Looking back to move forward: A forty-year retrospective of the Science and Technology Policy Instruments (STPI) project

166 Pages·2015·23.109 MB·English

by  Francisco Sagasti, (ed.)

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TABLA DE CONTENIDOS

Preliminary*note*................................................................................................................*1!
PART*I:*THE*SCIENCE*AND*TECHNOLOGY*POLICY*INSTRUMENTS*(STPI)*
PROJECT:*BACKGROUND,*APPROACH,*METHODS*AND*RESULTS****(by*
Francisco*Sagasti)*..............................................................................................................*3!
1.****BACKGROUND*TO*THE*STPI*PROJECT*.................................................................*3!
1.1.***Emerging*science,*technology*and*development*concerns*.......................*4!
1.2.***The*international*context*for*research*in*the*STPI*project*......................*6!
2.***THE*ORGANIZATION*OF*THE*STPI*PROJECT*AND*ITS*EVOLUTION*............*9!
2.1.***The*organization*of*STPI*.......................................................................................*9!
2.2.***STPI*meetings*........................................................................................................*10!
2.3.***Organizational*challenges*.................................................................................*12!
3.***THE*STPI*PROJECT:*OBJECTIVES*AND*APPROACH*........................................*15!
3.1.***Objectives*................................................................................................................*15!
3.2.***Approach*.................................................................................................................*16!
4.***THE*STPI*PROJECT:*METHODOLOGY*.................................................................*19!
4.1.***The*effects*of*policy*and*contextual*factors*on*science*and*technology
*..............................................................................................................................................*19!
4.2.***The*concept*of*"policy*instruments"*..............................................................*20!
4.3.***The*operation*of*a*policy*instrument*and*the*role*of*the*"policy^
keepers"*.............................................................................................................................*24!
4.4.***Factors*affecting*technological*behavior*of*industrial*firms*................*25!
4.5.***Evaluation*of*the*performance*of*policy*instruments*.............................*25!
4.6.***An*overview*of*the*research*in*STPI*..............................................................*26!
5.***AN*OVERVIEW*OF*STPI*FIELD*WORK*AND*RESULTS*....................................*29!
5.1.***Survey*of*the*country*teams'*work*.................................................................*29!
5.2.***Some*STPI*findings*on*policy*implementation*...........................................*34!
5.3.***Common*features*of*industrial*science*and*technology*policy*
instruments*......................................................................................................................*38!
5.4.***The*array*of*policy*instruments*studied*in*STPI*.......................................*41!
6.***CONCLUDING*REMARKS*.........................................................................................*43!
PART*II:*REVISITING*THE*STPI*PROJECT*FORTY*YEARS*LATER*.....................*49!
1.**REFLECTIONS*ON*THE*SCIENCE*AND*TECHNOLOGY*INSTRUMENTS*
PROJECT*(by*Geoffrey*Oldham)*.................................................................................*49!
1.1.***An*IDRC*Perspective*............................................................................................*50!
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1.2.****Responses*to*a*questionnaire*.........................................................................*56!
1.3.***Concluding*remarks*............................................................................................*69!
2.***THE*SCIENCE*AND*TECHNOLOGY*INSTRUMENTS*PROJECT*(STPI):*40*
YEARS*LATER*(by*Juana*R.*Kuramoto)*....................................................................*70!
2.1.***Introduction*...........................................................................................................*70!
2.2.***The*STPI*project:*background*and*results*...................................................*71!
2.3.***The*changing*environment*...............................................................................*73!
2.4.***The*STPI*Project*under*the*light*of*current*approaches*to*study*
innovation*.........................................................................................................................*80!
2.5.***A*current*agenda*formulated*with*the*STPI*vision*...................................*87!
PART*III:*AFTER*STPI*AND*LOOKING*FORWARD*.................................................*94!
1.***THE*DISSEMINATION*OF*STPI*RESULTS**(by*Francisco*Sagasti)*..............*95!
2.***A*RETROSPECTIVE*LOOK*AT*THE*STPI*COUNTRIES**(By*Francisco*
Sagasti*and*Carlos*Contreras)*....................................................................................*97!
2.1.***The*growth*of*scientific*and*technological*capacity*in*STPI*countries
*..............................................................................................................................................*97!
2.2.***The*differential*growth*and*research*and*development*performance*
of*Latin*American*and*Asian*countries*.................................................................*100!
3.***STPI:*FROM*A*PROJECT*TO*THE*IMPACT*AND*SOME*THOUGHTS*FOR*THE*
FUTURE*IN*VIETNAM*(by*Tran*Ngoc*Ca)**..............................................................*104!
3.1.***The*IDRC*Review*of*Science*and*Technology*Policy*in*Vietnam*........*104!
3.2.***Recommendations*of*the*review*...................................................................*104!
3.3.***Conclusion*and*some*thoughts*for*the*future*...........................................*105!
4.***THE*STPI+40*EVENTS*...........................................................................................*110!
4.1.***The*Paracas*meeting*of*STPI*network*members*.....................................*110!
4.2.***The*Lima*STPI+40*meeting*.............................................................................*114!
4.3.***Approaches,*issues*and*priorities*for*science,*technology*and*
innovation*(STI)*policy*research,*design*and*implementation*forty*years*
after*STPI*.........................................................................................................................*114!
5.***LOOKING*FORWARD:*THE*NEXT*40*YEARS*IN*SCIENCE,*TECHNOLOGY*
AND*INNOVATION*POLICY*RESEARCH*...................................................................*119!
5.1.***STPI+40*post^Paracas/Lima*reflections*(by*Francisco*Sercovich)*...*119!
5.2.***Some*thoughts*on*STPI*+*40*emerging*issues*and*topics*(by*Francisco*
Sercovich)*........................................................................................................................*121!
5.3.***STPI*Cooperation*Network*A*Preliminary*Proposal*(by*Alberto*Araoz)
*............................................................................................................................................*128!
5.4.***Research*Network*on*Science,*Technology*and*Innovation*Policies*in*
the*Americas*–*STIPA*(by*Monica*Salazar*and*Susan*Cozzens)*....................*135!
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6.***CONCLUDING*REMARKS*AND*PERSONAL*POSTSCRIPT*(by*Francisco*
Sagasti)*.............................................................................................................................*137!
ANNEXES*..........................................................................................................................*142!
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Preliminary note

