Presentation on Science, technology and innovation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Presentation on Science, technology and innovation

Basic premises

• STI development nexus
• LDCs are lagging behind
• Acquiring new technologies is important
• Building domestic capacity and a knowledge base
• promoting indigenous capacity for research and development
• Bridge the digital divide and technology gap
• Supporting rapid poverty eradication and sustainable

development

Key Decisions of the IPoA

• Establishment of a Technology Bank
• Establishment of a Science, Technology and Information

supporting mechanism

• Improving least developed countries’ scientific research and

innovation base

• Helping least developed countries access and utilize critical

technologies

• Draw together bilateral initiatives and support by multilateral

institutions and the private sector

Actions by LDCs

• Build or expand strategic partnerships with a broad range of actors
• Mainstreaming Science and Technology into least developed

country’s national development and sectoral policies

• priority in budget allocation for development of science, technology

and innovation

• Promoting investments in innovative solutions for the development
• f modern and cost-effective technologies
• Building institutions and expand the knowledge base
• collaboration between research institutions and the private sector

Actions by the development partners

• Enhanced financial and technical support to LDCs research and

development, science and technology

• Implementing article 7 of the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration on

TRIPS and Public Health

• Conessional start-up finance for least developed country firms

which invest in new technologies.

• Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement (Para 66

action by the development partners f)

South-South Cooperation (Para 139)

• Promotion of least developed countries’ access to and transfer of

technology through South-South cooperation

• Improving technology cooperation arrangements with least

developed countries, such as the Consortium on Science, Technology and Innovation for the South

• Broader technological developments such as technological

management capabilities and information networks

Focus of ODA for STI

• Aid for STI is a low priority for donors (disbursed aid for research

and advanced and specific skills in LDCs was $728 million 2003- 2005 – 3.6 per cent of total disbursements).

• Aid commitments for agricultural research extension and education

are falling

• Aid for non-agricultural STI virtually ignored
• STI policy capacity-building in LDCs ignored

Aid commitments for STI in LDCs (avg. annual, $ million)

1998-2000 2003-2005 Total research Agricultural research Industrial technology and R&D Medical research Environmental research 85 87 65 32 1 7 5 26 1 16 Advanced/specific human skills Agricultural extension Agricultural education and training Vocational training Technical and managerial skills Higher education Research institutions 329 740 14 12 23 10 67 99 16 16 141 428 10 37

Way forward

• Innovative uses of development aid focusing on STI
• A new STI fund for financing enterprise innovation in LDCs

Technology Bank

Existing mechanisms

• The Consultative Group on

International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

• The International Science,

Technology and Innovation Center for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC) under UNESCO

• The Access to Specialized

Patent Information (ASPI) programme of WIPO Short Comings

• Not Comprehensive
• Not tailored to LDCs
• Some are just providing

information

• Acquisition of information is
• nly part of the whole process
• f technology transfer

Possible Terms of Reference of the Technology Bank

• Technological needs assessment to ensure local demands in

LDCs

• Search for available appropriate technologies
• Creating a virtual database for available technologies
• Supporting appropriate technology transfer to LDCs
• Capacity building
• Mobilizing resources for financing the technology transfer

Science, Technology and Information (STI) supporting mechanism

• Awareness building for the importance of knowledge capital;
• facilitating joint learning—through exchange of information and

experiences, peer-to-peer learning between experts, organizations and agencies from LDCs and other countries with recent and on- going development experiences;

• providing a knowledge commons;
• supporting concerted action, to strengthen and enhance

knowledge-based infrastructures in LDCs;

• Undertaking research and development; and
• Establishing a relatively low-cost, efficient, highly accessible

mechanism for information-sharing that deploys the full array of modern means communication and networking; and

• Providing a common forum where all different kinds of stakeholders

can network and work together to help the LDCs increase their knowledge base;

Concessional start-up finance for least developed country firms

Start-up finance for innovation and technologies: Potential sources

• Bootstrapping, Friends and Family, Bank, Grants (Small

Business Innovation Research grant (SBIR)), Venture Capital etc.

• None of them are easy for small and medium-sized firms in

LDCs.

A Proposal for an International Spark Initiative for LDCs

• National Innovation Fund financed through International

Transfers (ODA);

• Grants to domestic SMEs for innovative activities-equipment

modernization, technology transfer from abroad, development

• f technological capabilities, training, R&D;
• Financing bundled with business support services; and
• A multi-donor trust fund

Article 66.2 of TRIPS

Developed Country Members shall provide incentives to enterprises and institutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and encouraging technology transfer to least-developed country members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base.

Article 66.2 of TRIPS

• Agree on a common definition of technology

transfer and a list of programmes/policies that do and do not qualify as such

• Agree on common, comparable metrics for

measuring the extent to which the incentives have their intended effect;

• Use a uniform reporting format that will be

comparable across countries and time periods

• Indicate whether and how reported incentives are
• additional to business as usual practices

Article 66.2 of TRIPS

• Assess and report on the extent to which effective

technology transfer is contributing to building a sound and viable technological base, identifying gaps where access to technology remains difficult

• Submit regular reports detailing successful and

unsuccessful developed country incentives, with the aim of building a set of recommended practices from the perspective of technology transferees.

Support through S-S Cooperation

• Knowledge- and experience sharing, training and technology

transfer

• Share and replicate each other‘s experiences in finding a

“southern solution”

• Establishment of regional and sub-regional technological and

technical hubs for sharing experiences and models at the regional and interregional levels

• Co-operation and communication between public enterprises

and institutions between developing countries and LDCs