Limits to South-South collaboration
Calestous Juma
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Calestous_Juma@Harvard.Edu
'Asking research centres in the more advanced developing countries to help those in poorer neighbours can only be justified on the basis of specific fields of cooperation, not on proximity or membership of the same economic bloc.'
As scientists and science policy makers prepare to attend the World Conference on Science in Budapest next month, delegates from some developing countries -- particularly Africa -- have already been expressing their scepticism of the meeting's value, portraying the conference as little more than a networking opportunity (see 29 April 1999).
This scepticism is based partly on the view that global conferences have tended in the past to deliver less than they have promised. In many cases, the high expectations initially placed on them have given way to disillusionment.
But another reason for their scepticism is the widening gap between regions of the world in scientific activity. One proposed response is the promotion of south-south cooperation, for example by inviting established research centres in the more advanced developing countries to help institutions in their poorer neighbours. This idea has been promoted since the 1970s and has become something of a cliché.
It is a concept, however, that has had its day. Today's world is very different to that of the 1970s. Innovation is increasingly seen as key to economic growth. And in order to raise productivity, developing countries need to establish linkages with leading centres of innovation wherever they are - not just in the developing world. These countries also need to take a fresh look at role of the private sector.
The global knowledge terrain is marked by extreme disparities in the creation of knowledge. The industrialized world generates nearly 90 per cent of world scientific output. Similar patterns of knowledge distribution are also reflected in the registration of patents and other forms of intellectual property rights. Innovative activity is concentrated in the triad of Western Europe, North America and Japan.
These disparities are partly a result of differences in the rate of Investment in research and development and the overall support for inventive activities in these countries.
According to Unesco, global expenditure in R&D in 1994 was estimated at US$470 billion. Of this, North America and Western Europe accounted for 37.9 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Japan and the newly-industrialized countries accounted for nearly 18.6 per cent. Africa's share stood at 0.5 per cent, and has been declining since then.
These figures suggest that any strategy for developing science and technology in poor countries that does not seek to create alliances with centres of innovation in the developed world is likely to condemn itself to a marginal position. Discussions about south-south cooperation need to be viewed in light of this reality.
Another feature of the current global science order is the growing role of the private sector in scientific research. An increasing number of countries are creating incentives and institutional arrangements that promote the transfer of research activities from the public to the private sector. As a result, there is greater direct participation of the private sector in international negotiations.
In such a climate, reliance on public institutions as the main vehicles for technological cooperation provides little prospect for success. Yet in many developing countries government and industry maintain mutual antagonism and suspicion - despite the fact that a country's competitive advantage today depends largely on the degree to which the two cooperate in deploying their areas of comparative advantage.
In this respect, a south-south cooperation model can only be justified on the basis of the characteristics of the specific fields in which countries are cooperating. It cannot be justified on the basis of proximity, or membership of the same economic bloc. Strategic alliances need to be forged between organizations, irrespective of their geographical location.
Biotechnology is one area that offers opportunities for such alliances, for example in bioprospecting. Biotechnology has the potential to contribute to new economic activities in the fields of agriculture, medicine and environmental improvement (see 29 April 1999). It is unfortunate that very few developing countries are looking at biotechnology from such a point of view.
Governments will still have an important role to play, but it will be different to the one they are used to. The state will need to catalyse the new partnerships. And a key challenge to that end will be to integrate innovation into national development strategies, and recognize the importance of enterprise development as a basic requirement for technological innovation.
The first step in moving in this direction is for the developing countries to take stock of their current position in light of major global trends and design strategies that reflect reality. This should be their focus in technology policy research. Developing countries cannot afford a return to the perspectives of the 1970s.
See also Biotechnology in the Global Economy, 2-3 September 1999, Center for International Development, Harvard University.
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Nature © Macmillan Publishers Ltd 1999 Registered No. 785998 England.