managing S&T and innovation policy, international co-operation by Pavitt and/or Jose Molero, Inzelt
• Encouraging and regulating foreign (multinational) investment in S&T and innovation by Molero
• International relations in scientific and technical subjects (bi-national and multinational co-operation)
• Public-private relationships and government-industry-university partnerships in S&T by Inzelt
• Regional innovation policy by Attila Varga
• Restructuring of innovation systems in countries of Central and Eastern Europe by Slavo Radosevic
• Learning how to develop a project/policy paper by John Jankowski
• Managing public debates by Erika Rost
• Developing problem solving capabilities, Communicating and testing the absorption of a skill by Teich

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  Lectures will be followed by discussion, seminar work, and simulation games.