The World Investment Report 2005, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), examines the latest trends in foreign direct investment (FDI). It also analyses the internationalisation of R&D by transnational corporations. The report is divided into two main parts, corresponding to these two trends, which are examined for their implications on development.

The report indicates that FDI flows resumed growth in 2004, and that flows of FDI to developing countries have led the recovery, whereas FDI inflows among developed countries have continued to decline. It also highlights the surge in R&D internationalisation by transnational corporations, and the growing complexity of R&D activities undertaken by multinationals in a few select developing countries. In addition, the report emphasises that acquiring countries (countries receiving inflows of FDI) should have coherent policies to promote beneficial R&D interactions between transnational corporations and domestic organisations.

This report by UNCTAD analyses three case studies of 'best practices' in the acquisition of foreign technologies and the development of technological capabilities in developing countries. Through these three cases: pharmaceuticals in India, automobiles in South Africa and aircrafts in Brazil, the report provides evidence of developing countries which were able to develop new industrial sectors and successfully compete in the international markets.

The report concludes that government policy and market discipline played a mutually supportive role in both the development of the industries and the technological capabilities of enterprises. It also stresses that although no easily transferable blueprints for country policy or strategy could be derived from these successful experiences, the three cases provide guidelines on the types of measures and policy instruments that might assist developing countries in making their industries competitive in the world market.

This report focuses on technology cooperation for the transfer of technologies to developing countries as seen by ten member companies of the WBCSD. The report analyses ten case studies and different sectors are covered, including aluminium refining in Brazil; cola bottling in South Africa; manufacturing ready-mix cement in India and providing electricity to poor neighbourhoods in Morocco.

The report makes it clear that technology transfer is unlikely to be effective unless there is constant and clear communication between companies that are transferring technology and acquiring country governments. It also argues that acquiring countries must have a core of skilled, trained people and that acquiring countries' governments and international development aid could be used to build these skills and create favourable conditions for foreign direct investment.

This report published by UNCTAD examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on several aspects of economic development, including technological development. Chapter six, particularly, focuses on the relationship between foreign direct investment and the building up of technological capabilities in host countries.

Referring to the impact of FDI in enhancing the technological capabilities of host developing countries, the report concludes that FDI is not a cure-all for technological development. The potential benefits of FDI for technological development are considerable, but the realisation of these benefits depends greatly on existing local capabilities and technological learning. This demands a strong role for government policy in attracting quality FDI, upgrading local capabilities to optimise the transfer of transnational corporations' technologies and the ability to foster its dissemination.

International technology transfer to developing countries is increasingly driven by special provisions in international agreements. For instance, provisions on technology transfer form an important part in several multilateral environmental agreements. Article 4.5 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) asserts that developed countries "shall take all practicable steps to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other Parties, particularly developing country Parties, to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention."

This special report, which was commissioned by the scientific advisory body attached to the UNFCCC addresses different policy and financial instruments to support the transfers of technologies to developing countries, and to some extent build capacities in those countries to absorb these technologies. It also provides case studies from a range of different sectors, including, among others: buildings, energy and transport.

This report provides an overview of developed countries' initiatives and incentives provided to industry to facilitate technology transfers to developing countries. The report presents the findings of a survey of 41 agencies and programmes in 23 developed countries that offer home-country measures that directly or indirectly facilitate technology transfer. These measures include financing support, training, matching services, partnerships, alliances and support for equipment purchase or licensing.

The report concludes that, altogether, the existing home-country programmes are fragmented, insufficient and narrow in coverage. The report provides a number of recommendations to further home-measures efforts, such as the provision of assistance to developing countries to improve technical standards and certification systems, mobilisation of 'business angels', involvement of developing country firms in complex projects and technical assistance to small businesses, especially in least developed countries.

This report prepared for UNIDO summarises current discussions about the processes of technology transfer and their impact on technological capabilities in developing countries. The paper outlines the process of developing capability based on technology transfer in East Asian countries, identifies the problems that have limited technology transfer and technological learning in other 'latecomer' industrialising countries, and outlines the possible role of UNIDO and other international organisations in addressing these problems.

The report concludes by suggesting a framework for action for UNIDO in supporting technology transfer and technological capability building in developing countries. According to the author, these initiatives should both support the process of technology transfer and technological capability development at the national level and develop international policy initiatives to deal with trade and environment issues that have adverse effects on technology transfer in developing countries.

