Measuring R

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Measuring RD in developing countries Annex to
Frascati Manual
SEMINAR WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
INNOVATION INDICATORSGaborone, Botswana22-25
Sept 2008
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Outline

• The UIS approach
• RD statistics in developing countries
• Characteristics of RD in developing countries
• Measurement issues
• Present status and way forward

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The UIS approach

• Advisory Meeting to the UIS ST 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 ST
  statisticians in numerous workshops and other
  meetings around the developing world.
• Proposal for an annex to the Frascati Manual on
  measuring RD in developing countries was
  presented at the OECD 2008 NESTI meeting.

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RD statistics in developing countries are still
rare in some countries/regions
Source UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2008
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RD statistics in developing countries

• Meeting targets, evidence-based ST policy, but
• lack of interest at the level of policy makers
  (low policy-relevance?),
• lack of resources devoted to statistics in ST,
• lack of technical knowledge for the production of
  cross-nationally comparable RD statistics,
• difficulties in applying FM concepts and
  methods.
• weak statistical institutions
• ST 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 RD in developing
countries

• Nature of RD activities
• Patterns in research funding and budgeting
• Professional Crisis
• Concentration
• Heterogeneity
• Brain mobility and internationalization
• More than RD indicators needed

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Characteristics of RD in developing countries
funding

• Traditionally dominated by government spend (or
  higher education) BUT becoming much more
  diversified
• Foreign investment much larger of RD 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 RD 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 RD in developing countries
special types of RD

• 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 RD
• Led by foreign institutions
• Reverse engineering
• Deriving principles from an existing product in
  the context of an RD project

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Other structural issues

• Co-ordination of national science
• Concentration national RD can be dominated by
  one or two BIG projects, impacting on both
  finance and personnel
• Informal economy may play a large part in RD
  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 gt so they can be
  removed
• Identify successes gt 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 RD 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 RD 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 RD in developing
  countries". To provide guidance and
  clarifications to help developing countries to
  implement RD 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 ST statistics". UIS to develop new
  concepts and guidelines to address challenges
  specific to developing countries, exceeding the
  scope of FM ST statistics beyond RD.
• 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
• Making Africa an innovation leader in the 21st
  century

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Thank you!

• http//www.uis.unesco.org
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics C.P. 6128
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  H3C 3J7, Canada.
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