TMCD’s director Professor Xiaolan Fu has just addressed a UN General Assembly meeting on Fostering science technology & innovation in New York, where she told delegates that development of technological and innovation capabilities should be a priority of the post-2015 development agenda.

Professor Fu told world leaders that product, management, process and marketing innovation in many middle-income countries is beginning to catch up with that in the rich nations. The share of patents and technical journal articles originating in middle-income countries has increased steadily over the last thirty years, whilst the percentage of GDP invested in R&D expenditure in BRIC countries - especially in China - has shot up since the mid 1990s.

She presented evidence that innovation is also present within businesses in low-income countries but their potential for greater innovation is constrained by factors outside their control - like lack of skills and finance as well as inadequate collaboration and limited international technology transfers - making it harder for businesses to innovate.
 She proposed a variety of national and international policy measures that could provide better support for business innovation in low and middle income economies -   for example public/private sector collaboration and using green technology as a driver as well as international collaboration in training and networking. 

Click here to read Professor Fu's presentation.