Keith Pavitt

Keith Pavitt (London, 13 January 1937 – Lewes, East Sussex, 20 December 2002) was an English scholar in the field of Science and Technology Policy and Innovation Management. He was professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) of the University of Sussex from 1984 to his death.

Keith Pavitt grew up in Hackney, London, and as a child he experienced air-bombing, spending a lot of time in bomb shelters. In 1948 he graduated to Hackney Downs School (formerly The Grocers' Company's School). He won an Open Exhibition for Mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge in the Autumn of 1954 <The Review, the magazine of Hackney Downs School, No.177, December 1955>. During National Service, he qualified as an RAF pilot. At Cambridge he obtained a First in Engineering in 1959 and was Senior Scholar at Trinity. He won a fellowship in economics and public policy at Harvard University in 1969-1961. He then joined the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In the early 1960s, this was carrying out pioneering policy research, in particular on the development of policies for science, engineering and innovation. During this time he started a lifelong collaboration with Chris Freeman, a British economist who was developing some of the first international statistics on Research and Development. After a year at Princeton University, Pavitt moved to Sussex University in 1971. For 30 years Pavitt was at the forefront of SPRU research. He received a Laurea Honoris Causa from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

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