National level institutions and mechanisms to strengthen science, technology and innovation | Financing for Sustainable Development Office

National level institutions and mechanisms to strengthen science, technology and innovation

Governments recognized in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda that various mechanisms can be used to incentivize and finance STI, including institutionalized or ad hoc partnerships among relevant stakeholders, innovation funds, business incubators and international support, and support to the traditional knowledge, innovation and practices of indigenous peoples.

The Addis Agenda specifically:

  • Encourages knowledge-sharing and the promotion of cooperation and partnerships between stakeholders, including between Governments, firms, academia and civil society, including linkages between multinational companies and the domestic private sector to facilitate technology development and transfer, on mutually agreed terms, of knowledge and skills
  • Commits to consider setting up innovation funds where appropriate, on an open, competitive basis to support innovative enterprises, particularly during research, development and demonstration phases
  • Commits to promote entrepreneurship, including supporting business incubators
  • Recognizes that traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities can support social well-being and sustainable livelihoods, and reaffirms that indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions
  • Commits to consider using public funding to enable critical projects to remain in the public domain and strive for open access to research for publicly funded projects, as appropriate

 

Latest developments

Available data shows that new business registrations of private, formal sector companies grew over the past decade across the world. On average there are more new business registrations in developed economies, but with large variations among countries, reflecting institutional differences. All 29 African and Asian countries with available data registered an increase over the previous decade.

New business registrations per 1,000 people, 2006 and 2017

(Percentage)

National level institutions and mechanisms to strengthen science, technology and innovationSource: UNCTAD, based on World Bank.

While overall flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing countries have been relatively constant in nominal terms, the stock of FDI in these countries has grown. This increase in multinational corporations’ productive capacities in developing countries implies greater opportunities for technology transfer to domestic companies.

Read more on the latest trends by the Task Force here.

Relevant SDG indicator