Dear colleagues,

Since I first came across 'The Economics of Industrial Innovation' as a young student 35 years ago, Chris Freeman has been my inspiration.

Together with a few others such as Dick Nelson and Nate Rosenberg, he helped to create the field of science policy and innovation studies.

Besides his immense intellectual contributions, in particular on the economics of innovation and on systems of innovation, Chris was also very much 'an academic entrepreneur'. Among the innovations for which he was responsible was 'The Frascati Manual', and the subsequent stream of work on S&T indicators at OECD and around the world. Secondly, he set up, shaped and for many years directed the Science Policy Research Unit, SPRU, which during the 1970s and '80s was the leading institution in the field. Thirdly, with colleagues at SPRU and in Germany, he founded and edited for over 30 years the journal 'Research Policy', establishing it as the leading journal in the field.

Chris embodied the notion that the purpose of research is not just to understand the world but to change it - and to make it a better place. He also recognised that this could not be done on an individual basis but required collective effort - working with colleagues in SPRU and with a growing community of innovation scholars from all round the world, including Latin America, Asia and Africa as well as North America and Europe.

He was an incredibly inspiring lecturer, of a type now sadly almost extinct in an age of drab Powerpoint presentations. He was also one of the most intellectually generous researchers I've ever been privileged to meet, always trying to pass the credit for a new insight or some other contribution to someone else, preferably someone junior. Consequently, not only was he one of the most admired of social scientists in the second half of the 20th Century, he was also one of the best liked. He will be missed by all.

Ben

Professor Ben Martin

SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research

The Freeman Centre

University of Sussex