This book is a result of the joint efforts of a majority of the participants in the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) "Modernisation of Science Management Approaches in Central and South East Europe" that was held on 28 and 29 November 2003 in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The event was organised by the Slovenian Science Foundation and was attended by 45 participants from thirteen European countries and the USA. The speakers were from NATO countries (Germany, Greece, Hungary, Great Britain and USA) and Slovenia (which became a member in March 2004). The trainees were from the South East (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia) and Central European countries (Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia).

The motivation of the NATO ATC was to provide intensive training of public administrators (e.g. state secretaries, state under-secretaries, government counsellors and experts in science and technology policy) working at the ministries responsible for science and technology in South East European countries. Some of these countries, particularly the ones facing political and economic crises, are still not integrated into the international community. Furthermore, their scientific communities have not been able to seize the opportunities offered to them on the international level. This has often been the consequence of the fact that R&D is not supported by efficient science policies. Their social and historical frameworks prevented public administrators from acquiring adequate skills that would enable them to become active participants in the international science and technology community. In addition, many of the South East European (SEE) countries have not been able to develop modern management approaches in science. As a result, national scientific communities often do not have the support and information that they need to become integral and active players in the international arena. Without modern management strategies, these countries will not be able to use all of their intellectual and other resources, which are an essential part of economic development.

The NATO ATC helped public administrators to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to overcome some of the problems facing them in science policy management. The trainees of the course got deeper insight into the skills and knowledge needed for the successful development and constitution of national research programmes, for the development and support of international science and technology co-operation and for science management.

The articles in this book are based on the presentations given by participants of the course. We have also included a few studies (Chapters 1–3) that additionally illuminate the situation in Central and South East Europe (knowledge-based economy and society, elements of national science and technology policy). Moreover, a few special contributions from the Central and South East European participants provide additional information for people who work in science management and strive to internationalise the field of science. As a result, this volume provides a comprehensive overview of S&T policies in SEE countries for the first time and brings these countries into comparative perspective with Central European and other EU countries. In addition, the volume contains analysis of several important science policy issues (human resource management, management of quality and finance, peer review and networking); in this respect, the volume will be of interest to a wider audience interested in S&T policy-making in general.

Edvard Kobal and Slavo Radosevic, Ljubljana and London, September 2004