Transitions, evolution & history

Innovations do not arise out of a vacuum but are very much part of longer historical developments, in science, policy and society at large. As such, contemporary developments in science and technology cannot be understood without knowledge of the ways in which they build on previous work and configurations. Historical approaches explore continuities and discontinuities in the development of science and technology, drawing attention to trajectories, transitions and alternatives. Moreover, exploring how specific advances in science and technology unfold over time, including their interaction with research and science policy, can shed light on different approaches for fostering innovation and understanding their value

Projects

Seaweed research collaborations meet dance

20 September 2023

On the 7th September at the The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Innogen co-director Professor Niki Vermeulen, geographer Dr Marion Maisonobe and choreographer Brendan Le Delliou used the medium of dance to convey how international collaborations in seaweed research are forged.

Innogen Research on Covid-19

27 March 2020

Recent publications by Innogen members draw attention to lessons learnt from previous outbreaks of infectious disease, and to the importance of ‘local health’ and the law in global health emergencies.

Call for abstracts: European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation 2022 conference

14 January 2022

This year’s Eu-SPRI 2022 conference “Challenging Science and Innovation Policy” will take place 1-3 June in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Innogen Director Theo Papaioannou and Lukas Fuchs at Eindhoven University of Technology are organising a special session on the ethics and politics of science, technology & innovation policy. Abstracts for this session should be submitted by the 15th February.

In Conversation event: Why is drug R&D so much less efficient now than it was in 1950?

16 March 2023

On the 2nd of February, Dr Farah Huzair, Lecturer in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, at The University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Sciences, and Dr Jack Scannell, CEO of Etheros Pharmaceuticals and Innogen Associate, discussed the reasons underlying the marked decline in drug R&D output efficiency since 1950 and ways to improve it.

Creative states: Is state-led risk-taking the answer to post-Covid-19 recovery?

28 April 2021

Writing in the RSA Journal, Innogen Director, Theo Papaioannou, examines how the entrepreneurial state could work in practice.