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Since 1953, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has maintained a network of innovation attachés based at Dutch embassies and consulates in leading knowledge economies. The Innovation Attaché network (IA network) identifies opportunities in the field of Science, Technology, and Innovation (WTI) to enhance and strengthen the competitiveness, innovation capacity, and earning potential of the Netherlands. The IA network consists of three main services: (1) knowledge acquisition and transfer, (2) networking, and (3) promotion of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The network is managed in terms of content by the Ministry of Economic Affairs with a lateral involvement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the daily operational support comes from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
This evaluation addressed three main questions: 1) Does the offering of the IA network match the needs/demands of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, businesses, knowledge institutions, consortia of both, and other governments? (the WHAT question); 2) Does the current approach and management of the IA network align with the desired approach and management? (the HOW question); and 3) Is the IA network located in the "right places" with the right people? (the WHERE question).
The evaluation involved a process evaluation of the setup, structure, and implementation of the network. For the WHERE question, a multi-criteria tool was developed to enable the Ministry of Economic Affairs to make decisions about where IA posts should be located or how heavily staffed these posts should be in a more informed and objective manner. Finally, based on the gathered results, a policy advice was formulated and presented to the IA network.
The policy advice consists of the following main conclusions:
- Choose to maintain the IA network as a specialist network with more focus;
- Utilise the IA network for (targeted and selective) development and maintenance of concrete cooperation projects and programmes;
- Improve the substantive management of the IA network and actively shape policy interaction between IA's and the Ministry of Economic Affairs core department;
- Use the Multi-criteria Analysis tool (MCA-tool) - developed as part of this policy advice - as a guide for decision-making on where (and how heavily) the IA network is represented in which region and apply it regularly;
- Provide clarity on the international innovation (collaboration) strategy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and how it fits into the broader overall Ministry of Economic Affairs strategy.