This report, part of the 'Technology for Development Series' by UNCTAD addresses partnerships in scientific and technological development involving companies from developing countries. It concludes that there has been a relatively slow development of formal partnerships involving those firms and argues the need for government strategies and policy intervention to support network initiatives. It also explores informal partnering through networks and clusters of firms as an alternative way for many businesses in developing countries to become competitive and boost their capability to the right level for graduating to formal partnerships.

This authoritative report — prepared for the Commission on Development Related Research of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs — discusses the implications of recent changes in ways of thinking about research, innovation and development for both international donors and the funding of research for development  The report analyses new views on research and models of innovation, particularly, the emergence of the systems of innovation approach and how these changes present new requirements for donor policies on research for development. It also discusses policy changes and trends at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

The report concludes that the current understanding of how the innovation process occurs demands a radical rethinking of the ways in which research for development is funded and in the strategies of international donors. Based on the understanding that the reworking of existing stocks of knowledge and creative imitation — rather than the creation of new knowledge through research — are the most important contributions of knowledge for development, new strategies should, the paper suggests, be put in place by donors to support these processes in developing countries. These new strategies should see an end of donors' hands-off project-based funding policies and a close engagement of donors with the innovation systems of recipient countries as whole. The authors stress the importance of investments in the business system and not only in public institutes and bodies.

A summary of the recommendations of the Task Force on Science, Technology and Innnovation of the UN Millenium Project, this report examines how science, technology and innovation can contribute to reaching the Millenium Development Goals set at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000.

The report is divided into three parts. The first section examines development trends and the challenges faced by developing countries. The second part addresses the priority areas which demand policy interventions. The report emphasises the importance of strengthening infrastructure and institutions of higher education, fostering entrepreneurship, and managing technological innovation in a globalising world. The third section covers policy innovations needed to bring science, technology, and innovation to the core of development efforts. The report points out the relevance of advice on science, technology, and innovation and the need to change the policies of international institutions to better reflect the Millennium Development Goals.

This report focuses on the role of innovation in country competitiveness. The first part of the report contains the Industrial Development Scoreboard that benchmarks and ranks the industrial performance and capability indicators of 87 countries. The second part focuses on the processes of industrial innovation and learning in developing countries and economies in transition and discusses the range of policies that can be implemented to facilitate those processes.

The report concludes that industrial and technological capabilities are highly concentrated in a few industrialised and developing economies, and this concentration is declining in the former and increasing in the latter.The report also emphasises that building capabilities demands a strong policy support, combining an export focus with complementary efforts to build skills, enhance firms' technological capabilities, foster supporting institutions and to attract foreign resources. This, the report suggests, is primarily the responsibility of individual governments, but international institutions can and should provide guidance and assistance.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) annual Human Development Report for 2001 examines the critical — and not always straightforward — relationship between technology and development. It focuses on the global and national policies that are necessary to promote the benefits of technologies to development while mitigating new risks that might follow them.

The report stresses that while technologies may provide opportunities for development, they can also be a source of further exclusion for developing countries. The paper includes a Technology Advancement Index of advanced and developing countries that illustrates the lack of capacity in developing countries not only for innovation and access to technologies, but in education and skills necessary to use technologies efficiently. The report concludes that in order to increase the benefits of technologies for developing countries, innovations in national and global policies need to keep pace with and reflect technological innovation.  

The World Bank annual World Development Report for 1998/1999 addresses the role of knowledge in fostering economic and social development. The report analyses the technological knowledge gaps and information problems afflicting developing countries and affecting their development prospects and ways through which international institutions and developing countries governments can address these problems.

The report notes that only if developing countries put in place policies to reduce the knowledge gaps separating them from advanced countries, they will be able to benefit from the current global explosion of knowledge. Such measures include investing in education and training and maintaining open trade regimes. It also stresses that developing-country governments, bilateral donors, multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organisations, and the private sector should co-operate to foster institutions to address information problems affecting developing countries.

The Task Force on Higher Education and Society was convened by the World Bank and UNESCO, bringing together experts from 13 countries to explore the future of higher education in the developing world. The Task Force's report concluded that without more and better higher education, developing countries will find it increasingly difficult to benefit from the global knowledge-based economy.

Chapter 5 — which deals with science and technology — says that higher education an absolute and irreducible prerequisite to developing a strong science and technology base, but that the lack of well-qualified science and technology teachers and researchers is a widespread problem in developing countries, particularly in Africa with its very small base of individuals who can create a science-oriented culture.

