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The purpose of this study is to outline the improvement of framing in Indonesia science and technology policy content, policy formulation model, policy strategy implementation and policy performance indicators.

This study is conducted by implementing action research model to generate new knowledge as a research interest, through the search for solutions or improvements to problematical situation, applying Soft Systems Methodology. Thus, this research model is regarded as Soft Systems Methodology-based Action Research (SSM-based AR).

Policy formulation is not evidence based in which policy documents remain theoretical and are impractical or not detailed in engaging real conditions and strategic issues, yet the targets are measurable despite predictive results. Change and strengthening are required in the national science and technology policy for the next period, on the basis that future research policies are encouraged to address problems and solutions to build a country based on science and technology. Indonesia requires policies involving both effective and efficient national research; therefore, the need for an integrated policy direction conveying science and technology and other related sectors, such as the health sector and food, remains vital.

Previously, science and technology policy planning in Indonesia was not equipped with data and indicators of success, having no target to achieve within a five-year period. In the coming periods, science and technology policy documents in Indonesia are issued in the form of government regulations/presidential decrees, including indicators of science and technology achievements (quantitatively) for five years.

Over the past 30 years, China has made dramatic changes and improvements in various educational areas, including the educational technology field. These changes have been supported by policies initiated by the country's central government. This chapter reviews the historical development of China's educational technology policies, paying particular attention to the evolutionary process, and examining policy features that have influenced Chinese educational development. The Chinese education technology framework encourages the use of educational technology to address more ambitious goals for economic and social development and thus serves as an important catalyst for advancing Chinese education.

Construction industries in developing countries face many problems. One of these is the low level of their technological development. This paper considers how a national technology policy can help improve the situation. After a brief discussion of technology and its development, construction technology development is considered. The nature of, and potential benefits from, technology policies are discussed. Ghana's experience and that of other countries in construction technology development are outlined. Courses of action for achieving progress are then indicated.

Many devices needed electrical power to work, thus, major energy carriers such as oil and gas were used to generate electrical power via converter mechanisms and special technologies. The microturbine is a developed technology that is remarkable for its relatively high performance and ability to use several types of fuels. Microturbines are economically feasible because of the production of combined heat and power and small-scale applicability. This study aims to investigate microturbine technology development to support modern energy access in a developing country (i.e. Iran).

This paper presents a technology foresight methodology to create plausible futures of microturbine development in Iran when the country faces different driving forces and uncertainties. On other hand, the paper deals with a theoretical question: how to select appropriate foresight methodology? A procedure is proposed, which equipped the research team to select appropriate method combinations based on Popper’s diamond. Finally, the selected methodology includes defining focal issues environmental scanning and patent analysis aimed at developing five plausible scenarios for microturbine development future in Iran and creating shared visions among policymakers.

This paper proposed a series of scenarios on the path to developing microturbine technology. The scenario development logic in a participatory way contains a common four-quarter technique that attempts to depict scenarios based on two critical uncertainties inclusive energy price and technology obsolescence, which will shape the future. Also, a scenario is presented to describe a wild card that can disturb the desired futures. Such materials help decision-makers to policies under plausible conditions that guarantee a robust policy basket.

The originality of this paper can be studied based on two aspects, first, the methodology that provides a systematic method selections procedure in an emerging complex technology development program. Second, from the practical aspect, this paper is one of the very first attempts to manage the microturbine technology development program. Then, results are used to feed the policy-making process in Iran.

The purpose of this paper is to characterize the knowledge flow between companies and universities based on national and sectoral systems of innovation perspective. It is argued here that high-tech sectors can describe a knowledge flow mainly based on scientific research, while sectors with lower technological impact may establish relations based on technical needs.

A case study research was conducted in the horticulture and aerospace sectors in Brazil. Thirteen interviews were performed with chief executive officer’s and academic researchers from both fields.

Results demonstrated differences in technology development and knowledge infrastructure when comparing both sectors, reflecting the impacts of national and sectoral systems of innovation. The horticulture sector presented technological limitations due to restricted eating habits, logistics, knowledge development at universities and difficulties on the establishment of partnerships between local companies and Embrapa, the main public research centre. Such restrictions limit academic activities while companies look for research partnerships abroad. Space industry also has limited technological development due to international embargoes and lack of research alignment between companies and universities. Companies end up developing research activities internally, usually funded by governmental tenders.

The horticulture sector has limitations, as it is not the main agriculture area in science and technology applications. Future studies may analyse areas like soy beans, sugar cane and coffee, which may present differences specially regarding sectoral systems of innovation.

The finding of this paper may influence the review of sectoral innovation policies, improving the development of local research activities which may be a source of valuable knowledge to companies. It also demonstrates the importance of the knowledge flow to improve sector’s technology level.

This paper aims to present a retrospective analysis of the experience gained in the course of 20 years’ history of S&T priority setting and critical technologies’ identification, in terms of expected and actually achieved effects and lessons learned.

The methodology is based on analysing project documentation and reports, as well as on interviewing project team members. Each project’s effects are evaluated in terms of the six key foresight functions.

The key factors affecting success of priority S&T areas and critical technologies’ selection and implementation have been identified. They include focusing on practical implementation, linking S&T with socio-economic goals, combining thematic priorities with infrastructural and functional ones, as well as integrating priority selection in the S&T policy process.

The task of evaluating priority setting exercises over a long period requires a substantial information base to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis. The projects considered in the paper also need to be analysed in a context of socio-economic development.

