ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the "optimum" role of government, to seek for balance among all actors for innovation. In "high-state" societies, where triple helix relationships have traditionally been directed top-down, bottom-up initiatives appear in conjunction with the emergence of regions, with a degree of autonomy, and the growth of Civil Society. Although the industrial policy debate and the conflicting visions between an active federal government and "the government that governs least, governs best" are as old as the United States itself, the concept of industrial policy has, to a much larger degree, been forbidden in the US compared to most other countries in the world. Despite barriers, a de facto innovation policy is created through pressures on government to act in crises. The World War II Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), originated at the initiative of academic scientists, was active across the spectrum of research areas of potential military use.
