Public research funding and science-based innovation: An analysis of ERC research grants, publications and patents

This study aims to advance the discussion around the linkages between public funding for scientific research and new technology development. We develop and test a methodology that matches patents to scientific publications, the latter of which stemming from publicly funded research. We specifically focus on projects that were funded by the European Research Council (ERC) in the Life Sciences and Physical Science and Engineering sectors during the FP7 Programme. We also compare this method’s results with the patents directly reported by the PIs of ERC-funded projects at the end of their grants, finding that the two methods are complementary. In addition to documenting important technological diffusion effects generated by ERC-funded research, our results highlight some factors that shape the relationships between patents, publications, and grants, such as project type, age, duration, scientific domain and number and quality of associated publications. Therefore, our findings present significant policy implications for funding agencies, universities, TTOs, and policymakers who want to monitor the technological outcomes of public research investments.