A Routine for Measuring Synergy in University-Industry-Government Relations: Mutual Information as a Triple-Helix and Quadruple-Helix Indicator

TL;DR

This paper introduces an open-source routine for calculating mutual information as a synergy indicator in university-industry-government relations, applicable to large datasets across multiple dimensions.

Contribution

It presents th4.exe, a tool for computing probabilistic entropies and mutual information in multiple dimensions, facilitating analysis of Triple-Helix and Quadruple-Helix relations.

Findings

Provides a practical tool for large-scale synergy analysis.

Connects mutual information measures with the Triple-Helix model.

Enables analysis across various data dimensions and categories.

Abstract

Mutual information in three (or more) dimensions can be considered as a Triple-Helix indicator of synergy in university-industry-government relations. An open-source routine th4.exe makes the computation of this indicator interactively available at the Internet, and thus applicable to large sets of data. Th4.exe computes all probabilistic entropies and mutual information in two, three, and, if available in the data, four dimensions among, for example, classes such as geographical addresses (cities, regions), technological codes (e.g., OECD's NACE codes), and size categories; or, alternatively, among institutional addresses (academic, industrial, public sector) in document sets. The relations between the Triple-Helix indicator -- as an indicator of synergy -- and the Triple-Helix model that specifies the possibility of feedback by an overlay of communications, are also discussed.