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Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment, Human Capital Development, And Inclusive Growth Nairobi, Kenya April 1-3, 2012

Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Page 1: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence

Alfred WatkinsExecutive Chairman

Global Innovation Summit

Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment, Human Capital Development, And Inclusive Growth

Nairobi, Kenya April 1-3, 2012

Page 2: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Africa’s STI Challenge

Science Solve

Technology Transform

Innovation Impact

Source: R.A. Mashelkar presentation at World Bank Global Forum, “STI Capacity Building for Sustainable Development, Washington, DC, February 2007

Page 3: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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THE VISIONPractical solutions to

practical problemsAfrica in the driver’s seat,

setting its own priorities

Page 4: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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The Vision: R&D Part of a system -- Not a discrete silo

R&D for Sustainable Development

Higher Education/

TVET

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Policy Framework

Page 5: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

…so it can become an indispensable tool for achieving Africa’s development objectives

Clean, Renewable Off-Grid EnergyFood processing and storage

Food securityAffordable, effective health care

Clean drinking water Infrastructure

Economic competitiveness, job creation and value additionEtc, etc.

Page 6: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Vision Without Implementation is Hallucination

Page 7: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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IMPLEMENTATION

Page 8: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Current Status:R&D Vicious Circle?

• Low government funding

• Limited private sector funding

Inadequate governance

• Insufficient quality

• Low relevance

Limited commercial application • Brain drain

• Limited support for funding increases

Vicious Circle

Page 9: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

More money alone will not solve the problem …

without appropriate incentives, improved governance mechanisms, and well-designed incremental funding programs

Page 10: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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A modest proposal:From Vicious Circle to

Virtuous Cycle

Page 11: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Mechanism: Pan-African Inclusive Innovation

R&D Grants Program (IIGP)

Pan-African Millennium Science Initiative (MSI)

Page 12: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Multi-disciplinary, pan-African virtual teams of scientists and engineers working on a specific sustainable

development challenge receive long-term research grants

Not bricks and mortar centers

Page 13: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Selection Criteria

(i) relevance of the proposed research program to the defined sustainable development challenge;

(ii) quality of the proposed scientific and engineering research;

(iii)plans for diffusing the findings to local businesses and communities; and

(iv)plans to link research and teaching.

Page 14: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Architecture

• Administered by?• Funded by?• Foster pan-African scientific collaboration• Guided by an international scientific advisory

board • Proposals evaluated by international peer

review panels

Page 15: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Questions

• International collaboration• R&D collaboration with private sector • Ownership of IP; commercialization of IP;

distribution of licensing proceeds• Success metrics – Patents? Publications? Other?• Laboratory equipment• Role of existing brick and mortar institutions• Smart procurement/ mission oriented R&D

Page 16: Centers of R&D Excellence vs. Silos of Excellence Alfred Watkins Executive Chairman Global Innovation Summit Africa Forum On STI For Youth Employment,

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Thank you

Alfred WatkinsExecutive Chairman

Global Innovation Summitwww.innosummit.com

[email protected]