National strategies for science, technology and innovation (STI) have become a major pillar of post-crisis growth strategies and serve several functions in government policy making. First, they articulate the government's vision regarding the contribution of STI to a country's social and economic development. Second, they set priorities for public investment in STI and identify the focus of government reforms (e.g. the funding of university research, evaluation systems). They also mobilise STI actors around specific goals, such as energy, environmental or health issues, and may help steer the investments of private actors and of increasingly autonomous universities and public research institutes towards priority areas or technologies. Third, the elaboration of these strategies can engage stakeholders (the research community, funding agencies, business, civil society, regional and local governments) in broad consultations that will help to forge a common vision of the future and facilitate co-ordination within the innovation system