M Mangena: Science and Development Conference

4 March 2009

Dr Phillippe Busquin
Dr Jean-François Girard
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Over the years, the European Parliament has played a vital role in
vigilantly safeguarding and promoting the European Union's (EU) co-operation
and partnership programmes with developing countries. At a time when there is
much critical reflection on the role science and technology can play in
cementing this partnership. It is reassuring to know we can rely on the
interest and support of the Parliament. So, when I was invited by the Science
and Technology Options Assessment Committee and France's IRD to address this
important conference, I gladly accepted.

Let me first pay tribute to our host, Professor Busquin, who, as former
European Commissioner for Research, has done a lot to improve international
co-operation in the Framework Programmes. His co-convener, Professor Girard, is
a long-standing friend of the developing world, especially Africa and South
Africa. Gentlemen, your contribution in highlighting the importance of
scientific and technological co-operation with developing countries has been
enormous, and I have no doubt it will continue to be so. It is a great honour
for me to be here with you today.

South Africa's experience in astronomy, and in many other scientific
disciplines in which our scientists have a distinguished record, clearly
illustrates the fact that the pursuit of scientific and technological
excellence is not the sole domain of the fully developed nations. This also
constitutes a critical imperative for developing countries. Strengthening
science and technology partnerships between Europe and the developing world
will not only enhance the general ability to fight effectively against poverty,
but will also contribute to ensuring a truly inclusive global sustainable
development. As always, part of the challenge lies in recognising this, and
part in engaging with it.

Research and development has been growing at a brisk rate globally.
Developments at the frontiers of technology continue to deliver handsome
profits, and Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
investment in research and development (R&D) almost doubled in the decade
ending in 2006, to about United States Dollars (US$)818 billion.

Practically, every country, irrespective of its economic standing, is
involved in the R&D process, and seeks to implement an innovation strategy.
The OECD's Technology and Industry Outlook for 2008 reveals that even the
world's least developed economies are significantly improving their share of
global investment in research and development. The share of global R&D
accounted for by the non-OECD countries rose from 11,7 percent in 1996 to an
impressive 18,4 percent in 2005.

Investment in research and development shows the faith a country has in its
people and their abilities; it denotes a willingness to invest in the future.
In 2003, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), acting in
concert with the African Union (AU), established the African Ministerial
Council on Science and Technology. This was conceived as a high-level platform
for developing policies and setting priorities on science, technology and
innovation for African development. Its members have committed to mobilising
financial resources to the tune of at least one percent of their national Gross
Domestic Products (GDP) for investment in R&D. According to a 2007 United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) study on
R&D in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, the level of R&D
investment at that time was less than 0,3 percent. So a one percent target,
although pitifully small in global terms, still represents a more than
threefold increase for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

This is the first hurdle, and although it cannot be the ultimate goal,
achieving the one percent investment level target will go a long way to
facilitating the implementation of the African Science and Technology
Consolidated Plan of Action, which aims to set Africa on track for
transformation into a continent-wide grouping of knowledge-based economies.

Through this consolidated plan of action, the continent commits to
collective actions for development using science and technology for their
socio-economic transformation; and to integrate itself into the world economy
on the basis of the three interrelated conceptual pillars, which include
capacity building, knowledge production and technological innovation.

By "capacity building" we refer to the creation, improvement and
mobilisation of human skills, physical infrastructure, financial resources,
together with the development of accompanying policies for science and
technology to solve Africa-specific problems.

However, it is important to note that the capacity of a country's economy to
innovate is largely dependent on existing physical infrastructure such as
laboratories for scientific research, electricity supply, connectivity to
telecommunications, and the ability to design and develop new products and
processes or use existing technologies. The state of infrastructure obviously
has an enormous influence on the ability of institutions to apply and produce
knowledge.

That is why the World Economic Forum (WEF) identified infrastructure as one
of the pillars of the economic competitiveness of nations. So, in assessing
national systems of innovation and their ability to research and develop
economies, close attention should be paid to the state of infrastructure.