The report notes that as developing countries having so few scientists, the impact of migration can be enormous and that it is compounded by the so-called "camp-follower" phenomenon. It concludes that it is vital to the future of developing countries that they turn to the task of systematically nurturing — and retaining — their science and technology talent.

The Indian Government appointed a high level committee in September 2000 to make a comprehensive study of the global Indian diaspora, and to recommend measures for a constructive relationship with them.

Advances in transport and communications have enabled a closer interaction between overseas Indians and their country of origin than ever before. Rather than viewing this as a 'hub and spoke' arrangement, the report suggests that the 'web' that is emerging could be a leap forward in achieving a globally beneficial impact of the diaspora.

The report includes a detailed examination of the circumstances of the Indian diaspora in selected countries and regions, a review of recommendations on diaspora issues such as dual citizenship and the creation of a single organisation to interact with members of the diaspora.

This report was produced by the Policy Department of Oxfam (Great Britain) as part of its ‘Cut the Cost of Medicines’ Campaign. Oxfam argues that governments must amend global patent rules to ensure that impoverished people have access to the medicines at prices they can afford.

The report gives an overview of the WTO patent rules and Oxfam’s concerns; describes the health crisis in developing countries; examines the effect of patents both on the price of medicines and on pharmaceutical research and development; explores the issue of biopiracy; looks at what action governments and private companies might take; and considers the politics of patent rules.

The report’s recommendations focus on TRIPS reform and on the need for rich countries and trans-national companies to "stop harassing developing countries on patent issues". They also cover the need for public funding for research into new medicines, and the role that industry could play in making medicines affordable.

(Various briefing notes, position statements and research papers are also available from this website.)

This report argues that agricultural research and development is at a crossroads — one path leads to the privatisation of agriculture and the other towards farmer-led agriculture.

It claims that intellectual property rights (IPR) are incompatible with sustainable agriculture, and warns that sui generis systems designed to boost domestic public research cannot simultaneously attract foreign private sector investment.

The report urges Asian governments to address the inherent threats of IPR over genetic resources, to take a look at other options that would better serve the interests of their people, and to start implementing a truly pro-people agricultural research and development agenda.

This is an in-depth report that intends to assist developing countries in their efforts to adapt their laws to the standards set by TRIPS in relation to pharmaceutical products and processes.

The author presents options for the design and implementation of public-health-sensitive patent policies in developing countries. It examines approaches to selected issues in patent law that may help to strike a balance between the public and private interests involved in the protection of health-related inventions, including those of States, patients, and of the suppliers of health-related goods and services.

The report was prepared as part of an initiative that explored health-related aspects of intellectual property rights and how to further the needs of the poor and excluded in developing countries. It is primarily addressed to policy makers and others involved in public health in developing countries.

"Fatal imbalance" is the product of MSF’s 'Drugs for Neglected Diseases' Working Group — a collaboration between scientists, health professionals, drug development experts, international organisations and non-governmental organisations.

It concludes that virtually no new drugs are being developed for diseases that predominantly affect the poor, such as sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. For example, of the 1393 new drugs approved between 1975 and 1999, just 13 (one per cent) were for tropical diseases.

The report explains that responsibility for correcting the 'fatal imbalance' lies with governments, who must become directly and proactively involved in searching for solutions at a global level. The report also recommends that capacity building and technology transfer projects to increase research and development expertise in developing countries be actively pursued.

The Commission on Intellectual Property Rights is an independent international body that was set up by the British government in 2001 to examine how intellectual property (IP) rights could work better for developing countries. The Commission’s fundamental task was to consider whether the rules and institutions of IP protection as they have evolved to date can contribute to development and the reduction of poverty in developing countries. As the title of their report implies, the Commission concludes that development objectives need to be integrated into policy-making on intellectual property rights, both nationally and internationally, and the report sets out ways in which this could be put into practice.

The Commission's work has considered:

• how national IPR regimes could best be designed to benefit developing countries within the context of international agreements, including TRIPS;
• how the international framework of rules and agreements might be improved and developed — for instance in the area of traditional knowledge — and the relationship between IPR rules and regimes covering access to genetic resources;
• the broader policy framework needed to complement intellectual property regimes including for instance controlling anti-competitive practices through competition policy and law.

The final report has chapters and recommendations on: intellectual property and development; health; agriculture and genetic resources; traditional knowledge, access and benefit sharing and geographical indications; copyright, software and the Internet; patent reform; institutional capacity; and the international architecture.

[The report is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.]