Ben Martin is Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies at SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex) and Associate Member of the Center for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge.His research activity, in which he has been working for more than 35 years, has focused on the field of scientific policy. He has helped to establish evaluation techniques for scientific laboratories, research programs and national scientific performance. He is also one of the pioneers in establishing the notion of “technological foresight.”
Firstly, Ben Martin gave a presentation entitled “Twenty Challenges for Innovation Studies”. His intention was to prompt a debate within the IS community on what are, or should be, the key challenges. He argued that the empirical focus of our studies has failed to keep pace with the fast changing world, especially the shift from manufacturing to services and the increasingly urgent need for sustainability. The way we conceptualise, define, operationalise and analyse ‘innovation’ seems somewhat rooted in the past, leaving us less able to grapple with other less visible or ‘dark’ forms of innovation.
Then a coffee was served, during which there was an interesting debate between the speaker and the audience, moderated by Prof. M. Paloma Sánchez, UAM-Accenture Chair´s Director.
The event was chaired by Sara Campo, Vicedean of Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences of UAM.
Ben Martin
Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies at SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex) and Associate Member of the Center for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge
