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Science Policy Research Unit

(Redirected from SPRU)

Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research

SPRU
centre based at University of Sussex in Falmer, near
Brighton, UK. It focuses on long term transformative
change, science policy and innovation across different
sectors, societies and structures. It was one of the first
interdisciplinary research centres in the field of science
Address
and technology policy and at the forefront of the
development of innovation as an academic discipline. Map
Alongside internationally renowned research, SPRU also
offers a range of MSc courses, as well as PhD research
degrees.

SPRU's research today addresses pressing global policy

agendas, including the future of industrial policy,
inclusive economic growth, the politics of scientific
expertise, energy policy, security issues,
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
entrepreneurship, and pathways to a more sustainable
Jubilee Building, Falmer campus
future. It aims to tackle real-world questions whilst also
Brighton
contributing to theoretical knowledge on innovation.[1]
United Kingdom
In 2018, SPRU ranked 3rd in the world and 1st in the UK
for top science and technology think tanks on the Global Information
Go ToThink Tank Index Report which was put together Type Public
by the University of Pennsylvania.[2] Established 1966

SPRU has 60 plus faculty members and more than 150 Founder Christopher Freeman
MSc and 50 doctoral students. Director Jeremy Kent Hall
Staff 70
Organization Publication Research Policy

The Science Policy Research Unit is located within the Focus Policy, Management
University of Sussex Business School in Brighton, UK. Former Science Policy Research
SPRU's current director is Professor Jeremy Hall, Name Unit
formerly director of the Centre for Social Innovation Functions Research, Teaching,
Management at Surrey Business School and editor-in- Consultancy
chief of the Journal of Engineering and Technology Website https://www.sussex.ac.uk/
Management. He took over from Professor Johan Schot spru/
in September 2019.

SPRU is also home to a number of specialist research centres including:

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▪ 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 in the field of biological and chemical
weapons)
▪ Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (in
partnership with Nesta)
The Jubilee Building, where SPRU
▪ Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions –
is currently based
Digital Society strand
▪ National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (in
partnership with four other research-intensive universities and strategic partner Siemens)
▪ Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC)

History
SPRU was founded in 1966 by Professor Christopher Freeman, a pioneer of what is known as
innovation studies today. Professor Freeman ‘embraced an ‘economics of hope’ which embodied a
positive view of our potential to direct innovation, creativity and new technologies towards more
sustainable and inclusive futures’.[3]

Since its foundation SPRU has had (and continues to have) a long list of highly regarded scholars
among its faculty including Daniele Archibugi, Giovanni Dosi, Marie Jahoda, Carlota Perez, Keith
Pavitt, Mary Kaldor, Richard R. Nelson, Giorgio Sirilli and Luc Soete.

Current faculty members include Benjamin Sovacool, director of the Sussex Energy Group and
advisor on energy to the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation;
Andy Stirling, deputy director of the Sustainable Lifestyles Research Group; Caitriona McLeish, co-
director of the Harvard Sussex Program on Chemical and Biological Weapons; Gordon MacKerron,
former director of SPRU; Maria Savona, editor for Research Policy and the Journal of
Evolutionary Economics; Paul Nightingale, director of strategy and operations for the Economic &
Social Research Council; Erik Millstone, co-author of The Atlas of Food; and Ben Martin, editor of
Research Policy and Associate Fellow of Cambridge's Centre for Science and Policy.

Current research priorities

SPRU research activities are extremely diverse, and are grouped into five main research themes:

1, Science, Politics and Decision Making: Researchers at SPRU apply a deep historical
understanding to how the choices made about science and technology shape our societies. They
also work on the politics of expertise, and on issues of foresight, research assessment, metrics and
impact in today's research environment.

2, Energy: SPRU is part of the Sussex Energy Group, one of the largest independent social science
energy policy research groups in the world. Researchers at SPRU seek to understand and

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encourage transitions to sustainable, low carbon energy systems.

3, Sustainable Development:

4, Economics of Innovation: Researchers at SPRU seek to understand the structure and dynamics
of innovating firms and industrial systems and how to manage innovation capabilities in firms,
including research and technology change in high-tech industries and managing uncertainty in
complex systems.

5, Innovation & Project Management: SPRU's work includes analysis of technology strategy, new
technology based firms, complex systems and products, high-growth new ventures, as well as
looking at innovation in different business models and sectors, including infrastructure,
healthcare, biopharmaceuticals and services.

Studying at SPRU/Teaching
SPRU currently offers six Master's courses, two of which are available to online distance learners.
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 Harvard University and Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU) at
the University of Sussex. It was formed by Matthew Meselson and Julian Perry Robinson to
provide research, training, seminars, and information work on chemical biological warfare and its
disarmament. In 2010, Sussex faculty member Caitriona McLeish was appointed co-director of the
HSP.

The program has a large archival collection of CBW related documents at Sussex (SHIB - Sussex
Harvard Information Bank).

HSP is an academic Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that has influenced policy creation
from within the United States and Great Britain on the formation of the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC) and reviews of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

References
1. Holly Else (23 April 2015). "Times Higher Education: Interview with Johan Schot" (http://www.ti
meshighereducation.co.uk/news/campus-close-up-university-of-sussex/2019748.article). Times
Higher Education. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
2. James G. McGann. "2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report" (https://repository.upenn.ed
u/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=think_tanks).
3. Johan Schot (24 October 2014). "Transforming innovation policy" (https://www.theguardian.co
m/science/political-science/2014/oct/24/transforming-innovation-policy). The Guardian.
Retrieved 15 December 2017.

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External links
▪ James Revill and Caitríona McLeish (24 March 2015). "Happy birthday to the bioweapons
convention" (https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2015/mar/26/happy-birthda
y-to-the-bioweapons-convention). The Guardian.

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