Canadian Group Examines National S&T Strategies

Canada's innovation economy is at a critical junction, one that will require policymakers to choose what they want out of their science and technology (S&T) investments, according to a new study. The Toronto Region Research Alliance recently published a report that provides an analysis of S&T strategies in 10 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Israel, the Netherlands, India, various African initiatives, Germany and Finland. Each of these national S&T strategies are examined through the lens of the basic motivations behind their investments and how they relate to the policies that have been put in place. The report is intended to promote discussion in Canada about what the country needs from its S&T plan and how those needs can best be translated into effective policies.

The authors place the 10 national strategies into five categories. These include:

• Stay Ahead — The United States and United Kingdom have integrated innovation into their national economic development strategy in order to combat growing competition from up-and-coming countries.
• Get Ahead — China and South Korea are spending substantially to modernize their innovation systems and toughening intellectual property laws. These countries hope to "leapfrog" the competition by investing in the newest research technologies.
• Exploit Existing Strengths — Israel and the Netherlands focus on high-tech industries where they have already experienced some success.
• Address Points of Pain — India and African Initiatives have used their S&T strategies to identify social needs that could be alleviated by technology investment. These plans also focus on satisfying local business and consumer demand.
• National Prosperity — Germany and Finland use S&T investment to drive productivity and sustain economic growth. The focus is less on competing internationally and more on making domestic industries more resilient and prosperous.

These categories are presented to promote conversation about Canada's approach to science and technology policy. The authors do not assign Canada a category, but encourage readers and policymakers to consider the country's current investments and position in the world economy. They also provide an overview of the "key drivers of innovation," which in this case are the obstacles and goals that motivate national S&T investment, in each of the countries covered in the report. In Canada, these include weak productivity, weak business innovation, low business R&D expenditures and an over-reliance on the natural resources sector. The report points out that the country's first S&T strategy was implemented in 1997 as a response to the exodus of Canadian scientists to the U.S.. Now, however, Canada has globally-recognized research institutes, which can be leveraged to build a stronger innovation economy.

U.S. drivers of innovation, as identified in the report, include a rapid decline in S&T rank, anxiety about strong S&T strategies around the world, the need for a low-carbon and foreign energy independent economy, national security, deficiencies in the education system and health care costs. The report also provides a short list of Canada's key S&T areas, including environmental S&T, clean energy technologies, information and communication technologies, and health research and life sciences.

TRRA is seeking input on the kind of approach Canada should take in the future, and provides an email address in the report's conclusion where readers can forward their thoughts.

Read the The Race for Global Leadership in Innovation: An Analysis of National R&D Strategies (requires registration to print or download) at: http://issuu.com/torontoresearch/docs/trra_the_race_for_global_leadership_in_innovation-.