Collaborative Governance as a Prerequisite for the University-Industry Partnership for Innovations’ Development: Results of Empirical Research

Abstract

The orientation of Lithuania towards the model of smart economy, governance and society, which is based on the achievement of country’s social and economic well-being through purposeful knowledge-based activities, i.e. innovations and their commercialization, is emphasized in the Lithuania’s Progress Strategy “Lithuania 2030” and other programme documents. One of the priorities of Lithuanian economy, education and research policies is to strengthen the innovativeness and develop its culture. As innovation appears only during the complex process, when various innovation system participants are involved to, state authorities have to invoke forces of all the national innovation system’s participants, i.e. business companies and academic institutions, innovation support institutions, helping to implement the innovation policy.The article reveals the significance of collaborative governance as a prerequisite for collaboration between business and academic organizations due to innovations’ development by identifying the role of innovation (business and academic) support institutions during the promotion processes of the interaction mentioned above and implementing of the innovation policy. The part of results of two independent empirical studies carried out in 2014 is presented in this article. The substantiated idea is that the implementation of innovation policy is possible only when the strategic objectives are achieved and innovation (business and academic) support institutions integrate into the processes, initiate, sustain, and strengthen collaborative activities of business and academic organizations and the culture of innovation in society.