Policy instruments to promote educational innovation in

Hungary

OECD/Germany workshop on Advancing innovation: human resources, education and training 17-18 November 2008

Gábor Halász ELTE University

Budapest

Innovation policy in Hungary• Key measures

– Research and Technological Innovation Fund (innovation contribution paid by enterprises - 0.3% of net turnover since 2003)

– Innovation Law (Law on Research and Innovation - 2004)

– Mid-term Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Strategy and action plan of the government 2007-13 (2007)

• Key institutions– Government agencies (minister without portfolio

responsible for STP)– National Office for Research & Technology

Innovation in education/1

• The overall policy framework has created a favourable environment for all sectors - including education (e.g. relevant orientation, funding, evaluation, utilisation)…

• …however the task to enhance the innovative capacity of public services is not sufficiently recognised…

Innovation in education/2

• …and enhancing the innovative capacity of the education sector does appear at all in the overall policy framework.

• All sectors can use the opportunities created by the new innovation policy but only those having their own strategy can use this opportunity well

• The education sector has not yet elaborated its explicit sectoral policy for innovation and only a few think that such a strategy is needed.

Innovation in education/3

• There are however concrete plans to create an innovation strategy for the education sector

• So far innovation has been led by the use of a richness of instruments which form a kind of „implicit sectoral strategy”

• …with many of open issues and concerns

Thank you for your attention