MICB-604 Innovation Systems in Science, Technology & Health

Faculty:

Bonvillian, William

Science and technology are now seen not only to have a profound connection to our health and daily life, but also to the society’s economic growth and its corresponding ability to generate societal wellbeing -- and these economic and societal issues are deeply interrelated.

This course focuses on science and technology policy – it will examine the science, technology and health innovation system, with a particular focus on public policy and the federal government’s role in that system. It will review the foundations of innovation systems theory and organization, and the range of approaches to science and technology policy, and build toward a sophisticated understanding of these areas.

The class will review a theory of direct and indirect economic factors in the innovation system, note the innovation-based competitive challenges now facing the U.S. economy, review comparative efforts in other nations, study the varied models for how federal science and technology mission agencies are organized, including a focus on life science, the growth of public-private partnership models as a way for science mission agencies to pursue mission agendas, the appropriate limits on the governmental role, and a range of new theoretical approaches to innovation organization - the cluster theory of regional innovation-based development, and complex systems and commons theory.

Emphasis will also be placed on examining the organization and role of medical science innovation agencies, gaps in the health innovation economic model, and on policies that could help fill those gaps in health innovation. The mechanisms through which government obtains the science advice that is increasingly important to public policy will be discussed as well as the future of the science talent base. The class will review pending proposals for improving the government-related elements of the innovation system on an ongoing basis.

Students will emerge from the course with a strong grasp of the fundamentals of innovation systems and the economic and technology development factors behind them, and with a clear framework to approach science and technology policymaking.

Credits: 2

Prerequisites: None

Other academic years
There is information about this course number in other academic years:

• 2006-2007 Fall and Spring
• 2008-2009 Fall and Spring
• 2009-2010 Fall and Spring
• 2010-2011 Fall and Spring
• 2011-2012 Fall and Spring
• 2012-2013 Fall and Spring
• 2013-2014 Fall and Spring

More information
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