The State of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Least Developed Countries - UN Technology Bank for LDCs

The UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries’ new report “The State of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Least Developed Countries” is launched today. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of the current status of science, technology and innovation (STI) in LDCs. The global pandemic underlines the relevance of scientific knowledge and technologies in protecting health and sustaining economic and social wellbeing. Science, technology and innovation are powerful drivers of change and play a key role in transforming economies and driving sustainable development. LDCs cannot afford to lag behind in the new wave of rapid technological change. Instead, they need to harness the ‘latecomer advantage’ to leapfrog and directly adopt the latest and most effective STI solutions. The UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (UN Technology Bank) is mandated to support LDCs to access relevant technologies and strengthen STI capacities in the world’s most vulnerable 46 countries. “The Doha Programme of Action for the LDCsOpens a new window has confirmed the UN Technology Bank’s role as a focal point for LDCs to strengthen their STI capacity towards building sustainable productive capacities and promoting structural economic transformation”, Dr. Taffere Tesfachew, Acting Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank highlighted, “As part of this role, this report and related discussion are a key step to support knowledge and best practices sharing around STI in LDCs. We call upon Governments, development partners and other UN entities to join us in this ambitious agenda and take actions at the national, regional and global level”. One finding pointed out that women in the LDCs remain significantly under-represented across STI sectors, particularly in the participation of technology usage and connectivity, scientific publications and patent registration. It is essential that the countries recognise the importance of gender parity in STI and ensure inclusive development. Other key report findings include: Science LDCs have very low government investment in science, with a large gap between current levels of expenditure and official policy targets, although countries closer to graduation typically spend more on science. Despite this, LDCs leverage lower costs and take frugal approaches to deliver scientific results and valuable knowledge with limited means. The number of scientific publications of LDCs grew significantly during 2000-2020 and was faster than the growth of OECD countries in the same period. Yet the quality of publications and capacity to access research networks still need to be improved. The variation in scientific outputs among LDCs is due to adequacy of governance, levels of institutional capacity and extent of international collaboration. LDCs can leverage a motivated diaspora to contribute to research development. Technology LDCs have low technology outputs and remain unequally prepared to seize the opportunities of digitalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, given the limited reliable infrastructures and skills constraints. While technological readiness has improved in some LDCs, such as Burkina Faso, LDCs need to get better at leveraging digital technologies to improve the productivity and efficiency of their companies. However, these ‘absorptive capacities’ are still very low in most LDCs, and companies will need to invest in skills to fill the gap, make organizational changes and eventually upgrade their business model. Innovation Some LDCs, such as Rwanda, have a more innovative business-friendly environment, including hubs and innovation centres for start-ups. Entrepreneurs and firm managers in LDCs are highly engaged in innovation, willing to invest in R&D and introduce high rates of innovation in their firm. However, both R&D and innovation outputs are relatively informal and modest in scope, due to a lack of access to finance, institutional maturity and access to international markets. There is a fertile ground for productivity increases through technology adoption. However, innovation-driven growth through export still requires heavy investment and the evolution of institutions, frameworks and support STI policy landscape Only a few LDCs display strong technology transfer collaboration between academia and industry. In many LDCs, National Innovation Systems are fragmented - there is a large range of actors involved in knowledge creation and exchange, but collaboration is poor. Best-performing LDCs often display more structured governance, including political willingness, clear institutions, roles, policies and strategies. Many LDCs have achieved some progress though in terms of planning, programming, budgeting, promoting, and assessing STI policies and plans. LDCs, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Niger, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, are showing promising national innovation systems with strong policy and governance frameworks and clear political commitment. The LDCs, while each has specific characteristics, share a number of similar features such as a high degree of informality and indigenous knowledge playing a role in terms of STI institutional arrangements and policies. Recommendations Priorities for donors and international cooperation Support the development of STI in LDCs for their achievement of the SDGs such as financing STI systems building, strengthening infrastructure towards digital transformation and ensuring that LDCs have access to existing technologies on mutually agreed terms. Support STI governance building and the strengthening of innovation ecosystems, by helping to build productive capacities and diversification towards higher-value-added production; develop national and regional networks with national innovation systems’ actors; support existing innovation hubs and their network integration; foster collaborative research and innovation between academia, research institutes, the private sector, and citizens. Support sustainable STI interventions that are grounded in the LDC reality and consider social, cultural, political and environmental factors, and promote efforts to build capacity in use-oriented applied research. This calls for careful assessment of intended and unintended outcomes. Priorities for national governments Mainstream STI in the national development agenda; enhance STI governance and address STI as a holistic system. Remove disincentives to investing in STI and support the development of an open innovation ecosystem by ensuring retention of the highly skilled. Build, strengthen and maintain complete STI information systems. Define adequate STI indicators that reflect the unique nature of STI. Foster widespread internet connectivity outside the capital city and the main cities to connect people.