New political reforms for the knowledge society

Mr Speaker, Organising Committee, ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased to speak at a conference focusing on interaction between knowledge-institutions, business and government.

This focus was one of the main reasons for the creation of the Danish Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation a year ago.

Actually, Denmark was the first country to set up a ministry with this particular policy focus.

"Breaking Boundaries – Building Bridges", the fourth Triple Helix Conference is called.

It is often said that creation of interaction in the knowledge system is about breaking boundaries between the different agents. I agree to this view – but what is actually meant by breaking boundaries?

As I see it, we must create the right framework and conditions for this interaction. This objective has been a corner stone in the government's initiatives in the area of university education, science and innovation.

Let me in brief mention some of the initiatives taken by the government in this relation:

An action plan for "Better Education", aiming at reinforcing the competence level in the Danish education system.

"The Danish Growth Strategy", designed to enhance growth conditions in Denmark.

A reform of the Danish sector research, aiming at concentrating the research on specific areas and on supporting the education of university graduates and Ph.D's.

A reform of the Danish system of research councils, aiming at allocating all public foundation grants for research on the basis of known, recognised and uniform principles.

Hereby, we will hopefully see better research - applied research as well as basic research for the good of society.

Furthermore, in 2003 the government will present a separate action plan for increased interaction between the knowledge institutions and the business community.

The government finally also is presenting a strategy for Denmark in the future knowledge society.

A good job has been done to highlight the need for interaction. However, a lot of work still is ahead of us.

Our task is to implement the initiatives and to make them work out there where knowledge is produced, diffused and used.

Let me turn to the most up-to-date example of the government's initiatives to encourage interaction between universities, trade and industry.

A month ago the Danish government made a political agreement on a reform of the university sector in Denmark.

One of the main goals of the reform is to create a broader space for interaction between the universities and the private and public sector.

The objective of the reform furthermore is to improve the quality and relevance of university research, education and dissemination of knowledge.

The university reform is based on different pillars:

A management reform, to introduce employed leaders at various management levels at the universities.

An education reform, ensuring broader bachelor degrees and more flexible and modular master degrees.

A governance and institutional reform, which will ensure the universities self-governing status and greater independence in the planning and the organisation of their activities.

Until now, I have talked about two thirds of the Triple Helix: The universities and the business society.

I have not mentioned the third part – the government.

The government should only have a limited "space" in the Triple Helix.

The government should concentrate on being a dialogue partner, strategic agent and goal-setter inside a flexible legal framework.

Furthermore, I have paid a lot of attention to what could be called the "Danish case".

I am aware that the fourth Triple Helix Conference has a more international aim.

Illustrated by the fact that the conference is arranged across the borders of Denmark and Sweden and having participants from all over the world.

Luckily, most of my international colleagues have taken the same sort of initiative as the Danish government within the university sector.

Cross-border partnerships and learning regions are still crucial to the development of states, firms and individuals.

As one of the conference papers is stating:

Most of the interactions in the Triple Helix take place in local high-tech clusters.

This is why we need to secure a close link between national and sub-national levels.

Especially when you look at the structure of the Danish business sector.

More than 90 pct. of the firms are small companies with 100 persons or less employed.

In all of these companies you will not find specialised R&D-functions like in the multinational firms.

This calls for a special effort to make the academic staff more professional in a wider spectre of Danish industry.

Likewise, there is a need for effective mechanisms for knowledge transfer between university and business.

Our goal is to strengthen the ties between universities and - especially - the small innovative and knowledge-based firms.

Their need for easy access to new insights about research and technology must be met.

Here, the key words are more research, education and knowledge diffusion.

An instrument in this respect could be "greenhouses" for the interplay between researchers, entrepreneurs and venture capital.

Just like Ideon and Symbion, which you were paying a visit yesterday.

They are excellent examples of this interplay.

With the instruments I have mentioned today, I think that we are well on the way in creating interaction between knowledge institutions and the business society. 

I am sure, that the creation of the Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation will pave the way for   fruitful initiatives in the coming years.

Conclusion:

As you might know Denmark holds the presidency of the European Union this second half of 2002.

In these days the Danish government is carrying out final negotiations with the candidate countries.

If we succeed, a number of new member countries will be admitted to the European Union from 2004.

The enlargement process in the European Union is much about breaking boundaries and building bridges.

I am pleased that the issue of building bridges and breaking boundaries also has reached the agenda in relation to universities, government and the business society.

I hope all of you are ready to share knowledge.

In the knowledge society the only way to get smarter is to share knowledge.

Enjoy the conference. I am looking forward to hearing the results of the discussions.

If we work hard for prosperity and development in all sectors of society, we have to fill out our place in the Triple Helix.

Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your attention.