Highlights of the Interim Report Compiled by the R&D and Evaluation Subcommittee of the Committee on Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment under the Industrial Structure Council

○ Innovation with innovative technology as the core is an important factor to fortify Japan’s global competitiveness and economic growth. ○National technology policy has a significant influence on the country’s industrial competitiveness, which causes fierce policy competition among countries.

1. Japan’s current situation surrounding R&D on industrial technology

2. Basic concepts of the future innovation system

◆Decrease in mid- to long-term research investment by enterprises - A global trend: as worldwide companies face more intensified global competition and further put weight on short-term performance, they tend to place most of their R&D expenditures on short-term research.

◆Enterprises’ lagging behind the global trend in the open innovation approach - In recent years, the open innovation approach has expanded worldwide. Most Japanese enterprises have recognized its importance but a limited number of them have tackled it.

◆ Lagging behind in market launch of new markets - Large enterprises have a negative tendency to commercialize new technology considering the small market scale and other factors. On the other hand, medium enterprises, SMEs and ventures are proactive in commercializing new technology, but only a limited number of such companies has succeeded in growing the business.

◆ Japan’s degraded capability for creating technology seeds - Continuous creation of many innovative technology seeds are vital. - However, in recent years, the quantity and quality of Japan’s academic research papers have been deteriorating, dropping their international status to a lower position. - The scale of academic research for basic technologies for industry is shrinking.

◆ Looming concerns over the weakened bases for fostering human resources who will lead innovation - A lesser number of students have advanced education of science and technology; the curriculum of universities are not satisfactory.. In addition, there are challenges for utilizing science and technology personnel. - All sectors of industry, academia and government lag behind in recruiting exceptional human resources from overseas.

○ Compared to Western countries, Japan less functionalizes the gap-bridging system, a framework in which the technology seeds are linked to commercialization. ○ Based on an understanding of Japan’s characteristics, Japan should clarify the roles of each entity so as to establish a system to create innovation.

Universities - The most important role of universities is to carry out basic researches of highly uniqueness.

Basic research organizations - The role of basic research organizations is to deal with basic research that universities do not address satisfactorily, including large-scale and organizational study.

Enterprises - Leaders of commercializing the results of R&D - Challenges that enterprises are facing: Taking risks for commercialization; proactive involvement in open innovation; and encouraging medium enterprises, SMEs and ventures to play more important roles

Public research organizations that play the gap-bridging role, e.g., AIST

- Anticipating the needs of enterprises in advance and conducting research that leads to commercialization - Establishing networks among enterprises and between industry and academia - Improving R&D bases and common basic facilities that enterprises are able to use - Contributing to mobility and fostering of human resources

Ventures - Gap-bridging by existing enterprises’ taking in new technologies developed by ventures - Governmental Support for start-ups and their growth as an important measure

Funding agencies, e.g., NEDO - Managing more challenging, innovative but complex R&D, which individual collaborations between industry and academia cannot handle - Bearing risks that enterprises cannot take - Establishing networks and integrating technologies among entities in a variety of fields

Development and mobility of human resources leading innovation - Promoting development and mobility of human resources integrally with fortifying each entities and establishing a gap-bridging system

HR mobility

☆Utilizing the outcome of joint R&D for developing new products/businesses

Funding Agencies

Start-ups

Basic Research Applied Research & Development Demonstration Commercialization

☆Incorporating new technologies/ideas for new business through buyout of venture business (Acquisition & Research & Development)

Business

☆ Public Research Institutes conduct R&D utilizing public funding until such research reaches the level where the business sector can make investment decisions. The business sector incorporates the outcomes of R&D to start new businesses through HR mobility and consignment R&D.

Spinout

R&D assigned by businessPublic funds

Bridging Public Research Institutes

Consignment R&D

- National Projects- Individual projects between companies & universities, etc.

Universities/Basic R&D Institutes

Streamlining Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs)

C. Bridging through “Joint Industry-University R&D”

B. Bridging through “Venture Business”

Universities/Basic R&D Institutes

Universities/Basic R&D Institutes

Business

Business

Pilot line Mass ProductionDemonstrationin operational environment

Demonstration in relevant environment

Technologyvalidation in lab.

