Abstract
In the beginning of the nineties, Tunisia, along with many other developing countries, recognized the need to develop specific policies for science and technology. New institutional and governmental structures were created with a mission to encourage and support scientific and technological research and development. About 20 years after the starting of these policies, a comprehensive framework to support innovation has now been established, sub-systems have been strengthened, bridging structures are evolving, specific programs to harness science with economic purposes have been launched and a new culture of entrepreneurship and innovation is gradually emerging in the society. Notwithstanding the accomplishments so far, the science system and the system of enterprise development are evolving more or less independently. In fact, there is yet no general awareness of a “system” as such and thinking about the link between research and innovation is implicitly dominated by the “linear” model of technology transfer. In this paper we will discuss the key issues that should be addressed in order to achieve a better integration of the elements that constitute the innovation system.