International investments have grown rapidly in recent decades owing to the rapid rise of global value chains. Production processes have become increasingly fragmented, with goods and services produced in stages in different countries. Firms seek to optimise their production processes by locating their various production stages in different sites and countries on the basis of optimal location factors. While distribution, sales and production activities led the way, also science and technology (S&T) activities and R&D have increasingly been located and/or relocated abroad.

Internationalisation is an increasingly important dimension of public research in OECD and partner countries. In line with economic globalisation, research co-operation and academic mobility have internationalised sharply in recent decades. With new technologies, collaborators in different countries can communicate easily and cheaply, and it is easier than ever before to obtain information about research communities in other countries. Financing from abroad – through initiatives such as the EU Framework Programme – has become a more important part of the research funding of many institutions. While internationalisation has increased opportunities for co-operation, it has also increased the competitive pressures on research and higher education, as universities are now being ranked on a worldwide basis.

Cross-border governance of science, technology and innovation (STI) involves the partial or total delegation of policy making from the national to the international level. It implies, among other things, international co-ordination of national policy initiatives, removal of obstacles to the movement of resources, setting of international standards and regulations, and transfer of authority to intergovernmental organisations and supranational authorities. It is part of a wider dual delegation process that gives a greater say in STI matters to the international, but also to the sub-national, level of governance. There are good economic arguments for extending the scope of STI governance beyond national borders (OECD, 2012):