Impact of public funding on the development of nanotechnology: A comparison of Quebec, Canada and the U

Nanotechnology is considered to be the most promising high technology of this century. Worldwide investment in this technology has rapidly increased in the past two decades, and it will likely drive future economic growth. Research in this new science-based technology requires significant public funding to facilitate knowledge production, reduce related uncertainties and risks, and ensure the success of nanotechnology development.;Given its potential in a wide range of domains, governments and policymakers have sought to efficiently allocate funding to maximize economic benefits. It is therefore essential to further our understanding of how public funding influences research performance.;The main purpose of this thesis is to analyze the impact of public funding on nanotechnology development, with a special focus on scientific and technological research outputs. The research objectives are twofold: we first seek to examine this funding influence, and second to explore the impact of collaboration and related scientific and innovative networks on nanotechnology development.;Afterwards, our goal is to compare the impact of funding and of nanotechnology collaborative networks between Canada and the US on scientific and technological research outputs. This research deals with the prominent outputs of academic research, publications and patents, and characterizes collaborative networks using the co-publication and co-invention links between scientists and inventors.;This thesis contributes significantly to the following research questions: how increased public funding to nanotechnology scientists enhances nanotechnology-related publications and patents in terms of (a) number and (b) quality? Are researchers who hold a more influential network position in co-publication/co-invention networks more productive and more cited? Is the influence of public funding on nanotechnology research different in Canada compared with the US?;To answer these questions, information about nanotechnology articles, patents and funding was extracted from various databases in Canada and in the US and was used to build the scientific and innovation networks, and to analyze the influence of funding by econometric analyses.;Regarding the first research question, our results show that public funding generally increases the number and quality of these outputs. However, this positive impact is more significant in the US and funding is less likely to influence nanotechnology patents in Canada. Regarding the analysis of industry funding in Quebec, private funds are less likely to increase the quality of publications.;Concerning our second research question, results show that scientific and technological outputs are correlated with the position of researchers in collaborative networks. Nanotechnology research outputs particularly in Canada show greater returns on publications and patents on network collaborations.;Finally, although the impacts are somewhat different between Canada and the US, this research suggests that both funding and collaborative networks play an important role in boosting the quantity and quality of academic research.