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Innovation and Capacity-Building in Science and Technology

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9. Innovation and Capacity-Building in Science and Technology
By Professor George F R Ellis

Scientifically based innovation is the core of a nation.s technological and economic progress. Daily life has been transformed by developments in communications, transport and medicine. All sorts of infrastructure and appliances (refrigerators, stoves, water-borne sewerage, electric lighting, for example) underlie the life people enjoy in the developed world.

South Africa has done very well in many ways, but we still need to do all we can to develop our capacity for innovation. Ways to do this have been explored in depth by the Inter Academy Council (IAC), an organisation combining the talents of 15 premier scientific academies worldwide, including the South African Academy of Science. Their conclusions are set out in their excellent report Inventing a Better Future: A Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and Technology, available at www.interacademycouncil.net. The reportcontains important recommendations that need consideration and development by South African partners in the scientific and engineering communities, government, higher education, commerce and industry.

The forces and opportunities of globalisation cannot be ignored, and whether we like it or not, we will be competing with technologically advanced countries throughout the world, as we try to grow our economies. To be successful, we need to develop our scientific and technological capacity to the full, in addition to providing needed services to all our citizens.

The IAC report looks at a number of dimensions of the problem of capacity building:

Science, technology, and society: A coherent government policy that promotes science. To achieve societal goals, governments must develop national science and technology (S&T) strategies; the S&T community should provide knowledge and advice for addressing critical issues; and the public must be informed about and engaged in national S&T policymaking.

Human resources: High quality S&T education and training at all levels is essential. An S&T education policy should be established addressing national needs. New efforts are required for the attraction, development, and retention of scientific and technological talent in all nations. The brain drain must be addressed by making working conditions attractive to scientists - a very small proportion of people with real talent must for a time, be given better remuneration and working conditions than others. There must be special outreach and support programmes for promoting gender, ethnic and cultural diversity in the science community.

Institutions: Encouraging collaboration. Centres of excellence are needed for S&T to flourish and there is a need to create and support world class S&T institutions and collaboration. Virtual networks of excellence, linking professionals from different locations working on similar problems through the power of information and communication technology (ICT), can multiply the potential effectiveness of individual centres, as can regional co-operation between countries. South-South support and exchange systems need to be developed - for example between South Africa, Brazil, and India. Regional S&T support networks also need to be stimulated.

The public-private interface: The private sector is now the primary global force in research and development for S&T. Funding needs to be given to encourage public-private partnerships that will get the major partners together and promote joint research.

Financing: National sectoral funds are needed to sustain the financing of high quality indigenous research and development in sectors of strategic importance. To complement national efforts, creative new mechanisms are needed to ensure adequate funding for S&T capacity-building internationally.

The IAC report emphasises the need for a serious commitment to the development of science and technology by each country, leading to the devotion of adequate resources to research and development. We need to devote 1% to 1.5% of GDP to national financial support of science and technology if we are to be internationally competitive. At present in South Africa, we allocate about half that figure (0,76% of the GDP). Government statements of support for S&T must be translated into actual financial commitment that will enable our excellent S&T community to deliver what it can. In particular, the National Research Foundation, which does an excellent job in supporting S&T research, is hamstrung by inadequate finances.

Professor George Ellis.

With financial support, there are a number of components to a sound S&T strategy, as outlined above. I will just comment on a few.

Higher education. It is recognised that the core of research ability will be developed in higher education institutions such as universities and technical colleges. Thus, it is crucial that there is a commitment by the national government to quality S&T higher education, and it is important to develop and adequately support postgraduate training and to provide adequate funding for postdoctoral workers.

Centres of excellence need to be established in each country. These should be research groups at universities or research institutions, or specially established national, regional, or international centres of excellence. The need is to ensure institutional autonomy and sustained funding, and to maintain leadership of international quality, with merit based hiring and promotion.

Information and communication technologies. Infrastructure allowing access to the Internet at adequate information transfer rates needs to be established. We need affordable highspeed broad bandwidth services. Digital libraries are also needed, giving access to key digitised scientific literature, and in particular, relevant journals at affordable prices. The way such policies can be made effective in practice is set out in a thoughtful way in a response document put out by the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS), who have much experience in this matter, developed over a number of decades. Their report is at www.ictp.trieste.it and focuses on the following areas:

Create and strengthen centres of leadership and excellence, especially in Least Developed Countries, by identifying leaders and research teams, providing them with autonomy, financial stability, modern equipment, and access to information technologies and international peer groups.
Support Fellowships, Associateships and training programmes that keep scientists, technologists, technicians, and students abreast of the latest information and connected with other research and educational centres around the world.
Promote scientific and technological co-operation in the South through South-South exchange fellowships. Major developing countries should make more significant contributions towards the scientific development of more resource- strapped countries (by supporting such exchanges).
Create institutional networks to address common problems relating to issues of regional concern or common interest, such as access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation, wise use of environmental resources, and efforts to achieve sustainable development.
Publicise and share successful experiences. Efforts should be made to target both the media and policy makers, and highlight the fact that, despite problems, scientists in the South have developed many creative answers to address and solve critical developmental issues.
Develop interdisciplinary panels of experts in the South that can offer timely, authoritative and locally relevant advice to governments and policy makers on issues of critical importance, such as biotechnology and renewable energy. These panels should also assist political leaders in the South to make science and technology an integral part of development programmes.
Create and support merit-based academies of science in the South that will help promote and sustain scholarship, act as guardians of ethical values in science, serve as role models for the young, recognise and reward good work, interact with other academies and scholastic bodies, and engage governments in matters where science and policy meet.
Mobilise expatriates and institutions in the North enabling 'brain drain' to be converted, in part, into a 'brain gain' Scientists in the North, particularly those from developing countries, should be encouraged to work on major Third World problems, and institutions in the North should be encouraged to assist in building scientific capacity and excellence in the South.
Provide equitable access to currently available knowledge, create virtual networks among teams of research scientists working in different countries, and promote advanced wireless digital communicant systems that are most relevant to developing countries.
Reform educational systems. This should involve national and international collaborative efforts aimed at both students and teachers, and make full use of advances in information and communication technologies.
Popularise science. "Science for all" should be a conviction that motivates governments, voluntary organisations, educators, and scientists.
Engage the private and nongovernmental sector as agents for national development.
Persuade governments to commit to science and technology by investing adequately in science, education, and health, setting a target for the science sector of at least one percent gross domestic product (GDP) within 10 years.

There is a wealth of excellent information available in these documents on how to improve our S&T situation. I strongly recommend them to you, and urge that they be taken seriously by decision makers and scientists in this country, and used to help shape our S&T policy and practice.

This is an edited version of a presentation by Professor George Ellis, Templeton Prize Winner in 2004 and Professor in Applied Mathematics at University of Cape Town.

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Department: Science and Technology, South Africa

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Innovation and Capacity-Building in Science and Technology