based research has increased substantially over the last 15 years. There has also been a diversification of the sources of funding for research institutions that now include national governments,   supranational   bodies   (e.g.,  the   European Commission), regional governments, business enterprises and civil society. The respective weight of teaching and research and the mechanisms through which research ac­tivities can be financed and encouraged vary considerably among countries and universities. In general, universities in Europe currently face similar challenges: offering courses to young adults, meeting the demand for ongoing education and training, and participating in knowledge production in increasingly diverse contexts and with an ever-greater va­riety of partners. The juxtaposition of these different tasks generates strong tension within universities, in part due to limited resources. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the main missions of universities are often ambiguous; additionally, key stakeholders and managers may not agree on priorities. (Akrich and Miller, 2007).
     There are about 4200 universities and colleges in the U.S., and most of the research is carried out at about 263 doctoral/research universities. Universities perform about 13% of total R&D, and 82% of federal support goes to 100 universities. Twenty of them receive about 34% of the government support (Eliasson, 2004).
     In 2004, Russia had 1071 higher education establish­ments (40% more than in 1993). They are starting to be involved in research (OST, 2006a).

5.3.2.4 Multinational enterprises and small and medium enterprises: trends

Today's multinational corporations  (MNCs)  see innova­tion as a strategic element in economic competition. The life cycles of products are increasingly short, and firms are encouraged to produce returns on investments more and more quickly. Consequently, an R&D race has developed among multinationals. R&D activities enable firms to build up knowledge about technologies to support their key ac­tivities. R&D is also critical to the firm's long-term com­petitiveness, by enabling them to identify, acquire and apply knowledge that has been developed by others.
     MNCs have been expanding R&D outside their home countries in recent decades. R&D investments by MNCs, within their affiliates or with external partners in joint ven­tures and alliances, support the development of new products, services and technological capabilities. These investments also serve as channels of knowledge spillovers and technol­ogy transfer that can contribute to economic growth and en­hance competitiveness abroad. International R&D links are particularly strong between USA and European companies, especially in pharmaceutical, computer and transportation equipment manufacturing. More recently, certain develop­ing and newly industrialized economies are emerging as hosts of US-owned R&D, e.g., China, Israel and Singapore (NSF, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006).
     Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are extremely heterogeneous, ranging from high-tech start-ups to small building contractors to the local companies. However the sectoral coverage narrows considerably when the focus is on research related issues. Technology based SMEs account

for around 10% of all SMEs (NSF, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006).

5.3.2.5 International, national and regional governments: trends

A variety of actors, including advisory bodies, national agencies, ministries and specialized institutes are involved in making and implementing national science, technology and innovation policies. These actors engage in a wide range of activities, including planning, forecasting, strategic intelli­gence and consultation with stakeholders. The national level actors are involved throughout the process, which covers needs identification, agenda-setting, policy implementation, policy evaluation and benchmarking results. The forms of intervention of regional powers in research and technology policies vary.
     The defining characteristics  of the US public R&D policy are an even stronger impact of the economic factors than in other geographical areas, the enormous influence of defense-related research activities, and the importance given to the high potential areas made up of converging technolo­gies (EU Commission, 2006). North American policies em­phasize research support for regional and local universities. Regional authorities have policies for attracting and devel­oping a qualified local workforce; these policies spurred the creation of technology clusters and parks. In the USA, 60% of all R&D is concentrated in six states, with California alone accounting for 20% (UNESCO, 2006b).
     In Europe, national authorities generally retain the lead­ing role in policy formulation and implementation, but there are very wide differences among countries in the extent and nature of this leadership (Akrich and Miller, 2007). Europe is much more influenced by societal, i.e., social and environ­mental, factors than the U.S. as far as R&D policy setting is concerned. Ecological and quality of life issues generally provide a unifying and defining element of European public R&D support policy. Nevertheless, the European landscape is characterized by important inter-country differences. A number of factors account for this, such as GDP, political environment and scientific position. Europe is also faced with policy rigidities that strongly affect the efficiency of public support, influencing both the form in which support is being administered and the research organization itself (EU Commission, 2006). The distribution of prerogatives between regional, national and European government varies from country to country, e.g., the länders are very influen­tial in Germany, and regionalization is being introduced in Spain and the United Kingdom.

5.3.2.6 Uncertainties of the future
There are a number of uncertainties related to the future and the way these questions will be answered in the dif­ferent regions of NAE will affect the AKST systems. These questions are:
•     The capacity of universities and public research or­ganizations, the private sector and the government to jointly define research priorities and fund R&D in or­der to make their country's economies competitive is uncertain.  Collaborative research is gaining ground, and measures could be taken to further promote it and