The Global Innovation Index 2012

egan to publish monographs on
STI policy analysis. These must
be seen in combination with the
UNESCO Science Report, published
every five years, which presents the
state of affairs in STI worldwide.
In addition, UNESCO has led the
Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems
(EOLSS), which is an Internetbased
encyclopaedia for use by natural
and social scientists, engineers,
economists, educators, university
students and professors, and conservationists
as well as policy makers.
UNESCO’s publication Engineering:
Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for
Development is also important in presenting
a global picture of engineering
issues, applications and innovation,
infrastructure, capacity building,
and education. As the first international
report on the status of engineering
ever produced, it explores
the realities of the shortages of engineers
in developing countries. The
report estimates that some 2.5 million
new engineers and technicians
will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa
alone if the region is to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals of
improved access to clean water and
sanitation.
To strengthen the dissemination
of STI policy data and information,
UNESCO has supported the
establishment of the International
Research and Training Centre for
S&T Strategy in Beijing (China) as
a category 2 centre under the auspices
of UNESCO. The focus of the
centre falls on conducting research,
offering professional training, providing
policy advice, facilitating
technology transfers, and promoting
international cooperation and
exchanges in STI policy.
We must do more to measure
the impact of STI on development
to provide a solid basis for formulating
sharper national STI strategies.
The absence of relevant indicators is
a major obstacle for the design and
implementation of science and STI
policies, especially in developing
countries. To tackle this challenge,
UNESCO has recently launched two
initiatives: the Science, Technology
and Innovation Global Assessment
Programme (STIGAP) and the
Global Observatory on Science,
Technology and Innovation Policy
Instruments (GOSPIN).
These initiatives are complementary.
STIGAP is designed to
strengthen conventional STI monitoring
systems by adding a bottomup
approach to fill in the gaps in the
global assessment of STI. STIGAP
will broaden the scope of STI data
collection to develop more relevant
and country-specific data. This
broader scope will enable countries
to make more informed decisions
on the development of STI. It will
also facilitate a finer assessment of
the development of STI at the international,
regional, and national levels
and expand STI monitoring by
including countries with less-developed
STI policies. GOSPIN is an
STI policy cluster of databases. It
is equipped with graphics and analytical
tools to provide information
about the structures of STI national
systems and descriptions of national
priorities and goals, legal frameworks,
operational policy instruments,
and international cooperation
strategies. Together, STIGAP
and GOSPIN provide an integrated
perspective on data collection and
analysis as well as on the methodology
and kind of data that are collected.
The overall aim is to better
evaluate and analyse STI developments
in order to recommend evidence-based
STI policies. In 2012,
STIGAP and GOSPIN were tested
in Tanzania, and we are working to
establish the necessary framework of
a multilingual platform of GOSPIN
in Africa.
Foresight is important to support
government and industry
with the information required for
timely decisions and strategic planning.
Foresight allows for more
robust policies and greater precision
in research choices. For these reasons,
most developed countries are
already using foresight to chart their
national development. UNESCO is
encouraging all Member States to
develop foresight capacities as part
of their STI monitoring and evaluation
system.
Conclusion
STI can be a game changer for countries
pursuing sustainable development
over the long term. In a number
of developing countries, STI
already contributes significantly to
economic growth and industrial
dynamism. However, too many
developing countries must still overcome
steep obstacles before they are
able to harness the benefits of STI.
UNESCO’s integrated approach
provides a strong answer to this
challenge.
Our approach seeks to improve
national capacities in STI policy
formulation, implementation, evaluation,
and reform; it also seeks
to establish an information support
system for STI policy. To reach
these objectives, UNESCO mobilizes
broad-based participation in
STI policy within governments and
throughout civil society and the private
sector, including marginalized
groups. All women and men must
have the tools and ability to participate
in national STI.
We focus on the development of
a culture of innovation—promoting
firm-based innovation through science
parks and technology business
incubators and supporting grassroots
innovation from local communities.
Education is a core pillar of
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THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX 2012 8: A UNESCO Idea in Action