The Center for Innovation Systems & Policy is a central node in national and international research and innovation networks and an important partner for public administration, companies, universities and research institutes. It is a think tank and advisor for the Austrian and European policy. Our scientists are dedicated to current and future challenges for research and innovation systems.

Research, technology development and innovation are of crucial importance for securing our economic well-being and for coping with major societal challenges. Against this background, we are dealing with current and future requirements for research and innovation systems, as well as with the options available to research, technology and innovation policy (RTI policy) and industry.

Building on latest methods to analyze R&I processes and systems, we use forward-looking approaches to help formulate RTI policy strategies for public authorities and firms. In fast-changing times as we see today, it is not enough to remedy deficits as they become apparent, but it is necessary to rather pursue a strategic and sometimes even visionary view on the future direction to take.

The research field Innovation Systems & Digitalisation contributes to better understanding and supporting a systemic research, technology and innovation policy. To achieve this, we build on a thorough knowledge of research and innovation strategies of companies and research organisations. Quantitative methods are growing in importance for the studying the transformation of innovation systems. The research field Innovation Dynamics & Modelling develops and applies corresponding methods and handles large-scale datasets. In the research field Societal Futures, we investigate new signals and patterns in technological and socio-economic developments with the help of forward-looking and participatory methods, in order to identify future challenges for government policy and corporate strategy. The research field Innovation Policy & Transformation focuses on the development, assessment and evaluation of policy instruments and governance structures in RTI policy.

The employees from different scientific disciplines are integrated in international research networks. The center works together with several national and international universities in the field of innovation- and governance research.