Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Innovation in services: the role of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM): call for evidence
The Royal Society has opened a study on the role of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in services sector innovation. Organisations and individuals are invited to contribute to the study by responding to our call for evidence.
Services account for approximately 70% of the UK economy and include the government and public sector as well as some of the country's most innovative and highest performing private sectors financial services, business support services, retail and the creative industries among them.
Innovation plays an important role in these sectors yet it is widely accepted that traditional innovation models and policies tend to focus on a narrow conception of innovation mainly the support of R&D in manufacturing industries. Other approaches may be required to support innovation in services.
Although there is growing recognition of the importance of innovation in services, understanding of the role of STEM in services sector innovation remains poor. To support the development of an evidence-based approach to UK innovation policy, the Royal Society now seeks evidence on the role of STEM in services sector innovation processes. We are interested in these disciplines and any others used alongside or in support of STEM (e.g. social sciences including economics) in innovation processes.
The Royal Society has set up a working group to explore the role of STEM in service sector innovation. The group is expected to report on its findings in 2009 and will:
- Consider evidence of interactions between STEM and services organisations with a focus on the nature, extent and role of these engagements in services sector innovation processes.
- Consider the full range of services sectors as defined by the ONS (including the public sector).
- Draw examples from work in the following sectors:
- Public services (especially health)
- Business services (especially specialist design/engineering consultancies)
- Financial services (especially insurance, derivatives and retail banking)
- Retail - Explore the role of STEM in the development of a number of cross-cutting innovation capabilities.
- Produce policy recommendations on ways to enhance the contribution of STEM to services sector innovation.
Separate calls for evidence have been produced for services organisations and trade bodies (from the private, public or voluntary sector) and research and academic institutions.
Call for evidence (firms) (PDF)
Call for evidence (academics) (PDF)
The deadline for submissions is 18 August 2008.
Read the related press release here
For more information contact Nicola Berkley on +44(0) 207 451 2219
Labels: STEM in services
on the front page (and there are others):
Knowledge Intensive Service Activities - NEW Research Project
Manchester University Institute of Innovation Research together with UNU-MERIT and TNO are currently conducting research on future prospects for innovation and skill requirements in the European Service Economy, with particular focus on Knowledge Intensive Service Activities (KISA). Visit the KISA website for more information. Please also visit the KISA Online Survey and give your views on this important area.
The Challenge of Services in the 21st Century: Opportunities for Education and Business 1st July 2008
The goal of this workshop is to raise awareness of the need for educators to respond to the challenge of growing services economy and to stimulate business to become involved in the development and delivery of curricula.
Click here for more information about the event. To register the event, click here for online registration form.
This symposium brought together a small group of leading international academics and senior industrialists in an open and interactive forum. The symposium was chaired by Dr Jim Spohrer of IBM and Professor Mike Gregory of the University of Cambridge. Professor Macaulay represented SSMEnetUK at the symposium.
Download the discussion paper " Succeeding through Service Innovation: Developing a Service Perspective on Economic Growth and Prosperity " [399KB]
Further information about the Cambridge SSME Symposium can be found at www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/ssme
Joint Meeting with SOSoRNET: February 28th 2007
This joint meeting was hosted by Nicolas Gold, Director, Service-Oriented Software Engineering Network (SOSoRNet) sosornet.dcs.kcl.ac.uk at King's College, London, and was attended by SSMEnetUK network founding members and SOSoRNET members.
Download SosornetNewsletter_1.pdf [326KB]
The SSME network was initiated by Dr. Liping Zhao of the School of Computer Science at Manchester and Professor Linda A Macaulay from Manchester Business School. The document below provides a brief description of activities leading up to the formation of the network.Download SSME_at_Manchesterv2.pdf [84KB]
Labels: SSME net
