1. RTDI Policies in Turkey
Current State of Play – 5 Critical Observations
The How-to on Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship the Road from R&D to Commercialization
Cambridge UK, June 2013
The Innovation Solution Platform of Turkey

2. The Opportunity : Turkey
2June 2013
 Long tradition of private sector culture – founding member of the
OECD,
 Vast manufacturing sector : ‘China of the Med’, a fast emerging
service sector,
 Educated and flexible young work force,
 Adapt and dynamic business attitude – Turks are everywhere!
 Regional economic hub : strong demonstration effect – lifestyle
icon,
 Highly developed physical and institutional infrastructure,
 Huge opportunities in manufacturing conversion driven by the
efficiencies, new markets/segments and technologies.

3. Our Benchmark Results in RTDI
3June 2013
 Given,
 Turkey’s potential,
 Increasing resources being dedicated to RTDI since 2004,
 Strong political ownership,
 Ever increasing demand for support programs,
 There is a chronic performance gap according to various
benchmarking studies carried out by international organizations
such as OECD, WB, EU, WEF
 Obviously a structural issue beyond the official explanation.

4. Policy System Dynamics
4June 2013
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.
.
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.
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Controllable
Policy Input
Variables
Dynamic
Parameters
Observable
Output
Variables
Learning Policy
Design and Execution
Adaptive Policy
Design and Execution
Non-Linear Dynamics
e.g. Saturation Points Beyond Which Negative Efficiencies
DELİVERY!

5. Capital to Value Conversion
5June 2013
Physical
(Labs, Technoparks etc.)
Intellectual
(Knowledge, Smart
Regions etc.)
Social
(Trust, Transparency, Cl
usters, Procurement
etc.)
Capacity
Enabling
(Creativity etc.)
Supporting
(Management etc.)
Ability
+
+
+
+
+
Capital
Skills
«POLICY GAP»
Where «collective» becomes «individual»
Value
(‘Performance’)
+
+

6. Observation 1
6June 2013
 «Political Ownership is Essential but not Sufficient»
 A learning institutional capacity at the operational level is critical
 «What Needs to be Done» should be the primary driver
 Innovation should be a driver at policy and program levels
 An effective organization of the institutional setup is a must
 Avoid traps of the legacy setups - role, status of state be redefined
 Coordination among public organizations should be effectively
designed – otherwise many «Me Too» programs on template models
 As policy makers be authentic : mean what you say
 Governance should be built on true public-private structures
 Governance should be based on transparent open dialogue and
consultation – need strong capacity at the private end

7. Observation 2
7June 2013
 «Building Effective Ecosystems Takes Time and Creative Thinking»
 Ecosystems are bottom up evolutionary structures
 Very different than innovation systems based on strong division of
labor
 Evolution is driven by the DNA – sustainable localized code of values
 Hard to implant expats and models
 Ecosystems evolve in time, work on dynamic symbiotic relations
 Public money can’t buy ecosystems!
 Best that can be bought are expensive «to maintain» aquariums
 Public does not have the right DNA to dominate
 Policy interaction with the ecosystem should be designed over functional
public private partnerships

8. Observation 3
8June 2013
 «Policy Should Balance Between Maintaining Existing and Building
New Sectors»
 Efficiencies driven innovation is different than research driven innovation
 Avoid crowding out research with generalist programs – «hole in the
wall» designs – «one size does not fit all»
 Sector specific profiles and needs should be taken into account in
design
 Employment and value creation are difficult objectives to balance
 New knowledge intensive sectors require excellence in basic and applied
sciences – RTDI is not a pure engineering problem!
 Strong vocational education is a critical component of RDTI
 VC alone can’t create miracles! – Growth is an environment issue

9. Observation 4
9June 2013
 «Performance Monitoring and Management is Essential but Tricky»
 Avoid local politics and target global scale best practices
 Deploy international peer reviews and benchmarking with other
organizations and programs
 Transparency and accountability is key
 Measure success with predictable metrics, open methodology
 Introduce performance based multi step evolutionary funding
 Transparent and objective criteria to pick winners – prioritize funding to
create critical mass
 Autonomy in operations (research centers and universities) improves
performance – Industry – university collaboration should be based on
academic, economic and administrative autonomy of universities.

10. Observation 5
10June 2013
 «More Funding does not Necessarily Generate New Value»
 Smart delivery is the key to generate value with public funding
 Develop and deploy innovative channels for public funding –
consolidation of programs under single roof may not create efficiencies
 Be willing and able to change legislation framework to support effective
delivery with new and relevant program designs
 Impact evaluation should be embedded into delivery process –
otherwise archeology will be needed
 Design and run programs simple and flexible – program professionals
should be developed as able and motivated
 Separate «program ownership» and «program management» roles for
transparency and accountability

11. Final Words
11June 2013
 The definition of «value» is changing globally
 Old business models are dead
 In order to stay relevant a fresh bottom up thinking is needed
 In order for that,
 Observe
 Understand
 Explore
 Experiment
 Learn
Build relationships through global networks of practice

12. The Innovation Solution Platform of Turkey
www.ttgv.org.tr
TTGV is a member of