Long renowned as a prospectivist, Jacques Lesourne was formerly a professor of economics and industrial statistics at France’s National Arts and Crafts Conservatory. He is a member of the French Academy of Technology.
Denis Randet is a general delegate to the National Association of Technical Research (ANRT).
The present work is proposed by FutuRIS (Future, Research, Innovation, Society), a study programme on research and innovation developed within ANRT.

Since 2005, the state of research and innovation in France has been completely overhauled by a series of major reforms. The present work, the fourth in an annual series and the product of research carried out within the framework of FutuRIS, offers a well-documented summing-up of current developments.
The first part of the book gives a general qualitative and quantitative overview of the French System of Research and Innovation (SFRI), with a few close-ups of such topical issues as the development of relations between universities and public research organisations, the employment of Ph.D.s, trends in business management and innovation.
European research and innovation — another major issue — is the subject of the second part.
The third part contains technical descriptions of the tools and actions developed over the past few years. Notes on recent, newsworthy developments are also included.

The three preceding editions of the yearly La Recherche et l’Innovation en France have dealt mainly with the application of the above-mentioned reforms and their impact on the French system of Research and Innovation. In the present 2009 edition, experts and project participants have had the benefit of four years’ experience to judge the reforms and study the consequences of applying them within SFRI. The reader will find here analyses and proposals on all the major issues in question.