It is seldom that science, technology and innovation policy researchers and policy
makers get an opportunity to examine the results and reflect on the impact of their
work with a long-term perspective. At the beginning of August 2013 there was a
rather unique event that did precisely that. With support from the Canadian
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), FORO National Internacional
organized a 40-year retrospective review of the Science and Technology Policy
Instruments (STPI) project.

The fortieth anniversary of the STPI project identification meeting provided an
opportunity to examine the long-term impact of the first large-scale, international
policy-oriented research initiative in science and technology policy for development;
to evaluate the ways in which the knowledge acquired through the project helped to
shape policy and decision making; to assess how it affected the professional and
personal development of those who participated in the project; and to explore its
implications for the future.

Most of the country coordinators are still professionally active, and although some
have moved to other fields, several are working on science and technology policy
issues. Members of the STPI network have frequently acknowledged the influence
that the STPI project had on their professional careers, on the advice they have
provided and decisions they made, and on their contributions to the field of science
and technology policy for development. Sadly, some of the country coordinators are
no longer with us, but a sufficiently large number of STPI network members
participated in the STPI+40 event, which looked back at the experience of STPI.

The first part of this report contains one chapter summarizing the background,
organization, methodology, results and dissemination of the STPI project, and is
based primarily on material produced during 1973-1979 available at the STPI+40
website.1

The second part consists of two chapters. The first is a report prepared by Geoffrey
Oldham based on a questionnaire answered by participants in the STPI research
network, which examines its impact on the development of science and technology
capabilities of the participating countries and on the members of the country teams.
The second chapter was prepared by Juana Kuramoto takes a look back at the results
of STPI, presents an overview of the main changes that have taken place in the policy
environment for science and technology during the last four decades, and outlines
new research issues on policy implementation.

The third part comprises six short chapters. The first provides a brief account of the
dissemination efforts and the influence of the STPI project over time, and the second
offers an overview of the evolution of science and technology capabilities in STPI
countries. The third contains a contribution from Tran Ngoc Ca, which indicates the
STPI project influenced a review of science and technology policy in Vietnam. The
fourth and fifth chapters present the main conclusions of the STPI+40 meetings in

1 See: http://kind-cind.org/blogstpi/?lang=en
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Paracas and Lima that took place in August 2013. They incorporate contributions by
Francisco Sercovich, Alberto Araoz, Carlos Contreras, Mónica Salazar and Sussan
Cozzens outlining possible agendas and future initiatives in the field of science,
technology and innovation policies for development.

This report gives readers a long-term perspective on the opportunities and constraints
faced in the design and implementation of science and technology policies. We hope
it will contribute to improve efforts to build science, technology and innovation
capabilities in developing countries.

