R&D Policy in Israel: An Overview and Reassessment

Scientist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Israel, for data and helpful discussions. In particular, I wish to thank Dr. Orna Beri, the outgoing Chief Scientist, for having brought me (through her gentle, continuous prodding) into the realm of R&D Policy, and for her dedication to the High-Tech sector that has certainly been a source of inspiration to all. 2Introduction The High-Tech sector in Israel has turned in the course of the last decade into a striking economic success story, both by local and by international standards. In fact, Israel stands as one of the most prolific innovating economies, and as one of the few “Silicon Valley ” types of technology centers in the world. There is no doubt that Government policy was key to the emergence and success of the sector, a policy embedded for the most part in the programs and budgetary resources of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, the very success of the sector and its relentless dynamism call for the periodic revision and reexamination of those policies. Moreover, the current budget impasse in this area (due to tight government funding at a time of growing demand for R&D grants) brought to the surfac