No. 219 – The Italian system of public research

Investment in public research in Italy is below the European average as a percentage of GDP. Nevertheless, in relation to expenditure and the number of researchers, the output is high, and the quality of research, conducted in universities and research organizations, is close to that of such countries as France, albeit with lags in the most advanced levels. The Italian system, highly diversified and fragmented in its actors and funding sources, suffers from a scant capacity to apply research findings and to collaborate with firms, which in their turn spend little on research and have problems in linking their own research activity to the inputs supplied by public research entities. The system also suffers from the lack of a comprehensive strategy that sets objectives, designs missions and organizational frameworks for public research entities consistently with those objectives, and determines the necessary resources. The much-needed relaunching of Italy's innovative capacity cannot be achieved without adequate financing and efficient governance of the public research system.