Keith Pavitt

Keith Pavitt (January 13, 1937, in London – December 20, 2002, in Lewes, East Sussex) was an English scholar in the field of Science and Technology Policy and Innovation Management.

After leaving Harvard, Pavitt began research at the OECD on science and engineering-related public policy.

In the early 1980s, he also developed, together with Joe Townsend and other colleagues, a comprehensive database of innovations introduced in the UK since the end of the war.

In subsequent versions of his taxonomy, Pavitt added up also the category of information intensive firms, where the most important source to innovate is the use of data.

Keith Pavitt was a crucial figure, together with his mentor Chris Freeman, to make SPRU a centre of international excellence in the field of innovation studies, with close collaboration with colleagues from all continents.

He also supervised and worked with several economists of innovation and science policy scholars, including Giorgio Sirilli, Ben Martin, Mike Hobday, Ian Miles, José Molero Zayas, Luigi Orsenigo Archived 28 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Daniele Archibugi, Jan Fagerberg, and Diana Hicks.