Managerial and Policy Agenda for Improving Japanese R&D: Inventors' views

The RIETI inventor survey, which was conducted in 2007, invited inventors to contribute their views and opinions on the constraints on the R&D performance of their organizations, and the policies and managerial agenda for improving it. A total of 1,300 inventors (around one quarter of those who received the survey) contributed their comments. This paper categorizes their responses into the following eight broad classes and evaluates their incidence. In relation to management, respondents' comments were divided into four categories: (1) the remuneration, evaluation, and constraints on research of inventors, (2) R&D strategy of the firm, (3) the commercialization capability and exploitation of intellectual property rights, and (4) other issues (such as lack of mobility in human resources and shortage of available funds for R&D). Policy issue questions were divided into (1) fiscal and financial support for R&D and regulatory barriers, (2) patent system (examination, protection, globalization and disclosure), (3) the role of a university and a national laboratory, and (4) others (including support for small and medium sized enterprises and individual inventors). This paper also highlights comments representative of the field, which may serve as important suggestions for improving the R&D system in Japan. There are some differences in the distribution of responses across organizational types and the units to which an inventor is affiliated; however there is significant commonality in frequently identified issues.