Experimentalproof of concept (POC)

Basic principleobserved

Technology validation in relevant environment

Technology concept/applicationformulated

HR mobility

*This type is commonly observed in Germany

*This type is commonly observed in the U.S.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

A. Bridging through “Public Research Institutions”

Buyouts

Joint Industry-University R&D

Industry

Large enterprises

◆ Promoting open innovation

Universities and other organizations

Universities AIST’s own research

Public research organizations that

take the lead in basic research

- Stipulating its gap-bridging system as its major mission - Evaluating the gap-bridging researches of AIST, giving top priority to raising funds from enterprises

* Stipulating that increased funding from external entities will not cause a decrease in

public subsidies.

Enhanced marketing function - Setting subjects to be researched,

anticipating the future needs of enterprises

Promising seeds

Commissioned research (using funds from enterprises)

- Developing research on its own or jointly with enterprises

Strategic management of intellectual properties - AIST will hold all IP rights, in principle, and it will grant an exclusive license to enterprises in the fields of commercialization.

Providing incentive rewards to researchers who contribute to the gap-bridging researches Enhanced development and

support of ventures Promoting a cross-

appointment system, taken by both sides (setting

numeral targets)

Ventures from AIST

◆ Shifting NEDO’s project management framework for R&D to that adopted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Objective basic R

esearch, leading to the gap-bridging researches

Allocating funds to many researchers, including young researchers, in a variety of research fields

◆ Promoting diverse and unique basic research

◆ Establishing a system for creating technology seeds, which will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of industries and creating new industries

-Intensive research activities, that enter on public research organizations at the core, in the fields that organizational researches are effective - World’s most advanced research bases in the fields of discontinuous technologies

3. Establishment of a system that “bridges” innovative technology seeds to commercialization

Enterprises Universities

AIST

Providing re-learning programs

Promoting mid- to long-term research internships

Enhancing the industry- academia- government

collaboration

AIST’s Innovation School

- Accepting graduate students in AIST - Accepting university laboratories as a whole

4. Development of a scheme for creating outstanding technology seeds 5. Development and mobility of human resources leading innovation

The Council for Science, Technology and

Innovation will lead studying such schem

e, in cooperation am

ong ministries and offices.

◆ Developing and mobilizing human resources in the research field ◆ Fostering human resources

who will manage R&D projects

- Experience in a variety of phases in the series of processes of a project, from R&D to commercialization - Building human networks in the academic and industrial worlds

◆ Expansion of the foundation of personnel in science and technology

- Encouraging industry and academia to participate in the primary and secondary education stages - Development of programs aiming at encouraging women’s success in the workplace at AIST and other research organizations

AIST

- Picking up technology seeds - Fostering human resources ready for actual research

Receiving entire academic laboratories

Accepting outstanding graduate students in

AIST

◆ Fostering and supporting medium enterprises, SMEs and ventures

Setting goals at NEDO of ratios of newly-adopted projects submitted by medium enterprises, SMEs and ventures

Establishing a platform on which NEDO will support medium enterprises, SMEs and ventures to create new R&D business (from the step of starting up business)

University reform

Close communication among industry,

academia and government at the early

stage of the R&D

- Research commission - Commitment in commercialization of the developed technology

Utilizing external

technology

Spin-out, etc.

NEDO

Creating most advanced technology seeds

Strengthening technologies of industrial bases

Human-resource developing system, placing NEDO at the center.

Building an internationally recognized research bases of industry–academia-government collaboration: e.g., enhancing facilities of TIA-nano

Promoting interdisciplinary fusion by raising awareness of academic communities

* Advancing the reform of AIST by setting specific goals in the mid-term objectives and mid-term plans

Fortifying its function for formulating a technological strategy

The Japanese government’s involvement in projects according to their characteristics

Flexible and agile management by project managers

Managing intellectual properties, which lead to commercialization (revising the operation of the Japanese Bayh-Dole Act)

Evaluating projects based on a viewpoint of promoting commercialization

Collaboration

Enhanced support for starting up and developing ventures

◆ Fortifying the function of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Fortifying the function of the gap-bridging role and conducting more commissioned researches from enterprises, thereby realizing a virtuous cycle

Core technology

IP

IP

Medium enterprises, SMEs

and ventures