But the sad fact is that a UNESCO report on the state of R&D
infrastructure in African institutions of science and technology training,
mainly universities, found that:
* very few universities in Africa are in a position to stock their libraries
with quality scientific journals
* few university staff has access to computers in their offices – even those
teaching computer science
* many of the libraries in African universities do not have computers,
* in some universities the equipment dates from the early 1980s
* the average age of laboratory equipment for basic sciences is almost 12
years, and almost 16 years for engineering sciences.

Given the significant changes in lab technology in the past 10 years,
African institutions are clearly handicapped in all areas of experimental
science compared to their counterparts in other continents.

It is crucial for developing countries to engage in R&D. Now there is
consensus regarding the effectiveness of science and technology as an
instrument for sustainable development. Knowledge and innovation, for example,
play an increasingly vital role in the fight against poverty. The 2002 World
Summit on Sustainable Development, specifically called for investments
supporting the capacities of developing countries to engage science and
technology to fight poverty. And recent statements from the G8 urge support for
science and technology (S&T) capabilities in African countries.

Investment in research, education and innovation – the so-called knowledge
triangle – lies at the heart of successful economies throughout the world. It
is widely accepted that R&D investment drives innovation and economic
growth, and that countries that invest in research and innovation have
consistently higher rates of economic growth and higher levels of productivity.
And this is even more pronounced when aligned with a well-functioning
innovation system.

It is this that enables the creation of more jobs and higher incomes. Yet
the capacity of economies to transform their investments in research, education
and innovation into economic growth, varies sharply from country to country.
Clearly, the challenge is to ensure, not only that levels of research and
innovation are increased, but also that such investment translates into
economic benefits, and that the innovation system itself operates
efficiently.

From my perspective, African countries are increasingly recognising the
critical role the private sector plays in R&D and technological innovation.
In recent years, we have seen many African nations revising their policies and
laws to create attractive environments for private sector development, and
private participation in national development. Some countries are also creating
policies and legislative measures to promote private sector investment in
R&D. These efforts include the strengthening of intellectual property
protection laws and institutions; the provision of tax relief to companies that
spend a certain proportion of their budgets on R&D; and the establishment
of science and innovation parks. In this respect, many developing countries
have many lessons to learn from developed countries, where the private sector,
especially multinational corporations, invests significantly in R&D.

Multinationals play a significant role in research and development globally.
In 2002, for example, they accounted for about half of the R&D spend
worldwide, and for more than two thirds of all R&D in the business sector.
The research and development spending of some large corporations is higher than
that of many countries: Ford, Pfizer, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, and
General Motors each spent more than US$5 billion on R&D in 2003. Among
developing economies, only the Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan
and Brazil exceeded that amount. By reforming legislative frameworks and
attracting transnational companies, developing countries put themselves in a
position to claim their share of this R&D investment.

In another change, while major corporations would previously have used
R&D in developing countries largely to adapt products and processes to
local markets, today the trend is increasingly moving towards original
technological development for global and regional markets, and towards applied
research. According to a United Nation (UN) report, from practically nothing in
the mid-1990s, the share of South-East and East Asia in global semiconductor
design reached almost 30 percent in 2002, thanks to the influence of the
transnational corporations.

Former United Nation (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, observed that big
business now views parts of the developing world as key sources, not only of
cheap labour, but also of growth, skills and even new technologies. Foreign
direct investment in research and development helps countries strengthen their
innovation capabilities, and skills transfer enables them to perform more
demanding functions, handle more advanced equipment and make more complex
products.

But these benefits do not accrue automatically. The entry requirements into
this league are so demanding that most developing countries are excluded. As
you might expect, those who wish to host part of the R&D activities of
transnational corporations must show evidence of strong technological
capabilities. This in turn is heavily dependent on the skills of the human
resource base and other issues, including the rules governing innovation
activities and the capabilities of domestic enterprises.

For these reasons, sub-Saharan Africa is not currently one of the
significant beneficiaries of international R&D spend. The region suffers
from low levels of education, and deficits in basic technical and managerial
skills. This creates a major barrier to both technological progress, and the
transfer and adaptation of technologies. A recent study published by the World
Bank shows that in 2005, only 28 percent of students in tertiary institutions
in sub-Saharan Africa were enrolled in science and technology fields such as
engineering, agriculture and medicine. This situation is worsened by the
recruitment of our best brains to other parts of the world.

