Proposing a Framework for National Innovation Agencies Functions: Case Study of Iran's Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy

Supporting innovation in firms is one of the critical policy issues in technology and innovation policy. In this regard, "innovation agencies" - generally public institutions - are founded in different countries to design and implement technology and innovation policy tools. Hence, the purpose of this research is to present a framework and investigate the functions of the Iran Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-based Economy (VPST) as the national innovation agency. The temporal boundary of our paper includes 2016 to 2022 and the spatial boundary is the activities and actions of VPST. We collected data through 21 semi-structured interviews, documents, and policy reports, then we analyzed data by content analysis. Based on our findings, the 8 main functions of innovation agencies, as well as VPST include supporting research and technology development; supporting networking and infrastructure formation and maturity of innovation ecosystem; supporting commercialization and shaping market for technology and innovation; empowering technological, knowledge-based firms and startups; strengthening technology and innovation diplomacy and international circulation of experts; supporting exports and strengthening export capabilities; financing technology and innovation; and lastly technology and innovation policy intelligence. Considering the institutional gaps and context of Iran, VPST has played a more significant role in functions such as regulation and financing, including IPO, compared to other international innovation agencies. While in some functions, such as technological cooperation and foreign investment, VPST is less engaged compared to its international counterparts. The results of this research contain recommendations for policymakers as well as future research.