SciDev.Net

Vaccination for infectious diseases is a vital method of prophylaxis, and has transformed modern medicine. By contrast, research into vaccines against chronic diseases has been less successful, in part because of the increased complexity involved.

In this opinion piece, the authors outline the prospects for the development of chronic disease vaccines. These might not need to rely on the traditional method of inducing the body to produce antibodies, but rather on introducing monoclonal antibodies against specific proteins — this has so far worked well against Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

The authors outline key hurdles in developing a successful therapeutic vaccine. Safety and efficacy are two obvious ones, but there is a third that is unique to vaccines for chronic diseases. Because these vaccines would block bodily chemicals — such as cytokines or hormones — it would not be acceptable for a vaccine to induce a life-long block (unlike a malaria vaccine, for example, where a lifelong block would be ideal).

These might be particularly useful in developing countries, say the authors. Because prophylaxis with vaccines is already a familiar concept, there should be no problem with patients' compliance, and judicious partnerships between public and private organisations could mean the vaccines are produced cheaply.

The mass media is an effective way of getting policymakers interested in a research issue, but only if communicators are able to make the issue attractive. Ways to increase the media appeal of research policy related news are suggested, as is the need to equip researchers and analysts with improved communication skills that will help bridge the research-policy gap.

This study was prepared for the UNESCO Cairo Office. The key objective was to collect a wide array of data and statistics on R&D systems across the Arab states.

The study was motivated by the attempts of several Arab countries to balance the need to invest in R&D systems with their rapidly depleting resources during the 1990s.

These attempts focused on: diversifying the funding base of R&D activities; maximising linkages between industry and business enterprises and R&D performing institutions; optimising the relevance of R&D activities to client demand; increasing competitiveness among institutions for funds; and institutionalising R&D activities as an economic operation.

The study provides data on the organisation of R&D systems, R&D performing units, trends and levels of funding, full-time researchers, and R&D disparities between Arab countries.

This document provides important — and rare — background data on R&D systems across an important sub-section of the OIC member states and may be valuable for science, technology and innovation policy-makers from these countries seeking to better understand the structure and contribution of R&D in their economies.

This study provides a framework and guidelines for the design, development and implementation of strategies to build an integrated knowledge society and knowledge-based economies in Arab countries, in accordance with the goals of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The study asks what exactly a knowledge society or knowledge economy is. It provides an overview of the analytical tools needed to create a knowledge strategy and makes recommendations as to how strategies might be best implemented. Lebanon and Yemen are presented as case studies, comparing and contrasting their experiences of crafting and implementing their own strategies.

The authors conclude that "moving towards the knowledge society means adopting customs and attitudes that value knowledge as a personal asset, an organisational resource and an economic prerequisite. The region must start moving into intellectual capital leverage, and must strive to create, disseminate, share and make such capital more productive."

This Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) focuses on the challenge of building a knowledge society in the Arab world.

AHDRs have been fairly successful in creating not only dialogue and debate on important socioeconomic and political issues within the region but also catalysing policymakers across Arab countries to improve the state of the Arab world.

This report tackles several important issues relevant to knowledge creation, dissemination and utilisation in the Arab world. It addresses the state of current knowledge in Arab countries; the conceptual linkage between knowledge creation and economic development; the production, dissemination, and measurement of knowledge capital; and the socioeconomic, cultural and political aspects of knowledge creation and use specific to Arab countries, including the role of science and technology.

It presents a five-pillar strategic vision for creating an Arab knowledge society including disseminating high-quality education and building scientific research and development capacity science, and keeping abreast with the information age.

The report is especially valuable for policymakers associated with education, science, technology and innovation realms.

This paper is based on the premise that all countries, especially under-developed ones, need to invest in science and technology (S&T).

It describes and compares Arab countries in the Gulf and Mediterranean regions with others around the world and finds that that neither the Gulf nor the Mediterranean countries investigated possess sufficient human or financial resources to enhance S&T performance.

The paper finds that the role of the private sector in research and development is non-existent and that high scores of Gulf countries on gross domestic product and human development indices do not necessarily translate into high scores in S&T indicators.

The paper also finds a lack of cooperation within and between Gulf and Mediterranean countries and the rest of the Arab world. However, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia show active scientific cooperation with the international community, particularly with countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, notably France. The study suggests geographical proximity, rather than social proximity alone, may also spur S&T collaboration.

The paper is useful for S&T policymakers in OIC countries, Arab countries in particular.

This study outlines the findings of the 2003 TIMSS for the participating Arab countries, namely, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian National Authority, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia. TIMSS is a study of cross-national achievement in mathematics and sciences for fourth and eighth grade students since 1959.

The report provides useful data on each of the participating countries, and compares Arab and international average scores. It includes data on average achievement scores, resource availability, access to computers, the number of curriculum hours designated, teacher characteristics and credentials, and classroom characteristics and instruction quality.

