The Global Innovation Index 2012

cHApTEr 8
An Integrated Policy Approach in Science, Technology, and Innovation for
Sustainable Development: A UNESCO Idea in Action
irina BoKoVa, uNEScO
The first Director-General of
the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) was the leading scientist
Julian Huxley, who lobbied successfully
to include the ‘S’ for scientific
cooperation to the mandate
of the Organization in 1945. Since
then, science has taken a central
place in UNESCO’s work of building
international scientific cooperation
for lasting peace and sustainable
development. Science holds
answers to key questions we must
address today—questions about
sustainable and inclusive development
and about the resilience of
our societies. UNESCO’s role is to
support Member States in building
the knowledge societies we
need for the century ahead. This
is especially important at a time of
global change, as countries work
to reach the internationally agreed
Millennium Development Goals by
2015 and the international community
debates the shape of a post-2015
global development agenda.
For UNESCO, science must lie
at the heart of the new agenda for
sustainable development. Science,
technology, and innovation (STI)
are especially important drivers. In
2011, UNESCO established a High
Panel on Science and Technology
for Development composed of eminent
scholars, decision makers, and
intellectuals from all regions of the
world, with the aim of charting new
ways to address common challenges
facing humanity in the 21st century.
The panel has led an in-depth reflection
and proposes new strategies and
initiatives on how the international
community can cooperate more
effectively and strengthen its efforts
to use STI for sustainable development
and a culture of peace.
There are signs that STI is
increasingly recognized as fundamental
to achieving sustainable
development. A number of developed
and developing countries have
drawn on STI to improve production
and productivity of agriculture
and industries, to meet healthcare
needs, and to overcome environmental
challenges. However,
many developing countries have
not yet harnessed the power of STI
as an engine of long-term development.
Some developing countries
have not yet established a national
STI development plan, while others
are working with plans that are
out of date. This is true for a number
of African countries that formulated
science and technology policies
in the 1970s and 1980s, when development
imperatives and technological
opportunities were very different
than they are today.1
UNESCO is helping Member
States to address these problems. Our
action is guided by the goal of integration.
We have developed an integrated
approach that builds on four
pillars in order to integrate STI into
the broader framework of national
development plans. The first pillar
is to strengthen national capacities
in STI policy formulation, evaluation,
and implementation. The second
pillar is to promote a culture of
innovation by facilitating appropriate
innovation ecosystems for firmbased
high-technology innovation
and grassroots innovation. Our goals
in this pillar are primarily to develop
appropriate technologies to meet the
needs of the economically disadvantaged.
Third, UNESCO promotes
the enhancement of human and
institutional capacities in science and
engineering. The last pillar of this
integrated approach is to improve
STI system monitoring and foresight
by developing multi-dimensional,
comprehensive, and policy-relevant
assessments.
Strengthening national STI systems and
policies
Supporting science policy has always
been a focus for UNESCO. Our
goal in this area is to build national
capacities for STI planning, evaluation,
and reform to support an
enabling environment for sustainable
development.
To build knowledge societies,
it is essential to integrate STI into
national development policies and
the economic reform agendas of
countries. To this end, UNESCO
supports its Member States in developing
new approaches for the formulation
of science policies by providing
technical assistance in the reform
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THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX 2012 8: A UNESCO Idea in Action