2014 Competitiveness Forum Highlights Innovation
“Our
perspective is that the human being must be at the center of
Development, in order for development to be meaningful”,
expressed the Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development of
Trinidad and Tobago, Bhoendradatt Tewarie, during the opening
ceremony of the
VIII
Americas Competitiveness Forum earlier this month.
The Caribbean country hosted the VIII ACF in
Port of Spain
from October 8 -10, 2014 under the theme
“The Human Imagination at
Work: Driving Competitiveness, Powering Innovation.”
OAS Secretary General,
Jose Miguel Insulza, commended the government of Trinidad and
Tobago for its selection of a theme that shifts the excessive focus
placed on competitiveness rhetoric regarding economic issues, onto
the role of the human being in the competitive process.
In addition to his praise of the Forum’s focus,
Insulza cautioned that when it comes to competitiveness and
innovation, the Hemisphere still has much work to do. “Neither
governments nor the private sector invest enough in innovation," he
said. "Latin America and the Caribbean
continue to have average investment in research and development of
around 0.66% as a percentage of GDP. In contrast, OECD countries
invest on average 2.47% of their GDP." The lack of investment on R&D
and a cumbersome regulatory environment are some of the challenges
behind the region’s poor performance on innovation indicators. As a
region, LAC is ranked at 90 out of 148 countries in the 2013-2014
Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum in the
Innovation Pillar. The Secretary General noted the importance of
collaboration and partnerships as a technique to meet some of these
competitive needs, emphasizing that “if we work together as a region
we can achieve a lot more in less time, for the benefit of all.”
Other High-level opening speakers echoed the
sentiments of Insulza. Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime
Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, highlighted competitiveness and
innovation as key elements for addressing the Region’s main
challenges. For his part, the President of Haiti, Michel Martelly,
ascertained how innovation can help rebuild
Haiti’s image. The United States
Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Bruce Andrews, spoke about how the ACF
began with the goal to improve the quality of life of the citizens
of the hemisphere and that, “so far it has done much more,
especially focusing in the area of innovation.” And the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Carlos Raul Morales, spoke about the
challenges ahead and the importance of collaboration to strengthen
competitiveness in the region, stressing
Guatemala’s eagerness to host the
IX edition of the ACF in 2015.
It is clear that driving the competitiveness
agenda of the Americas is a necessary joint undertaking of all
governments, businesses, and academia in the form of a real and
solid partnership. This is the value added of the ACF, as it brings
all of these actors together in a commanding example of inter-sectorial
dialogue and commitment to collaboration. This year, more than 800
representatives from all sectors and from over 40 countries
participated in the international gathering that included 6 panel
sessions, over 55 speakers and an Innovation Village expo that
provided a platform for showcasing local, regional and international
exhibitors.
The OAS, which acts as the
Technical Secretariat of the Inter-American Competitiveness Network
(RIAC), provides a mechanism for follow-up and continued engagement
and cooperation after the ACF. Since its creation in 2009, the work
of the RIAC has brought tangible results to the Hemisphere. Examples
include the “Signs of
Competitiveness Reports”—the latest edition of which was
launched at this year’s ACF. Now in its 3rd consecutive year of
publication, it has documented over 150 successful experiences from 25 countries and institutions.
The reports are organized under the
10 General Competitiveness Principles adopted by Competitiveness
and Innovation Authorities and Councils of the Americas in 2011,
which guide the work of the RIAC and frame the areas of regional
collaboration.
Given the potential of cooperation in a
technology-fueled environment, the selection of successful
experiences included in the “Signs of Competitiveness in the
Americas” Reports offers a unique opportunity for countries to form
partnerships with participating governments and
build on the successes of their neighbors and leap-frog ahead
competitively.
In this regard, Sherry Tross, OAS Executive
Secretary for Integral Development, underlined the continued work
and impact of cooperation initiatives, including two successful
follow-up exchange missions in the United States and Mexico. The
competitiveness exchanges on innovation and entrepreneurship,
allowed more than 80 government officials, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and
university leaders from 25 countries to learn first-hand about
working programs and model policies on innovation and
competitiveness.
Guatemala announced that the theme of next
year’s ACF would be “Trust, the Key to the Americas: Strong
Institutions, More Competitiveness” , as it assumed the role of
Chair Pro Tempore of the RIAC following Trinidad and Tobago. Jaime
Diaz, Executive Director of the National Program for Competitiveness
(PRONACOM) of Guatemala said that his government is prepared to “continue
the dialogue on competitiveness in the Americas”.
The
Signs of Competitiveness in the
Americas Report up close:
The
publication was led by Trinidad
and Tobago as Chair Pro Tempore of the
RIAC, with the support of the OAS-SEDI Section of
Competitiveness, Innovation and Technology. It is a
collaborative product between the Authorities and Councils on
Competitiveness of the Americas
and member institutions of the RIAC.
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Includes 27 research papers, articles and interviews on human
imagination, innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity,
addressing the current and future opportunities and challenges
in the Americas.
Among them contributions from CAF, SIECA, IDB, Compete
Caribbean, ECLAC, IDRC, Inter-American Commission for Women
(CIM), as well as
several of the key note speakers of the VIII ACF and the
members of the RIAC Task Force of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (TFIE).
-
Provides an overview and a series of conclusions and
recommendations from both Americas Competitiveness Exchanges on
Innovation and Entrepreneurship held in the
United States and in
Mexico in 2014.
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Summarizes the results
of the Meeting of the Group of Experts on Sub-national
Competitiveness (GTECS). The meeting facilitated the sharing of
more than 36 case studies and 60 tools and resources, including
publications, web-based information systems and toolkits,
methodologies to measure competitiveness and examples of
competitiveness agendas and strategies to promote innovation,
investment, economic and social development of cities,
provinces, states and regions.
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Features 57
experiences from 15 countries, institutions and other
stakeholders of RIAC related to the 10 General Competitiveness
Principles of the RIAC. Included countries are Argentina,
Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Curacao, El Salvador,
Mexico, Panama, Peru, Saint Lucia, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago,
United States and Uruguay.
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Offers a Quick
Reference Directory (2012-2014) to facilitate the reference to
documented practices since 2013.
The Complete version of the 2014 Signs of Competitiveness
in the Americas Report is available online at
http://riacreport.org/
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