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Versión Español | October 2014

SEDI News

2014 Competitiveness Forum Highlights Innovation

Competitiveness in the Region’s Spotlight in Trinidad and Tobago

“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.

OAS Secretary GeneralIn 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.”

The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, S.C. Prime Minister of Trinidad and TobagoOther 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.

-          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.

-          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.

-          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.

-          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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