But there must be a way forward, and the starting point is the forging of
strong partnerships between the developed and developing economies. Africa has
a responsibility to increase its efforts to create an enabling environment for
the continent, and so attract foreign investment in its R&D capacities. I
am convinced that multinational companies that are truly committed to global
sustainable development should consider relocating to Africa, or establishing
new R&D capacities there. Such initiatives will be worthwhile, considering
the significant opportunities to be gained in terms of market access, for
example.

In this respect, it must be reiterated that the European Union (EU) has a
long-standing history of supporting R&D co-operation with developing
countries. It has done this through, for example, the international
co-operation (INCO) development-orientated research programmes of the earlier
framework programmes. Several member states also run active programmes related
to science and technology capacity-building. Presently, we have the Africa-EU
Strategy, a partnership in science, the information society and space
co-operation. South Africa is fully behind this initiative and we are doing all
we can to recruit the involvement of other African nations in its
implementation. Through this and other initiatives, important results have been
achieved. But much more could have been achieved through smarter exploitation
of the synergies between research and development co-operation programmes.

In the light of its past experience and the range of policy and funding
instruments at its disposal, the European Union is well placed to assume global
leadership in the crucial role of supporting science and technology
co-operation with developing countries. Currently, a strategic, politically
enabling environment exists, but this needs to be fully exploited to realise
the full potential of the EU as a force for progress.

Tangible interventions aimed at strengthening the partnership are needed.
These might include:
* Support for technology transfer to African countries. In other words, EU
technologies may be adapted, where appropriate, to enhance economic and social
development programmes.
* Support for science and technology capacity-building in African countries.
This means the strengthening of Africa's own knowledge generation capabilities
through research training and human capital development programmes; funding for
research infrastructure and equipment, or support for policy development in
dealing with issues such as intellectual property rights.

It is also, perhaps, time to explore how existing instruments, such as the
FP7, could be made more relevant to support the invigoration of the EU-Africa
science and technology co-operation. For example, the current FP7 Marie Curie
mobility instruments, and specifically the incoming and outgoing international
fellowships, are great initiatives. Perhaps they need to be restructured to
improve developing country participation. The fact is, very few European
researchers use these fellowships to go to developing countries, and only
marginally more developing country researchers use them to spend time in
Europe.

There could be several reasons for this relatively low uptake. It is more
than possible that European researchers, eager to advance their careers, do not
see developing countries as attractive science and technology destinations. On
the other hand, in view of the critical skills shortages, faced with losing
their researchers for periods of up to three years at a time, organisations in
developing countries are also not very enthusiastic to participate.

Perhaps the answer is for Africa and Europe to agree on strategies which
could, for example, provide for shorter-term exchanges to ensure greater
researcher mobility between the two continents. And clearly, Africa has a
responsibility to market its R&D attractions better to potential EU
fellows. My country has certainly benefited greatly from global R&D
partnerships, most significantly with the European Union.

According to the OECD, the level of R&D funding for South Africa from
abroad is the highest of all non-OECD countries considered in the 2008 report,
at 13,6 percent. It is thought this could be attributed to South Africa's
special position and competence as a host for major international medical,
biological and astronomical research undertakings such as the African office of
the European Developing Country Clinical Trials Partnership, the International
Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology component in Cape Town, and
the Southern Africa Large Telescope. South Africa is also one of the most
successful developing country participants in the European Union's Framework
Programme.

The internationalisation of South African research during the first 15 years
of our democracy, and the bolstering of our science and technology capacities
to support our national growth and development programmes, owes much to our
partnership with Europe. We want to thank you for that.

EU interventions such as the Sector Budget Support, from which the South
African Department of Science and Technology (DST) is receiving support for its
S&T for poverty alleviation programmes, also serves as a productive example
of Africa-EU co-operation.

We believe channelling the European Development Fund to deserving science
and technology programmes, as part of the EU's co-operation with the African
Regional Economic Communities, could have a big impact on African development.
We hope this forum will put its weight behind this and many other initiatives
you have with developing countries.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
4 March 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)