Lima, May 2014
Francisco Sagasti

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PART I: THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY INSTRUMENTS
(STPI) PROJECT: BACKGROUND, APPROACH, METHODS AND
RESULTS (by Francisco Sagasti)

1. BACKGROUND TO THE STPI PROJECT

“I know what I need to do, but how do I do it?” was the question asked by Carlos
Añez, the newly appointed President of the Venezuelan Science and Technology
Council at meeting of the Organization of American States held in in Lima and Cusco
in February 1971. His concern was widely shared by Latin American science and
technology policy authorities, most of who worked in institutions that had been
recently created. This led Dr. Geoffrey Oldham, Director of Science and Technology
Policy at the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), to
embark in consultations with senior policy makers and researchers in several
developing countries to determine how best to design and implement science and
technology policies.

A major gap in knowledge was identified during the IDRC consultations: the lack of
rigorous and useful information on the effectiveness of public policy instruments to
promote the creation of science and technology capabilities. In January 1972 a
meeting was held at the Science Policy Research Unit in Sussex University to discuss
the project identification report commissioned by IDRC. Following this, Máximo
Halty, Director of the Technology Development Unit of the Organization of
American States (OAS), commissioned feasibility studies carried out in Peru and
Argentina to explore the viability of the project and its approach. With this
background, IDRC and the OAS convened a “project identification meeting” in
Barbados in January 1973. The purpose was to design, organize and launch what
became the “Science and Technology Policy Instruments” (STPI) project, the world’s
first large-scale, action-oriented, comparative research network on science and
technology policy. The project proposal was prepared collectively by the participant
in this meeting, and then submitted to IDRC, the OAS and national entities in the
participating countries to secure funding.

The Barbados STPI project identification meeting gathered active policy makers and
researchers from six Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico,
Peru and Venezuela) and from the Republic of Korea, India, Egypt and the Republic
of Macedonia. In addition, it brought together consultants who had developed
background material for the project and representatives from the IDRC and the OAS,
the two institutions interested in supporting science and technology policy research.2

The first research phase of STPI project started in August 1973 and concluded at the
end of 1976, and a second dissemination phase took place during 1977-1979. More

2 The meeting was held at the Centre for Interracial Studies of the University of the West Indies.
Several of the participants had met before, for some had attended a science, technology and
development study seminar organized by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the Science
Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at Sussex University in August 1972, while others had participated in
similar events organized by the OAS, the OECD, UNESCO and the Inter-American Development
Bank in the early 1970s. For a list of institutions participating in the STPI project and a chronology of
activities see annexes A and B.
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than one hundred and twenty researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, South
Korea, Egypt, India, Macedonia, Peru and Venezuela worked in the project. A Field
coordinator’s office with three staff members was established in Lima for the first
phase, the dissemination phase was carried out at the IDRC Latin America Regional
Office in Bogota, and about thirty consultants were engaged to prepare reports on
special topics. Coordinating such a large international research network was a
challenge at a time when neither Internet nor fax machines were available.
International travel, regular mail and telex machines were used to remain in contact,
and the Coordinating Committee met twice a year in the various participant countries.

More than thirty books and reports were produced as part of STPI, and the country
teams produced numerous working papers, documents and policy briefs. Many
meetings were held in various parts of the world, and this helped to build a tight and
quite effective policy research network that quickly spread best practices. The impact
of the STPI project was significant in most of the participant countries, and its results
helped to shape the international debate on science, technology and development
during the 1970s and 1980s.

1.1. Emerging science, technology and development concerns3

Science and technology policy, as we know it, emerged as a distinct area for
government initiatives shortly after World War II, a few years after J. D. Bernal
outlined the scope of the field in his seminal work The social function of science in
1939. Stimulated by the success in applying science and technology to military ends
during World War II, governments in the industrialized countries emphasized the
application of science to promote economic growth, address social problems and
improve standards of living. A 1945 report by Vannevar Bush for the President of the
United States, Science: the endless frontier, proposed a series of measures to
strengthen scientific research and technological development, which were reinforced
by the pressures of the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, and the space race that pitted
the United States against the Soviet Union. Similar initiatives were undertaken in
Europe and Japan, and even in India, where Primer Minister Nehru’s “Science Policy
Resolution” was approved by Parliament on March 4, 1958.

The roles of science and technology policy advisors, designers and implementers
shifted and changed over time, as did the content policies and strategies. In the 1950s
and 1960s, “science policy” placed emphasis on promoting scientific research and
technological development, and less on the way in which knowledge and technology
were utilized in production activities and the provision of services. As governments
adopted economic growth as a primary national objective, during the 1970s emphasis
shifted towards technology and its role in the economy and “science and technology
policy” broadened its scope, incorporating issues such as technology transfer,
appropriate technologies, and interactions between research institutes and enterprises.

Advances in scientific research and technology development opened vast new fields
for economic activity during the 1980s and 1990s (e.g., information and

3 Parts of this section are based on Francisco Sagasti, Ciencia, Tecnología, Innovacion. Políticas para
América Latina, (second edition) Lima/México, 2013.
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