ABSTRACT
In the last decade, there has been an ongoing debate on the role of universities and the broader knowledge infrastructure (educational institutes, R&D organisations in the public sector) in the innovative performance of Dutch industry (Ministry of Economic Affairs 1995, 1997). Special attention has been given to the linkage between knowledge infrastructure and industry. On the one hand, the dramatic decrease in Dutch R&D investment in the early 1990s and the negative effects of this on the competitiveness of the Dutch economy intensified this debate. On the other, the attention given to the alignment of university research with the knowledge demands of industry resulted from the relatively large public expenditure on university research, compared to the smaller sums contributed by industry.
