OECD Steering Group for Governance of International Co-operation on Science, Technology

and Innovation for Global Challenges STIG

ICSU/RIO +20 Rio June 15 2012Per M. Koch

Chair

The Policy Challenges

• Problems are caused by systemic failure consisting of social, economic, cultural, biological, technological and/or environmental factors.

• There are impact-chains between the different global challengese.g. between climate, energy, water, food and health.

• There may be irreversible tipping points we urgently need to avoid.

• Global challenges cannot be adequately addressed by single actors.

• We are all affected

The new global dimension adds complexity as well as new possibilities

• Until recently, global STI activities were mainly clustered in the “triad” (North America, Europe, Japan).

• New countries are appearing on the global STI arena– Korea as example of successful technological catch

up– Brazil (aeronautics, biotech),– China (solar and wind energy)– India (ICT, wind energy)– South Africa (coal liquefaction)– …

The role of science and innovation

• STI play a crucial role in – Understanding the impact chains underlying global

challenges– Understanding the interaction between various factors

framing global challenges, including the social and cultural factors.

– Developing solutions

STI Challenges• Single countries are not

willing to bear costs of action

• No agreement or comprehensive mechanism for multilateral STI cooperation in place

• No consolidated knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of different institutional settings

Global research and innovation governance

• There is no world government• But in many fields of human activities, global

governance structures exist, e.g. :– Intergovernmental agreements and related

organizations– International networks of public, semi-

public and private institutions– Multi-stakeholder initiatives with strong

influence of civil society – Private governance, e.g. standards imposed

by lead firms in global value chains– Private and civil initiatives

Policy Challenges

• Develop narratives that makes both policy makers and the general public understand the seriousness of the situation.

• Integrate STI in other policy areas.• Requires a strategic mobilization of

resources that goes far beyond traditional hands-off, bottom up,

initiatives.

STIG Deliveries

The analytical work is complete

• Report to be published by the OECD this fall. DSTI/STP/STIG(2012)1 International Co-operation in Science, Technology and Innovation: Meeting Global Challenges Through Better Governance– General introduction and summary– Case Studies– Crosscutting chapter

on governance

Five governance dimensions used in the case studies

• Priority setting• Funding and spending

arrangements• Knowledge sharing and

intellectual property• Putting STI into practice• Capacity building for research

and innovation

Case Studies

1. CGIAR: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

2. Gates: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

3. GEO: Group on Earth Observations4. IAI: Inter-American Institute for Global

Change Research 5. IAEA: The International Atomic Energy

Agency6. IEA: The International Energy Agency

– Implementing Agreements7. JPI: EU Joint Programming Initiatives

– Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FAACCE)

+ 2 mini case studies

The Oslo Workshop on International Co-operation in Science, Technology and Innovation to Address Global Challenges , May 18-20 2011

• Participants from all continents: policy makers, scientists and experts, NGOs, businesses

• Arranged by – The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research– The German Ministry of Education and Research – The Research Council of Norway

• Presentations and background paper found at http://www.pandia.com/stig/

Additional workshops and meetings

• Steering Group Meeting in Korea 2010

• German workshop on global challenges 2011

• South African expert workshop 2011

• Two Norwegian workshops on global challenges, energy, water and food 2011

Planned activities• An OECD brochure that present highlights from the

report• A presentation of STIG at a dedicated workshop at

ICSU Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development prior to RIO +20

• A thematic issue of the Journal of the Knowledge Economy covering governance

• Workshop in London this fall

Some recommendations

Broad based approach

• Go beyond “technology fix” paradigm.

• Understand the socio-cultural context.

• Technologies and solutions are more likely to be adapted if the political, economical and cultural conditions are addressed.

• Exploit the economies of scale (specialization and complementarities) and scope (savings, cross-fertilization)

Diversity and flexibility

• Respect the diversity• There is no universal solution

to effective governance approaches for international co-operation in STI.

• The changing nature of global challenges requires nimble governance approaches that allow for shifts to address arising needs.

• Implement strategies and tools for communication with stakeholders and the public

Policy lessons

• Compelling reasons for doing the work needed to mobilize and legitimize

• A strong mandate supports commitment and ownership

• If there is no high level political will, demand-driven approaches seem most promising

Governance

• Need for high-level coordination• Priority setting, budgetary and

implementation issues must be linked from the outset

• Structural arrangements need to be flexible, informal and adaptable to changing circumstances and knowledge base

• A combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches may ensure intelligent agenda- and priority-setting, and avoiding bias in selection process

• The need for adapting new social practices or habits has to be addressed

National agendas

• Effectiveness is enhanced if aligned with national research priorities

• Some challenges run counter to national agendas

• International co-operation leads to higher citation impact and resulting visibility

• Convince existing funders to orient calls to the goals of international institutions

Funding and management

• Funding and spending mechanisms should contain contingency provisions (cp. delayed payments etc)

• Harmonize funding of special projects with core institutional funding

• Multi-annual funding is preferable. Alternatively: Create funds within agencies.

Capacity Building

• This is also about building the competences and networks needed for future endeavors

• Capacity building, has to be included, in developing as well as developed countries

• Some duplication is needed to develop alternative approaches

• Foster south-south co-operation

Knowledge sharing and IPR

• There is no one size fits all solution• Inventors and innovators may realize gains

while still sharing results• Prioritize outreach from the research

community to other stakeholders• Need for tailored approaches considering

research needs as well as implementation/policy (acknowledging the two tribes of science and policy)

• Knowledge sharing and IP provisions should be adapted to each phase of the collaboration life cycle

• Industry involvement is important.

Thanks to: The STIG Steering Group

Robin Batterham, Klaus Matthes, Young-sik Choi of the STIG BureauKen Guy, Yuko Harayama, Iain Gillespie, Ester Basri, Jana Maria Mehrtens, and René Carraz of the

OECD SecretariatThe STIG Expert Group

Chief Scientist Andreas Stamm, The German Development Institute (DIE)

Per M. KochInnovation Norway

per.koch@innovationnorway.no