Science, Technology, Innovation and Wealth Creation: Skills and Capacity Building for Developing Countries

Sir David King

Chief Scientific Adviser to UK Government

World Bank

11 July 2007

Indonesian Tsunami, 26 December 2004

Before After

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22-Feb22-Feb 8-Mar8-Mar 22-Mar22-Mar 5-Apr5-Apr 19-Apr19-Apr 3-May3-May 17-May17-May 31-May31-May 14-Jun14-Jun 28-Jun28-Jun

DateDate

A: Several days to slaughterA: Several days to slaughter

B: Slaughter on infected premisesB: Slaughter on infected premiseswithin 24 hourswithin 24 hours

C: Slaughter on infected andC: Slaughter on infected andneighbouring farms within 48 hoursneighbouring farms within 48 hours

DataData

AA

BB

CC

The FMD story: 2001

21st Century Challenges Population• Water• Food• Energy• Health • Environment• Terrorism/Conflict• Climate change • Biodiversity • Wellbeing • Sustainability

Variation of life expectancy around the world

Political Factors: weak governance

Governance Quality in Developing Countries, Measured by Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) scores, 1999-2005

2.96

3.22

3.49

3.20

3.39

3.19

3.40

3.60

3.40

3.8

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

sub-Saharan Africa East Asia & Pacific Latin America & Carribean Middle East & North Africa South Asia

Sca

le fr

om 1

to 6

1999 2005

Obstacles to African development

• In the past have mainly been due to governance and geography – manifest into a number of factors• Human - HIV and AIDS, malaria and TB,

education• Political - weak governance, corruption,

conflict• Environmental - agriculture, climate change• Science and technology – weak in science,

technology, medical, engineering, agricultural skills

Burden of disease

0.1%

0.6%

5.9%

0.5%

1.2%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

East Asia South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America Carribean

Source: UNAIDS and WHO, December 2006

HIV Prevalence rate, 2006 (% of adult population)

Food

• Imports vs Exports

• Crops should be grown to create stocks and for export

• GM research needed

World water deficit

Source: NERC, CEH Wallingford

Population and Water

• World Resource : 12-14 million cubic metres available– 1989 : 9,000 cub metres

per person

– 2025 : 5,100 cub metres per person

• Population distribution does not equal water supply distribution

Global fossil resources

Source: BP estimates

Source: BP

Solar Land Area Requirements

6 Boxes at 3.3 TW Each

Source: Nathan Lewis

Basic Sanitation

Source: SASI Group http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_map183_ver5.pdf

Net Official Aid, 2004EU contributors

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

$bn

EU 5*SNENs

France Germany UK Italy

0.7

0.17

0.380.30.4

= % of GDP

Source: OECD

*Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden & Belgium

x

Rising to 0.7% of GDP by 2013

The case for untying aid

Tied aid:

• Undermines national ownership

• Weakens decision making

• Bypasses local governance and accountability systems

• OECD estimates that in 2002, tied aid reduced the actual value to Africa by $0.7 - $1.3 bn.

Better quality aid should:

• Be aligned to country policies and strategies for economic development

• Make use of and support national systems

• Be co-ordinated with other donors

• Be provided predictably over the longer term

• Be where good governance is good - unconditional

Sustainable Development

• Each generation should leave at least as large a productive base for its successor as it inherited from its predecessor

Productive Base:

Manufactured capital Social worth of

Human capital these assets =

Natural/Environmental capital wealth of a nation

+ Institutions, cultural coordinatesSource: Partha Dasgupta

Commission for Africa, 2004

Commission for Africa Report

• A new kind of partnership – based on mutual respect and solidarity.

• Good governance

• An additional $25bn a year in aid by 2010.

• 100% debt cancellation for poorest

countries.

• Untying aid

For capacity building:

International Community should commit in 2005:• US$ 1billion for education • US$ 500 million a year over 10 years to

revitalise Africa’s institutions of higher education.

• US$ 3billion over 10 years to develop centres of excellence in S&T.

Source: Research Africa, 26 June 2007

Knowledge transfer and capacity building activity will make significant contributions to:

Human capital• Education provision skills development

• Population growth containment

Infrastructure Development• Clean water, hospitals, schools, Police, government

facilities, Transport on a trans-regional basis

Cultural Development• Attitudes to wealth creation

• Encouraging entrepreneurial spirit

• Respect for indigenous culture

Skills: Holistic approach

• Coordinate international programmes• Governmental and regional decision making in

partnership• Need to go beyond basic education – building up

capabilities in primary, secondary and higher education

• Well-developed approach to science, technology, engineering and medicine

• Using centres of excellence to raise standards throughout the system

India: an example of best practice

• First PM, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru – deep respect for S&T

• Sustained investment in schools, HE and S&T• Development of Indian Institutes of Technology

(IITs), initially funded by UK, USA, Russia & Germany post 1947

IIT, Delhi

Fedorov et al, Science 312 (2006) 1485

383ppm (2006)

Impacts of temperature rise on robusta coffee in Uganda

Source:UNEP/GRID-Arendal 1995, quoted in ODI 2007

Darfur

Wellbeing

• Science and technology is vital for good governance, stability and human capital

• Technically skilled population is a pre-requisite for:

– Economic and wealth sustainability; and– Wellbeing