Interdisciplinary scientific research evaluation and bottom-up medical innovation

Abstract

The developments in medical innovation show numerous, opportunistic and complex couplings between systems and devices, going beyond of disciplines, illustrating that the present time is under the sign of interdisciplinarity. Medical innovations (like nano-drugs) are socio-technical, because organizational competencies, business-to-business linkages, and values chains and industry structures more broadly to be renewed as well. In this respect, the classical model of innovation is less and less efficient and complexity has to be explored. In principle, the vision of Applied Sciences is the following: leaving the understanding of phenomena in the elaboration of systems with strong technological or societal stake, by way of their understanding or by development of concepts and basic technologies. Contacts with Applied Sciences Research Units were developed so as to gather the opinions of the academic researchers. The main requests of this scientific body, which agrees to develop research for innovation, concern a better responsibility, a less cutting up of financings, new modes of evaluation adapted to the economic reality by analyzing societal impacts of the activities, a more appropriate time for interdisciplinary developments connected with innovation, etc. Academic research, divided up into scientific disciplines lead to difficulties to associate different specialized knowledge, inside projects of innovation of public usefulness. Taking into account the strong support of research units and the socio-economical reality, the object of the paper is to explore the problem of the present scientific evaluation in this important domain under question at Occidental level in an innovation frame. The choice of this topic corresponds to a heavy problem for the development of creative activities, in principle largely supported by decision-makers, but less by peers, involved in a form of conservatism of paradigms, associated with mono-disciplines.