Presentation given at the ICSU Rio +20 conference in June 2012 on the OECD-project STIG (on international governance collaboration on science, technology and innovation for meeting global challenges.

1. OECD Steering Group for Governance of
International Co-operation on Science, Technology
and Innovation for Global Challenges
STIG
ICSU/RIO +20 Rio June 15 2012
Per M. Koch
Chair

2. The Policy Challenges
• Problems are caused by systemic
failure consisting of
social, economic, cultural, biological
, technological and/or environmental
factors.
• There are impact-chains between
the different global challenges
e.g. between
climate, energy, water, food and
health.
• There may be irreversible tipping
points we urgently need to avoid.
• Global challenges cannot be
adequately addressed by single
actors.
• We are all affected

3. The new global dimension adds complexity as
well as new possibilities
• Until recently, global STI activities were mainly clustered
in the “triad” (North America, Europe, Japan).
• New countries are appearing on the global STI arena
– Korea as example of successful technological catch
up
– Brazil (aeronautics, biotech),
– China (solar and wind energy)
– India (ICT, wind energy)
– South Africa (coal liquefaction)
–…

4. The role of
science and
innovation
• STI play a crucial role in
– Understanding the impact chains underlying global
challenges
– Understanding the interaction between various factors
framing global challenges, including the social and
cultural factors.
– Developing solutions

5. STI Challenges
• Single countries are
not willing to bear
costs of action
• No agreement or
comprehensive
mechanism for
multilateral STI
cooperation in place
• No consolidated
knowledge regarding
the strengths and
weaknesses of
different institutional
settings

6. Global research and innovation
governance
• There is no world government
• But in many fields of human activities, global
governance structures exist, e.g. :
– Intergovernmental agreements and related
organizations
– International networks of public, semi-
public and private institutions
– Multi-stakeholder initiatives with strong
influence of civil society
– Private governance, e.g. standards imposed
by lead firms in global value chains
– Private and civil initiatives

7. Policy Challenges
• Develop narratives that makes both
policy makers and the general public
understand the seriousness of the
situation.
• Integrate STI in other policy areas.
• Requires a strategic mobilization of
resources that goes far beyond
traditional hands-off, bottom
up, initiatives.

8. STIG Deliveries

9. The analytical work is complete
• Report to be published by the OECD this fall.
DSTI/STP/STIG(2012)1 International Co-operation in
Science, Technology and Innovation: Meeting Global
Challenges Through Better Governance
– General introduction and summary
– Case Studies
– Crosscutting chapter
on governance

10. Five governance dimensions used in
the case studies
• Priority setting
• Funding and spending
arrangements
• Knowledge sharing and
intellectual property
• Putting STI into practice
• Capacity building for research
and innovation

11. Case Studies
1. CGIAR: Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research
2. Gates: The Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation
3. GEO: Group on Earth Observations
4. IAI: Inter-American Institute for Global
Change Research
5. IAEA: The International Atomic Energy
Agency
6. IEA: The International Energy Agency
– Implementing Agreements
7. JPI: EU Joint Programming Initiatives
– Agriculture, Food Security and Climate
Change (FAACCE)
+ 2 mini case studies

12. The Oslo Workshop on International Co-
operation in Science, Technology and Innovation
to Address Global Challenges , May 18-20 2011
• Participants from all
continents: policy
makers, scientists and
experts, NGOs, businesses
• Arranged by
– The Norwegian Ministry of Education and
Research
– The German Ministry of Education and Research
– The Research Council of Norway
• Presentations and
background paper found at
http://www.pandia.com/stig/

13. Additional workshops and meetings
• Steering Group
Meeting in Korea 2010
• German workshop on
global challenges 2011
• South African expert
workshop 2011
• Two Norwegian
workshops on global
challenges, energy, wat
er and food 2011

14. Planned activities
• An OECD brochure that present highlights from the
report
• A presentation of STIG at a dedicated workshop at
ICSU Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation
for Sustainable Development prior to RIO +20
• A thematic issue of the Journal of the Knowledge
Economy covering governance
• Workshop in London this fall

15. Some recommendations

16. Broad based
approach
• Go beyond “technology fix”
paradigm.
• Understand the socio-cultural
context.
• Technologies and solutions are
more likely to be adapted if the
political, economical and cultural
conditions are addressed.
• Exploit the economies of scale
(specialization and
complementarities) and scope
(savings, cross-fertilization)

17. Diversity and flexibility
• Respect the diversity
• There is no universal solution
to effective governance
approaches for international
co-operation in STI.
• The changing nature of global
challenges requires nimble
governance approaches that
allow for shifts to address
arising needs.
• Implement strategies and
tools for communication with
stakeholders and the public

18. Policy lessons
• Compelling reasons for doing the work
needed to mobilize and legitimize
• A strong mandate supports commitment
and ownership
• If there is no high level political
will, demand-driven approaches seem
most promising

19. Governance
• Need for high-level coordination
• Priority setting, budgetary and
implementation issues must be linked
from the outset
• Structural arrangements need to be
flexible, informal and adaptable to
changing circumstances and
knowledge base
• A combination of bottom-up and top-
down approaches may ensure
intelligent agenda- and priority-
setting, and avoiding bias in selection
process
• The need for adapting new social
practices or habits has to be
addressed

20. National agendas
• Effectiveness is enhanced if
aligned with national
research priorities
• Some challenges run counter
to national agendas
• International co-operation
leads to higher citation
impact and resulting visibility
• Convince existing funders to
orient calls to the goals of
international institutions

21. Funding and management
• Funding and spending
mechanisms should contain
contingency provisions (cp.
delayed payments etc)
• Harmonize funding of
special projects with core
institutional funding
• Multi-annual funding is
preferable. Alternatively:
Create funds within
agencies.

22. Capacity Building
• This is also about building
the competences and
networks needed for future
endeavors
• Capacity building, has to be
included, in developing as
well as developed countries
• Some duplication is needed
to develop alternative
approaches
• Foster south-south co-
operation

23. Knowledge sharing and IPR
• There is no one size fits all solution
• Inventors and innovators may realize gains
while still sharing results
• Prioritize outreach from the research
community to other stakeholders
• Need for tailored approaches considering
research needs as well as
implementation/policy (acknowledging the
two tribes of science and policy)
• Knowledge sharing and IP provisions should
be adapted to each phase of the
collaboration life cycle
• Industry involvement is important.

24. Thanks to:
The STIG Steering Group
Robin Batterham, Klaus Matthes, Young-sik Choi of the STIG Bureau
Ken Guy, Yuko Harayama, Iain Gillespie, Ester Basri, Jana Maria Mehrtens, and René Carraz of the
OECD Secretariat
The STIG Expert Group
Chief Scientist Andreas Stamm, The German Development Institute (DIE)
Per M. Koch
Innovation Norway
per.koch@innovationnorway.no