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

educational level <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> local labour force and a well-developed technological
capacity <strong>of</strong> domestic firms.
• Stimulating <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> excellence in local Science & Technology
capacities and providing an innovation friendly environment is key to any policy
towards R&D internationalisation.
Many countries have not fully recognised <strong>the</strong> implications <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> current internationalisation
<strong>of</strong> STI. In part this is because <strong>the</strong> full implications are not yet clear, and this is certainly an
area in which fur<strong>the</strong>r research and analysis is required. The increasing mobility <strong>of</strong> financial
resources for STI is accompanied by <strong>the</strong> increasing mobility <strong>of</strong> highly skilled scientists and
engineers. This has implications not only for education policies, but also for a wide range <strong>of</strong>
policy arenas – tax policies, regulatory frameworks and standards setting, among o<strong>the</strong>rs.
Although many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> instruments needed are already in place in most national and supra
national policy levels, <strong>the</strong>y need to be mobilized better to fit into a coherent, systemic policy
approach to face <strong>the</strong> challenges <strong>of</strong> internationalisation <strong>of</strong> R&D.
An ambitious strategy for international cooperation will need to leverage <strong>the</strong> resources and
initiatives in <strong>the</strong> Member States. The Commission should contribute to making <strong>the</strong> Strategic
Forum for International S&T Cooperation (SFIC) a truly high-level and effective body with a
capability to engage strategically in this policy field.
8) Variable geometry should be exploited to <strong>the</strong> full, with flexible arrangements (within
EU and with countries outside EU) including multilateral platforms for strategic
cooperation. Variable geometry initiatives should also build on lead initiatives by
individual Member States that expands <strong>the</strong>ir successful bilateral programmes or
activities to several European partners.
A credible and effective strategy on international cooperation needs to build on reliable
information made available to key prioritization processes. There is a need for more
structured information resources:
9) All initiatives must be based on more evidence- or analysis-based decision-making,
including forward looking analysis to inform decision making about likely trends and
future changes and systematic exchange <strong>of</strong> experiences.
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