The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a

research centre A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural sc ...

based at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

Falmer Falmer is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles (8 km) north-east of the former. It is also ...

, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on

science policy Science policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Topics include the funding of science, the careers of scientists, and the translation of scientific disc ...

and

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...

. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. In 2018, SPRU ranked 3rd in the world and 1st in the UK for top science and technology

think tanks A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-gov ...

on the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.

Organization

The Science Policy Research Unit is located within the University of Sussex Business School in Brighton, United Kingdom. SPRU's current director is Professor Jeremy Hall, formerly director of the Centre for Social Innovation Management at Surrey Business School and editor-in-chief of the ''Journal of Engineering and Technology Management''. He took over as professor from

Johan Schot Johannes Willem "Johan" Schot (born 4 February 1961) is a Dutch historian working in the field of science and technology policy. A historian of technology and an expert in sustainability transitions, Johan Schot is Professor of Global Comparative ...

in September 2019. SPRU's specialist research centres include: *Sussex Energy Group (SEG) *Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP) *The STEPS Centre (co-hosted with the Institute of Development Studies) *Harvard Sussex Program (a long-standing partnership with

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in the field of biological and chemical weapons) *Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (in partnership with

Nesta Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is a British foundation, registered as a charity, which supports innovation. Nesta was originally funded by a £250 million endowment from the UK National Lotter ...

) *Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions – Digital Society strand *National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (in partnership with four other research-intensive universities and strategic partner

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

) *Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC)

History

SPRU was founded in 1966 by

Christopher Freeman Christopher Freeman (11 September 1921 – 16 August 2010) was a British economist, recognised as one of the founders of the post-war school of Innovation Studies. He played a lead role in the development of the neo-Schumpeterian tradition fo ...

. Since its foundation, SPRU has had notable scholars among its faculty, including

Daniele Archibugi Daniele Archibugi (born 17 July 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian economic and political theorist. He works on the economics and policy of innovation and technological change, on the political theory of international relations and on political ...

Giovanni Dosi Giovanni Dosi (born 25 August 1953) is Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute of Economics at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa. He is the Co-Director of the task forces “Industrial Policy” and “Intellectual Property� ...

Marie Jahoda Marie Jahoda (26 January 1907 – 28 April 2001) was an Austrian-British social psychologist. Biography Jahoda was born in Vienna to a Jewish merchant's family, and like many other psychologists of her time, grew up in Austria where political o ...

Carlota Perez Carlota Perez (; born September 20, 1939, in Caracas) is a British-Venezuelan scholar specialized in technology and socio-economic development. She researches the concept of Techno-Economic Paradigm Shifts and the theory of great surges, a furthe ...

Keith Pavitt Keith Pavitt (January 13, 1937, in London – December 20, 2002, in Lewes, East Sussex) was an English scholar in the field of Science and Technology Policy and Innovation Management. He was professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Scien ...

Mary Kaldor Mary Henrietta Kaldor (born 16 March 1946) is a British academic, currently Professor of Global Governance at the London School of Economics, where she is also the Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit. She also teaches ...

, Richard R. Nelson,

Giorgio Sirilli Giorgio Sirilli (born in 1949 in Albano Laziale) is an Italian scholar in the field of science and technology policy. Biography After graduating in economics from the University of Rome "La Sapienza," Giorgio Sirilli conducted research at the Scie ...

and

Luc Soete Luc Soete (born 15 September 1950, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean) is a Belgian economist. He is a Professor and the Dean of the Brussels School of Governance. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Sussex Business School and of ...

. Current faculty members include

Benjamin Sovacool Benjamin K. Sovacool is an American and British academic who is director of the Institute for Global Sustainability at Boston University as well as Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University. He was formerly Director of the Danish Ce ...

;

Andy Stirling Andy Stirling (born 3 March 1961STIRLING, Prof. Andrew Charles
''Who's Who 2015'', A ...

; Paul Nightingale, director of strategy and operations for the Economic & Social Research Council; Erik Millstone; and Ben Martin, editor of '' Research Policy'' and Associate Fellow of Cambridge's

Centre for Science and Policy The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge exists to improve links between academics and policy makers. Its main focus is on improving policy makers' access to scientific and engineering research, both to allow policy m ...

Teachings

SPRU currently offers six Master's courses, two of which are available online. Additionally, SPRU offers two PhD degrees in Science and Technology Policy Studies and Technology and Innovation Management.

Harvard Sussex Program

The Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) is a collaborative effort on chemical biological weapons disarmament between

and SPRU at the

. It was formed by

Matthew Meselson Matthew Stanley Meselson (born May 24, 1930) is a geneticist and molecular biologist currently at Harvard University, known for his demonstration, with Franklin Stahl, of semi-conservative DNA replication. After completing his Ph.D. under Linus ...

and Julian Perry Robinson to provide research, training, seminars, and information on chemical biological warfare and its disarmament. In 2010, Sussex faculty member Caitriona McLeish was appointed co-director of the HSP. The program has an archival collection of CBW-related documents at the Sussex Harvard Information Bank (SHIB). HSP is an academic

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

(NGO) that has influenced policy creation from within the United States and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

on the formation of the

Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for ...

(CWC) and reviews of the

Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans Biological weapons, biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, ...

(BWC).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Science Policy Research Unit Business schools in England Genetics or genomics research institutions Innovation in the United Kingdom Innovation organizations Multidisciplinary research institutes Nanotechnology institutions Public policy schools Research and development in the United Kingdom Research institutes in East Sussex Science and technology think tanks based in the United Kingdom Social science research institutes Systems science institutes University of Sussex