The lessons learned presented in the paper could contribute to further development of approaches to selecting science and technology priorities and critical technologies, and their more efficient implementation.

Priority setting has significant influence on policymaking and decision-making at the national and industry level. The evaluation of a unique 20-year experience provides substantial information and practical hints for further increasing efficacy of this instrument.

This paper presents the findings of a visiting scholarship research that was carried out at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Based on the extensive literature review, government databases and international statistics, it introduces an analytical framework for comparison of the national innovation systems (NIS) of China and Australia in regards to their strengths and weaknesses. This is done through individual examination and comparison of functions of typical institutions involved in innovation to reveal the structural characteristics and performances of the two systems. The interactions among these institutions are then analysed to illustrate their dynamics and efficiency. The comparison has shown clearly that China’s NIS has several weaknesses and gaps due to its developing and transition stage. There are positive signs that Chinese Government has recognised the nature and scope of the problem and seems to work in the right direction. This paper aims to support this process by providing some recommendations that could help bridge the gaps between the NISs of China and Australia. Due to the fact that both, China’s and Australia’s NISs, have their unique characteristics but share numerous complementary features, there is a large potential for further cooperation between the two national innovation systems.

Studying previous science and technology (S&T) foresight activities reveals information that helps decision makers to redesign policy-making templates aimed at dealing with new millennium challenges. To propose policy recommendations about further S&T foresight programs in Iran, this paper aims to propose a three-phase process to study historical S&T foresight activities at national and sub-national level since 2005 to 2015, to analyze the state of selected activities to discover weaknesses and potential solutions and, finally, to provide strategies and tactics to improve further S&T foresight activities through an expert-based process.

This paper provides a three-stage methodology, designed to survey Iranian historical foresight practices (study) using scoping framework equipped with additional features, diagnosis and evaluating (analyze) and finally proposing recommendations to organize and implement more efficient further foresight practices (design) to initialize further practices in developing countries such as Iran.

Although concerns about future and the importance of foresight activities are raised however Iranian foresight community needs to be developed. As noted in Section 5, Iranian foresight facilitators and specialist are biased to limited methodologies and methods; therefore, creating foresight networks and developing communities is strongly recommended.

The main constraint of this research was lack of valid data in the case of some Iranian S&T foresight programs.

Iran as a developing country needs to plan for long-run programs; however, there is no integrated study which reviews and analyzes the previous attempts to dedicate insights about how to reframe existing foresight paradigms. As foresight practices facilitate the paths toward sustainability, analyzing and diagnosis of a series of foresight practices in a devolving country may initialize designing such efforts in less developed world.

This study examines the implementation of a community-level Sustainable Broadband Adoption Program (SBA) under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), a national public policy program meant to expand broadband deployment and adoption under the American Recovery Act of 2009, and administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce. The California Connects Program (CC) was administered by the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC).

This chapter focuses on one part of CC’s efforts to expand broadband adoption among the most underserved Californians through collaboration with the Great Valley Center (GVC). CC-GVC provided basic computer and Internet classes to disconnected populations with low-literacy levels, and primarily in Spanish, through community-based organizations, public schools, public libraries, small businesses, and others in the Central Valley, an 18 county rural region with a high concentration of digital destitute populations. The program worked with under-resourced local community institutions with a range of poor technology resources and that operated under variable set of social, economic, political, and institutional conditions. Through inductive, process-oriented, and explanatory case study research, the structure, strategy, and training approach of CC was examined. Content and theme analysis of primary and secondary qualitative and quantitative data involving the program’s leadership, direct service providers, partners, participants, and nonparticipants was conducted. This involved a sample of 600 in-depth and short, structured and unstructured interviews and focus groups, archival and participant observation notes.

It was found that CC-GVC was able to meet uncertainty and operated with low institutional resources and paucity of linguistically appropriate teaching resources for new entrants through a flexible leadership approach that adapted to the social situation and was open to innovation. Community technology trainers were also able to engage those without or little direct experience with computers and with low-literacy levels with a linguistically appropriate and culturally sensitive step-by-step teaching approach that empowered and met people where they are. The author expands non-adoption models to include structural barriers in the analysis of the disconnected. It is argued that non-adoption is a result of evolving inequality processes fueled by poverty and under-resourced community development institutions and that teaching and learning is a social and institutional process that takes trust and time.

CC shows that even the most disadvantaged can be empowered to learn-to-learn to use computers and can begin to function online and gain benefit under the most extreme institutional and economic conditions, but it takes more time and resources than providers expected and the Recovery Act provided.

This research work aims to investigate the recent status of the information and communication technology (ICT) services industry in Iran. It proposes a systemic applicable approach at policymaking level and appropriate strategic planning steps to enlighten developing countries toward achieving their target objectives of an information society.

Largely based on existing literature and usage statistics in ICT services, global technology trends and results from a survey to obtain consistent and up-to-date information about current issues of ICT services in the public and private sectors in Iran.

This study elaborates on all issues, points and best practices relevant to the ICT services industry in Iran which is addressed by recommending some documented policies.

Majority of the experts who attended the workshop and responded to the questionnaire were service consumers rather than service providers.

This paper discusses some of the implications for the development of this ICT services strategy and provides policy recommendations.

To enhance the information society with the most advanced ICT services for accelerating human development.

This study provides a government refining process policy to address the common gaps in the ICT services industry in these developing countries and emphasizes a formidable policy foundation before implementing and monitoring of the Flagship ICT projects.