SECTION V 

 RESEARCH ABROAD 



By Dexter North 

 Washington, D. C, Representative, Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, Mass. 



ABSTRACT 



Industrial research is being actively pui'sued in the 

 major industrial nations and to a lesser extent in the 

 smaller nations of which certain Latin-American 

 countries have made substantial progress recently. 

 In the totalitarian States the emphasis of research is 

 on the national economy and preparedness. These 

 nations also are characterized by the large extent of 

 government support and coordination of research. 



The Government of Great Britain also actively sup- 

 ports industrial research. Its trade association re- 

 search laboratories, for which the Government matches 

 grants made by industries, are unique among methods 

 of supporting industrial research. Industry in Great 

 Britain has been slow to recognize the importance of 

 research under its own auspices but has made rapid 

 advances in recent years. 



Research in France has been better known for its 

 accomplishments in pure than in applied science. 

 Cooperation between industries and universities has 

 been limited. With a few exceptions, industries have 

 been slow in applying research to practice. Industrial 

 research in Belgium and the Netherlands has followed 

 rather closely the needs of their basic industries and 

 development of colonial raw materials. 



Germany was one of the first nations to recognize the 

 importance of industrial research, which was largely 

 responsible for the remarkable development of her in- 

 dustries in the quarter century prior to 1914. Close 

 cooperation between universities and industries was 

 an important factor in this development, the former 

 engaging principally in fundamental research, and in- 

 dustries in applied research. The Institutes of the 

 Kaiser Wilhehn Society also were of material aid to 

 industry. Under the Nazi regime emphasis on research 

 in all three groups was changed from fundamental 

 work to problems of more immediate national interest. 

 The increase in university enrollments and research, 

 resulting from unemployment dinging the depression, 

 was reversed under the program of National Socialist 

 Government so that a shortage of research workers 

 eventually arose. The self-sufficiency program of the 

 Government has multiplied problems of research workers 

 many fold. 



In Italy industrial research is entirely under the 

 control of the Fascist Government and is directed pri- 

 marily toward self-sufficiency and preparedness. AH 

 new research as well as industrial projects must be 

 approved by the National Research Council. 



Switzerland has directed much of its industrial re- 

 search to the needs of its specialized industries, and the 

 development of intermediate and semi-finished products 

 formerly imported. The Scandinavian countries have 

 been noted for their cooperative efforts in research, and 

 adhere rather closely to development of their own 

 natiual resources. 



Industrial research was practically nonexistent in 

 Czarist Russia. The universality of research as an 

 important part of the Bolshevik theory has been demon- 

 strated by the large number of research institutes built 

 in the Soviet Union, and by the huge scope and the detail 

 of research programs in both applied and fundamental 

 fields. The quality of Soviet research has not been 

 uniformly good. 



Japanese occupation has dealt a crushing blow to 

 industrial research in China. Establishment of small 

 industries in the remote interior has been accompanied 

 by a limited amoimt of research. 



Japan was quick to realize the important role which 

 research played in the industrial development of western 

 nations and adopted these methods for her own ad- 

 vancement. The resulting scope of industrial research 

 has been broad. The Japanese Government subsi- 

 dizes research to a considerable extent. Many research 

 institutes have been established, somewhat along the 

 plan of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in Germany. In 

 addition to carrying forward the self-sufficiency pro- 

 gram, the resources of Chosen, Formosa, and Man- 

 chukuo are being actively developed through research. 



Canada, while relatively new as an industrial com- 

 monwealth, is advancing rapidly in application of 

 science to industry. Certain manufacturing establish- 

 ments owned or controlled by American or British 

 interests receive the benefit of research conducted by 

 the parent organizations. The Canadian Government 

 has been active in motivating and directing industrial 

 research. 



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