Policy instruments to promote educational innovation in Hungary OECD/Germany workshop on Advancing innovation: human resources, education and training November 2008 Gábor Halász ELTE University Budapest

Innovation policy in Hungary Key measures –Research and Technological Innovation Fund (innovation contribution paid by enterprises - 0.3% of net turnover since 2003) –Innovation Law (Law on Research and Innovation ) –Mid-term Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Strategy and action plan of the government (2007) Key institutions –Government agencies (minister without portfolio responsible for STP) –National Office for Research & Technology

Innovation in education/1 The overall policy framework has created a favourable environment for all sectors - including education (e.g. relevant orientation, funding, evaluation, utilisation)… …however the task to enhance the innovative capacity of public services is not sufficiently recognised…

Innovation in education/2 …and enhancing the innovative capacity of the education sector does appear at all in the overall policy framework. All sectors can use the opportunities created by the new innovation policy but only those having their own strategy can use this opportunity well The education sector has not yet elaborated its explicit sectoral policy for innovation and only a few think that such a strategy is needed.

Innovation in education/3 There are however concrete plans to create an innovation strategy for the education sector an innovation strategy for the education sector So far innovation has been led by the use of a richness of instruments which form a kind of „implicit sectoral strategy”implicit sectoral strategy …with many of open issues and concernsissues and concerns

Thank you for your attention

National Development Plan „Social renewal” (the operational programme of the National Development Plan for ) Priority 3: „Providing quality education and ensuring access for all” –Action 3.1: Supporting the dissemination of competence-based education Pillar 8: „Supporting R+D activities enhancing system level knowledge management and innovation” R+D+I strategy for the education sector –The elaboration of an R+D+I strategy for the education sector based on the evaluation of the current national system and on international comparative analyses

The emergence of an implicit strategy The seventies: –The creation of legal frameworks for pedagogical experiments –Research on innovation in education The eighties –Loss of belief in the capability of large scale structural or curricular reforms to improve the quality of education –Pedagogical experiments (e.g. reading) –Radical decentralisation (e.g. abolishing inspection in 1986) –The creation of the first national innovation fund (1987)

The emergence of an implicit strategy (cont.) The nineties: –Decentralization/deregulation continued: two level content regulation – schools responsible for curriculum –International donor/loan actions (e.g. World Bank, Soros Foundation) targeted at schools and enhancing innovations –Significant increase of resources for national development programs (3-4 % of the national educational budget) –Support for schools to prepare their own program based on internal organisational analysis –Regionalisation of innovation funds (regional development funds)

The emergence of an implicit strategy (cont.) The nineties (cont.): –A major national program aiming at introducing ICT into classroom teaching –A demand led teacher professional development program (resources given to schools) –Schools building out client-centred internal quality assurance –A supply of private consultants supporting schools Since 2004: –Large EU funded multifunctional programs (ICT, competence-oriented program packages, inclusive practices etc.)

Issues/concerns No clear borderlines –innovation is not necessarily an explicit goal –most development program containing innovation enhancing elements Several levels, many players - poor coordination The ambiguous attitudes of the educational research community towards innovation: –Using knowledge to understand or… –…using knowledge to change/improve

Issues/concerns (cont.) Uneven quality and relevance, the lack of evaluation in most cases Poor information management (e.g. sharing knowledge about innovations) Limits on dissemination and mainstreaming Distribution of roles between national authorities, schools, professional networks etc.

Issues/concerns (cont.) Bureaucratisation in EU funded programs - innovation capacities are sometimes „killed” by programs aimed at supporting innovation The importance of some key factors not always recognised (e.g. the role of institutional management/leadership) Weak change management capacities – coping with openness and uncertainty