Transcript Measuring Research and Experimental Development

Measuring R&D in developing countries:
Annex to Frascati Manual
SEMINAR – WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION INDICATORS
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
18-20 Nov 2008
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Outline
• The UIS approach
• R&D statistics in developing countries
• Characteristics of R&D in developing countries
• Measurement issues
• Present status and way forward
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The UIS approach
• Advisory Meeting to the UIS S&T Statistics Programme
held in Montreal, Canada, December 2007
• Papers commissioned by UIS to Jacques Gaillard (IRD,
Paris), Michael Kahn et. al.(HSRC, South Africa), and
Gustavo Arber et. al. (RICYT, Argentina)
• Experience acquired through the UIS work, in particular
through the direct contact with S&T statisticians in
numerous workshops and other meetings around the
developing world.
• Proposal for an annex to the Frascati Manual on
measuring R&D in developing countries was presented at
the OECD 2008 NESTI meeting.
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R&D statistics in developing countries are still
rare in some countries/regions
Regions
Total
Developed countries
Triad (OECD + EU)
Others in Europe
Developing world
in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Arab States in Africa
in Asia
excl. Arab States
Arab States in Asia
in the Americas
Latin America (RICYT)
Caribbean & territories
in Oceania
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2008
Countries and
Data published by Coverage
Territories included
UIS
215
129
60%
59
50
85%
43
16
43
7
100%
44%
156
79
51%
54
46
8
43
31
12
42
23
19
17
28
23
5
26
23
3
23
19
4
2
52%
50%
63%
60%
74%
25%
55%
83%
21%
12%
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R&D statistics in developing countries
• Meeting targets, evidence-based S&T policy, but
• lack of interest at the level of policy makers (low policyrelevance?),
• lack of resources devoted to statistics in S&T,
• lack of technical knowledge for the production of crossnationally comparable R&D statistics,
• difficulties in applying FM concepts and methods.
• weak statistical institutions
• S&T indicators need to be adapted to
particular policy needs, and need to provide
answers to actual policy questions.
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Selected characteristics of R&D in developing
countries
• Nature of R&D activities
• Patterns in research funding and budgeting
• Professional Crisis
• Concentration
• Heterogeneity
• Brain mobility and internationalization
• More than R&D indicators needed
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Characteristics of R&D in developing
countries – funding
• Traditionally dominated by government spend
(or higher education) BUT becoming much
more diversified
• Foreign investment much larger % of R&D
funding
• Significance of the ‘not-for- profit’ sector
• Funding may pass direct to individuals rather
than institutions; bypassing traditional data
collection
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Characteristics of R&D in developing
countries - personnel
• Researchers with research but no funding
• Researchers with funding but no research
• Much less common than lack of funding (?), but includes other
barriers to research; availability of ‘tools’, problems of ‘access’,
conflict situations etc
• ‘taxi professors’
• Two (or more) jobs resulting in less than expected, or very
variable, time spent on research
• ‘enseignant-chercheur’ (teacher-researcher)
• A contract giving a certain employment status but not
necessarily linked to a certain level of active research
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Characteristics of R&D in developing
countries – special types of R&D
• Traditional knowledge
• traditional knowledge as an object of scientific study
• applying scientific methods within areas of traditional knowledge ie
biodiversity
• using science to develop the products of traditional knowledge
• Community development
• If projects are concerned with development and testing
• Clinical trials
• Of growing importance in R&D
• Led by foreign institutions
• Reverse engineering
• Deriving principles from an existing product in the context of an R&D
project
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Other structural issues
• Co-ordination of national science
• Concentration – national R&D can be dominated
by one or two BIG projects, impacting on both
finance and personnel
• Informal economy may play a large part in R&D
activities, but is usually hidden from measurement
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Measurement strategy
• Acknowledge differences and problems.
• Maintain Frascati standard to ensure, and through
guidance increase, comparability
• Allow statistics to better identify key priorities
• Sectors for development
• Improved conditions for researchers
• Clearly identify barriers > so they can be removed
• Identify successes > make them easier to
• Maintain and develop
• Replicate in other areas/countries
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Measurement issues
• FM issues affecting developing countries
• applicability of concepts and definitions
• structure of R&D systems
• Sectorial issues
• Business enterprise sector
• Higher Education sector
• Private-non-profit sector
• Abroad and international sector
• use of secondary sources (beyond surveys)
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Measurement issues
• Developing country issues beyond FM scope
• Difficulties in establishing surveys
• Data sources: Need to establish proper registers and
directories to provide an overview of the system and an
initial framework for R&D surveys
• Institutionalization
• Interaction with stakeholders - users and producers ownership
• Develop new internationalization indicators
• Develop STA indicators
• Need for studies to complement, interpret and use
indicators
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Frascati manual proposals
• Introduce/define more precisely categories of
funding sources and performing sectors that
highlight characteristics of developing countries eg
foreign investment
• Capture the role of the researcher to better identify
successes and problems
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Present status and way forward
• "Annex to the FM on measuring R&D in developing
countries". To provide guidance and clarifications to help
developing countries to implement R&D surveys and FM
concepts. A task force (lead by UIS) was established by the
NEST to proceed with this.
• UIS is in the process of preparing the 1st draft of the Annex.
More inputs needed…
• "UIS guide to S&T statistics". UIS to develop new concepts
and guidelines to address challenges specific to
developing countries, exceeding the scope of FM: S&T
statistics beyond R&D.
• Some of the issues might also present measurement
challenges for a future revision of the Frascati Manual.
• UIS to further consult Member States to expand and refine
the issues.
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• Statistical capacity building to help countries with
• Co-ordination
• Technical skills
• Advocacy
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Thank you!
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UNESCO Institute for Statistics
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Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3J7,
Canada.
TP: (1 514) 343-6880
Fax: (1 514) 343-6872
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