Keith Pavitt
Great BritainBiography of Keith Pavitt
Keith Pavitt was an English scientist who conducted research in the field of science and technology policy. He was a professor at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex from 1984 until his death.
Early Life and Education
Keith Pavitt was born on January 13, 1937, in London and passed away on December 20, 2002, at the age of 65 in Lewes, East Sussex. He grew up in Hackney, one of the northeastern districts of London. During his childhood, he experienced the hardships of air bombings and spent a lot of time in bomb shelters. He received a scholarship to study at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Academic Career
After serving in the Royal Air Force, Pavitt obtained a degree in engineering from Cambridge in 1959 and was accepted as a senior research fellow at Trinity College. He won a scholarship to study economics and public policy at Harvard University, where he spent the years 1959-1961. He then joined the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where innovative research on science, engineering, and innovation policy was conducted in the early 1960s. It was during this time that he began his lifelong collaboration with British economist Chris Freeman, who developed some of the first international statistics for research and development activities.
After a year in Princeton University, Pavitt joined the University of Sussex in 1971. For the last 30 years of his life, he was at the forefront of research conducted by SPRU. In recognition of his contributions, Pavitt received an honorary degree from the Complutense University of Madrid.
Contributions and Legacy
Keith Pavitt was a pioneer in the development of new methods for assessing innovation and technological change. Together with economist Pari Patel, he developed the use of patents as indicators of scientific and technological development. In the early 1980s, he also collaborated with John Townsend and other researchers to create a comprehensive database of innovations in the UK after World War II. This database was used by several scholars and became a significant event in the field of innovation measurement.
In collaboration with Roy Rothwell, Pavitt also developed the theory and practice of innovation management. As one of the editors of the academic journal "Policy and management studies of science, technology, and innovation," he greatly contributed to making the journal the most influential publication in this field.
Preparing for Pavitt's retirement, his colleagues organized a large conference in his honor titled "What do we know about innovation?" However, Pavitt unexpectedly passed away a few months before its occurrence. The conference, held in November 2003, became a tribute to his memory and an expression of universal respect for his life and work. The library of the research center where Pavitt worked for so long and the Economic Laboratory of Innovation at the University of Florence were named in his honor.
