Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

the import and consumption of readymadetechnical products.ARAB INITIATIVES ANDSTRATEGIESDespite repeated official Arab calls tobridge the gap between scientific researchand development projects, theserecommendations have translated onlyweakly into reality (see Box 5-1).National scientific research centres haveoften relinquished, or been distanced from,their responsibility to develop a nationalresearch vision and have left creation oftheir strategic work plans to the politicalleaders of their countries. In several Arabcountries, however, this orientation beganto change at the beginning of the decade,and a number of research centres havenow laid out a national research vision tiedto development issues. This has occurredin Lebanon (see Box 5-2), Saudi Arabia,Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Qatar,and the UAE. Yet these efforts remain intheir early stages, and their outcomes andimpact are difficult to assess at present.A review of the most prominentstrategies prioritizing scientific and technicalresearch in some Arab countries (TheArab League Educational, Cultural, andScientific Organisation, 2005, in Arabic)leads us to conclude that most haveadopted orientations that respondto the needs of food and watersecurity, sustainable development, andtechnological development. Thesestrategies aim to support innovation andimprove competitiveness in sectors suchas the petrochemical, communications,information, and renewable energyindustries, public health, the medicalsciences, and epidemic control, and thesocial sciences. These orientations reveala real understanding of the prioritiesdemanded by Arab circumstances, as wellas close review by Arab scientists of newfields and specialisations in the arena ofscience and innovation.Progress in strengthening researchand development policies requires aBOX 5-2A Policy for Science, Technology, and Innovation in LebanonThe Science, Technology, andInnovation Policy (STIP) plan inLebanon is the outcome of threeyears of work by numerous Lebanesescientists and professionals, andinternational experts. The documentsthey produced are marked by bothan objective local vision and regionaland international ambitions for thefuture of technological and researchdevelopment.Experts analysed the strong andweak points of Lebanon’s economic andsocial forces, as well as the challengesfacing them and the opportunitiesavailable to them. This allowed theexperts to determine the needs ofLebanese society and to formulaterecommendations for the prioritiesof scientific research programmes tobe included in the plan. The reportsof specialised work groups wereintegrated into the final plan, whichcalls for a fundamental shift in the workof relevant parties in the private andpublic sectors and in universities. Thecommitment from the state to establishagencies and institutions dedicated todevising science and technology strategies.National polices must be built, in thefirst place, upon the state’s social andeconomic development plans in sucha way as to achieve the greatest possibledegree of partnership between researchand development centres on the one hand,and government and private sectors thatbenefit from their findings on the other.Research and development experiencein Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, andMorocco has shown that the best policiesare those that are built upon collectiveforecasting and forms of collaborationthat are based on solid information.THE PRODUCTION ANDDISSEMINATION OFSCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGEIn the context of a growing awareness ofeconomic and development challenges, thethree Arab Summits held since 2006 have,plan seeks to present a holistic visionthat ties community, economic, andsocial needs to the country’s humancapacities that are capable of creatingsolutions. It focuses on partnershipand consultation among all concernedparties of Lebanese society in bothplanning and implementation.The plan recommends specificinitiatives in a number of scientificfields that have a direct impact onvarious economic and productionsectors, including a noticeable increasein the material and human resourcesallocated for research and the upgradeand development of infrastructure. Inthe mid-range, this approach will leadto obvious economic results. It willdrive the Lebanese economy to becomeknowledge-based and possessed of clearcompetitive advantages on the regionaland international levels through the usemade of the youthful human capitalthat forms Lebanon’s primary naturalwealth.Source: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Plan, the National Council for Scientific Research, Lebanon, 2006.National scientificresearch centres havebeen distanced fromtheir responsibility todevelop a nationalresearch vision andhave left creationof their strategicwork plans to thepolitical leaders oftheir countriesARAB PERFORMANCE IN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION185