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Draft Report of the Expert Group on International STI Cooperation to ...

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• The ICT and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Internet revoluti<strong>on</strong> have reduced <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> cost <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> internati<strong>on</strong>al<br />

communicati<strong>on</strong> and boosted internati<strong>on</strong>al exchange in science. These trends are<br />

amplified by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> growth in transport systems and reducti<strong>on</strong>s in real transport costs <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> last few decades.<br />

• ICT and internet have also fostered new ways <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> ga<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ring knowledge, leading <strong>to</strong><br />

innovative internati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge transfer models in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> fields <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> fundamental<br />

research. Examples such as <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Milky Way Project or <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Artigo Project build up<br />

databases with tremendous scientific gain. 7<br />

• The research agenda is increasingly being made up <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> issues that have a global<br />

dimensi<strong>on</strong>, such as climate change, energy, safety, pandemics.<br />

• Policy makers are increasingly focusing attenti<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> internati<strong>on</strong>al S&T cooperati<strong>on</strong><br />

and funding programmes <strong>to</strong> stimulate internati<strong>on</strong>alisati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> higher educati<strong>on</strong> and<br />

research. This includes many governments from emerging ec<strong>on</strong>omies, who have come<br />

<strong>to</strong> view Science and Technology (S&T) as integral <strong>to</strong> ec<strong>on</strong>omic growth and<br />

development. To that end, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>y have taken steps <strong>to</strong> develop <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir S&T infrastructures<br />

and expand <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir higher educati<strong>on</strong> systems. This has brought a great expansi<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

world’s S&T activities and a shift <strong>to</strong>ward developing Asia, where most <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> rapid<br />

growth has occurred.<br />

• Costs <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> and access <strong>to</strong> infrastructure lead <strong>to</strong> str<strong>on</strong>ger incentives <strong>to</strong> cooperate and share<br />

resources across boundaries.<br />

• Increased specialisati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge producti<strong>on</strong> globally makes excellence being<br />

located more diversely and makes it vital <strong>to</strong> seek advanced knowledge where it is.<br />

• Scientific knowledge is produced with greater ”speed” and impact, creating incentives<br />

<strong>to</strong> avoid duplicati<strong>on</strong>.<br />

Never<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>less, also within science <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re are still forces counterbalancing <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> globalisati<strong>on</strong>,<br />

such as <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> resilience <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> nati<strong>on</strong>al dimensi<strong>on</strong> in educati<strong>on</strong>, science and technology policy<br />

and public funding, proximity effects in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> exchanges <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> tacit knowledge requiring face-t<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ace<br />

interacti<strong>on</strong>s; cultural and language barriers, and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> inertia <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> pers<strong>on</strong>al and instituti<strong>on</strong>al<br />

networks (Kaiser, et al. 2011).<br />

Drivers for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> growing internati<strong>on</strong>alizati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> R&D and innovati<strong>on</strong>s by firms<br />

A number <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> changes in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> competitive, internati<strong>on</strong>al and technological envir<strong>on</strong>ment have<br />

driven <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> increased R&D internati<strong>on</strong>alizati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> multinati<strong>on</strong>al firms and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> increasing<br />

importance <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> asset-seeking foreign R&D.<br />

• Technological and scientific expertise has become more widely distributed in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

world.<br />

• In additi<strong>on</strong>, in countries such as China, rapid increases in R&D are combined with<br />

rapid growth in markets and income, making it much more attractive for foreign<br />

inves<strong>to</strong>rs for in particular adaptive R&D.<br />

7 See <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> websites <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> projects: http://www.milkywayproject.org/ and http://www.artigo.org/about.html.<br />

22

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