Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

to attract a number of invested partners atall stages.Available data show a large increase inthe number of universities, colleges, andinstitutes, as well as scientific researchcentres and institutions of variousspecialisations and capacities. Thesedata also show a growing number ofresearchers, technicians, engineers, andarchitects working in scientific endeavours,as well as a slight increase in spending onscientific research in countries such asQatar, Tunisia, Morocco, and some of theGulf Cooperation Council countries thathave begun to invest greater interest in theknowledge sector. Yet despite the positivedevelopments made on the research andinnovation pillar index in some Arabcountries over recent years, especially inquantitative terms, performance remainsthe weakest point in current Arabknowledge, and the scientific researchand innovation gap between the Arabregion and the rest of the advanced worldremains the clearest, deepest, and mostdangerous.The Arab world’s spending on scientificresearch in relation to Arab GNP isthe global lowest, and its research anddevelopment institutions have weak tiesto production cycles. The developmentimpact of Arab scientific research is outof proportion in its weakness to theannual Arab expenditure of two billionUSD, which from 2002 to 2006 producedonly about 38 invention patents, 14.8 ofwhich were from Saudi Arabia, and 5,000scientific papers. 24 Expenditure in theArab world on scientific research hoveredat around 0.2 per cent of GDP and waslimited almost entirely to the governmentsector; the private sector played almost norole in this regard, for its view of scientificresearch remains limited to its potentialeconomic significance. In developed statesin contrast, the matter is entirely different,with an average spending of 2.5 per centof GDP on research and development,and with 80 per cent of funding comingfrom the private sector (Al-Mu’assasa al-’Arabiyya lil-’Ulum Wal-Tiknulujya, 2008,in Arabic).Rates of Arab human capital flight andmigration of skills are among the highestworldwide. A total of 45 per cent of Arabstudents who study abroad do not return totheir home countries after obtaining theiruniversity degrees because of the Arabpolitical and intellectual environment thatrepels innovation and creative individuals.The irony is that Arab countries celebratethe achievements of successful Arabmigrants more than they do success storiesat home.These facts on Arab innovativeperformance confirm that it is impossibleto remain silent over the need to changethese circumstances if our goal is toimprove Arab knowledge performance anddevelop a positive connection to the globalknowledge arena. The greatest challengesfacing the Arab countries with regard toknowledge include the following:• Modernising the environment andstructures of innovation.• Possession of scientific knowledge andproduction of advanced technology,cultural knowledge, and knowledgein the area of the human sciencesthrough more generous investment inresearch and development and throughsetting policies for the indigenisationof science and the creation of anatmosphere conducive to innovationand innovators.• Realisation of partnerships betweengovernment, private research centres,and institutions that benefit from theoutcomes of innovation, with the goalof improving scientific research andemploying its applications in ways thatsupport production and developmentcycles.FLIGHT OF HUMAN CAPITALThe flight of human capital forms animportant component of the flow ofknowledge in the age of globalisation, andis affected by both the push and the pullelements of its enabling environments.The attitudes of countries toward humanDespite the positivedevelopments madeon the researchand innovationpillar index in someArab countries,“innovation” remainsthe weakest pointin current Arabknowledge statusA total of 45 per centof Arab studentswho study abroaddo not return totheir home countriesafter obtainingtheir universitydegrees because ofthe Arab politicaland intellectualenvironment thatrepels innovation andcreative individualsARAB PERFORMANCE IN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION207