Country report

Transformation of Finnish Science and Technology Policy

Abstract

The paper discusses the transformation of Finnish science and technology policy from the mid-1960s until today. The basic argument of the paper is that, if there is a “Finnish model” of science and technology policy, it was not created in the years of rapid growth in the Finnish economy after the deep economic and societal depression of the early 1990s. The Finnish transformation process in a policy for science and technology is characterized by a gradual change of more than three decades through incremental improvements in policy doctrines, institutions, organizations and instruments. After a short period of diversity at the turn of the 1970s, the pervasive trend has been an increase in technology and innovation orientation of science and technology policy. The policy has been based on national specificities, but more on active adoption of policy doctrines and institutional and organizational models from the countries, like Sweden, which from the Finnish perspectives have been considered successful and legitimate.