From Open Science to Open Innovation

Abstract

The accelerating frontier of scientific knowledge has coincided with a renewed interest in open science by policy makers. The norms of open science promote the rapid diffusion of the latest knowledge, and invite broader partner participation in the discovery of new knowledge. This deepens the knowledge, improves its quality, and helps its diffusion (which then leads to another cycle of discovery and diffusion). As valuable as this broad engagement is, however, it does not assure the subsequent effective commercialization of scientific knowledge. Indeed, the norms of open science can, in some ways, create challenges that impede the commercialization of knowledge.