Generic R&D Collaboration Between Firms: The Israeli Experience

In June 1992 the chief scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Industry and Trade launched a program aimed at strengthening and expanding the country’s technological infrastructure. The MAGNET Program1 was established as the only Israeli framework, private or public, for the support of collaborative generic research (GR).2 Magnet also facilitates the diffusion of technology by subsidizing advanced technology users clubs. The Israeli initiative was not novel; similar programs had been initiated more than a decade ago by most OECD governments. What Magnet has in common with programs established earlier elsewhere is the recognition of the growing importance of GR and an awareness of the importance of a technological infrastructure policy that promotes collaborative technology development.