The study finds that while most Arab countries lag behind the international averages, a few have made progress since the last exercise in 1999. It also highlights interesting aspects of this difference and suggests measures to improve student achievement. The document is especially useful for educators in Muslim countries seeking credible data and analysis on student achievement.

This book examines African science and technology policies, using a number of case studies from different sectors and countries. The key theme is that technology is central to development. The authors' stress that African countries must create an enabling macroeconomic environment, combined with effective technology policies, if the continent is to develop its own technological capabilities. The interaction between these two should facilitate technological learning, the building of appropriate institutions and effective technological management for industry and agriculture, both of which are important sources of income and employment in much of sub-Saharan Africa.

This paper argues that conventional approaches to development and industrialisation are not appropriate for analysing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa because they disregard domestic technological progress and learning efforts.

Instead, the author suggests, a new approach based on innovation system creation, is needed for economic diversification and poverty reduction. This should focus on developing human capital, physical infrastructure and formal institutions to ensure that firms in sub-Saharan Africa can acquire, adapt and change technology.

This paper examines the accumulation of technological capabilities through interactive learning between foreign firms in South Africa and local businesses. It asks how collaborative learning can help develop technological capability and how it can be encouraged in South African industry.

The authors stress the role of trade policies in opening up the South African market, which has led to restructured industrial networks as firms improve or close down in the face of foreign competition. They conclude that the experience and capability of local multinational subsidiaries are key determinants of collaborative learning and that, although institutional support in South Africa is lacking, initiatives undertaken by individual firms can enhance learning among local businesses.

This article looks at the factors affecting the technological development and export performance in a sample of garment enterprises in Mauritius.

It reviews the literature on technological capabilities in developing countries and examines market-oriented policies and firm performance, using an econometric analysis to identify the characteristics of successful enterprises.

The author concludes that it is large firms with strong technical manpower, high training expenditures and external technical assistance that have led export growth in the industry. Foreign ownership is also thought to have a positive effect on export performance.

This paper examines the role of North-South partnerships in building scientific and technological capabilities in Africa. It reviews current definitions of North-South collaborations, provides new thinking on what such partnership's objectives should be, and presents case studies illustrating how partnerships in Africa have been developed on the ground.

The author stresses the importance of organisations beyond those involved in research and education and makes policy recommendations based on the evidence presented.

This article evaluates scientific and technological capabilities in sub-Saharan Africa. It also reviews past and present capacity building initiatives at national and regional scales, highlighting the enabling and limiting factors of both. The author asks what lessons can be learnt from previous efforts and discusses the implications for the region's policymakers.

The author draws a bleak picture of sub-Saharan scientific and technological capacity, concluding that the region has not developed the capabilities it needs to compete in the global economy.

This working paper examines science and technology capacity building in Africa through international partnerships.

It presents success cases, including the Biosciences East and Central Africa centre of excellence, the African Economics Research Consortium and the East Coast Fever Vaccine Project, among others. The authors discuss the implications of such initiatives for new interventions to develop capabilities in Africa. One conclusion is the need to "focus on innovation and the shaping of social and economic need, not on the 'push' of science and technology alone".

This paper maps African countries' knowledge base through patent applications and publications. It shows South Africa as academically, and technically, the strongest country of the continent. The number of publications is growing in other African countries, but patenting remains limited all-round.

The paper ends on a positive note, arguing that African countries already possess the basis for knowledge-driven development.

This paper looks at how private support institutions influence the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the factors stimulating the development of such institutions, as well as the approach's limitations and the policy implications.

The authors argue that sub-Saharan African SMEs deal with market failures and weak public institutions by developing private governance systems in the form of long-term business networks. The support provided by these networks raises the technological performance of network 'insiders'. But they also impact local firms outside the network, who have little access to productive resources and become excluded from business transactions.

The authors recommend policy reform to encourage cooperation between firms, mitigate the adverse effects of networks on local companies and develop formal institutions to help govern market exchange.

This article, by Harvard University's Calestous Juma, presents the case for a new approach to economic development in Africa focusing on the role of knowledge as a basis for growth.

Juma says that implementing such a vision means developing infrastructure, investing in technological capabilities, fostering business development and increasing Africa's participation in global trade.

This paper discusses the factors affecting African countries' limited participation in global trade. It points to indicators of global exclusion and describes the institutions, human capital and physical and technical infrastructure present in Africa.

The author argues that Africa's low technological base is due to a lack of dynamic institutions and skilled workers, combined with commodity-based trade systems rather than factory-based industry supported by research and development.

This article is a background paper to the UN Industrial Development Organization's World Industrial Report 2002-2003. It describes manufacturing technological capabilities and industrial performance in sub-Saharan countries and discusses their limitations.

The article includes a review of the factors contributing to poor industrial and technological performance in sub-Saharan Africa, including limited access to foreign technology, inadequate investment in technical skills and technological effort, and limited development of the underlying institutional framework.

The Technopolicy Brief Series discusses issues relevant to research, development and innovation in Africa.

The documents cover capability development, technology policy and intellectual property rights, and consider the implications of globalisation for African science.