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Sometime before the recent elections in Sri Lanka (Colombo Telegraph, 27 June 2024), I wrote about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) and associated Research & Development (R&D) in national development.
In power now, the NPP-led new Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has boldly embarked on many initiatives, focusing on STEM R&D activities and re-aligning those with national development goals. Whether we fail or succeed entirely depends on higher gross national productivity to save the debt-ridden economy and mitigate poverty, malnutrition, and other ills still affecting the population.
Research and Development (R&D) comprise creative work and innovations undertaken systematically and scientifically to increase the ‘stock of knowledge’ and use this knowledge to devise new applications for societal benefits.
STEM emerged as an acronym in the 1990s in the USA and some other developed economies as the cry went out to modernise school curricula and bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics to the centre of education. The move was a central acceptance as a ‘technology-led era’ rapidly unfolded. Unfortunately, developing countries took another decade or so to embrace STEM as a central tenet in their economic drivers.
Developed countries quickly realised that without STEM and R&D, human progress would be curtailed. They also allocated about 3-5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) back to R&D activities. Unfortunately, on average, Sri Lanka and many other middle-income countries allocate about 0.5% of GDP to R&D. Sri Lanka is one of the worst in this regard, allocating only about 0.12% of GDP to R&D.
But it is not too late, thanks to the very nature of STEM. The ideas of STEM transcend boundaries, and intelligent people adopt them to create successful enterprises. It was Sri Lanka’s bad Karma to have successive and inept governments that killed off STEM activities in the country until now.
In the case of the NPP’s political campaign, STEM was indeed a big issue. Behind the scenes, dedicated local and overseas Sri Lankan ‘experts’ helped the NPP to develop STEM R&D Policy packages on Agriculture, Science & Technology, Medicine, Engineering, Education, Arts & Culture, and Social Change. The rolling out of those ideas was successful, attested by the election of 159 NPP representatives to the new parliament. Clearly, people have placed their trust in a ‘better educated’ and professional assembly to deliver the expected productivity increases through workable mechanisms.
The time has come to help the NPP implement the policy platforms that underlie the ‘alternative hopes’ for the country’s development. The Hon. President’s ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative, launched a few days ago, gives new energy and excitement to those engaged in rebuilding our country.
How do We Apply STEM R&D for National Development?
This is a key question. What is needed is a dedicated effort to systematically apply STEM to solving societal problems. The systematic approach (by itself a scientific approach) includes consulting with people affected by a specific issue, collaborating, coordinating and finding feasible solutions utilizing the biological and non-biological resources available. The NPP has now embarked on delivering well-conceived STEM solutions and innovation and commercializing STEM technologies. The challenge now is how to translate R&D that has tangible values into society-friendly results.
The process involves commercialisation, but not exclusively. It is important to note that some R&D solutions are more amenable to commercialization than others. Also, not all R&D outputs are immediately applicable, as some innovations do not translate immediately into productivity gains.
Commercialisation involves developing an idea through R&D to a point where it is ready to be ‘sold’ in the marketplace to benefit people. However, the transition from R&D to commercialization can be challenging. Some common mistakes include inadequate market research, poor pricing strategies, ineffective marketing, underestimating competition, and poor intellectual property protection.
Commercializing R&D is essential because it helps innovation products and services to be widely available, which can have many benefits:
*Job Creation: Commercializing R&D can help create jobs and incomes for rural and peri-urban populations. These will reduce poverty and build stronger economies and communities.
*Societal Improvement: Scientific and technological innovations help solve challenges, improve the environment, create a more “literate’ society and support local economies.
*Personal recognition: Commercializing R&D is one of the best ways for STEM applicants to distinguish themselves and achieve peer recognition.
*Organisational recognition: The benefits organizations and their staff derive from the rewards given to research commercialization.
Governments can use various methods to promote R&D. These include (a) tax incentives to encourage businesses to invest in R&D innovations and economic growth and (b) targeted grants or contracts to support R&D and promoting ‘goods and services with direct societal benefits.
Global estimates of the social benefits rates of Return On Investment (ROI) attributed to R&D are often above 40%, mostly in advanced economies, but are expected to be much higher in developing countries. They include direct monetary benefits for investors (industry) and less tangible, direct or indirect societal and environmental benefits.
It is globally accepted that R&D is essential to nurture the “national learning” capacity needed in developing countries so that they can exploit vast technological advances that are originating from advanced economies. Even in a debt-ridden country like Sri Lanka, the ideal might be to target a GOSL R&D investment in the 0.5-1.0% range.
For R&D solutions to be sustainable, innovation skills must be developed and maintained within developing countries. Many African countries, and even Nepal, have been prospering and making rapid advances through internationally funded STEM R&D programs. The best examples in our region of countries investing heavily in R&D and reaping the benefits are India, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Sri Lanka can learn a lot from these countries, as they also have political turmoils and wars.
However, the further countries are behind the frontier R&D, the more they lack the complementary factors necessary for R&D to effectively contribute to societal growth – notably, the people needed to generate and employ knowledge. Sri Lanka suffers from this deficiency, partly attributable to the ‘brain drain’ over several decades but mainly to the lack of focus on STEM for decades. We must understand this countervailing force well and not hesitate to use the ‘expertise’ available from the diaspora overseas. This will expedite the “catching up” and make R&D investments more sustainable, feasible and worthwhile.
Action on STEM R & D
As I write, I understand that processes are underway to set up a special Task Force called the “National Initiative for R&D Commercialisation” (NIRDC) to operate as a new secretariat under the Presidential Secretariat. The primary goals of NIRDC are to:
- a) Communicate and collaborate with all Government Ministries in identifying the most suitable STEM R&D projects;
- b) Allocate Government’s special funds to immediately implement critical and prioritized projects (such as the Eppawala Super Phosphate production and high-throughput commercial vegetable production for export);
- c) Connect local and foreign investors and collaborators to utilice private funding and
- d) Develop special communication programs in all media types to regularly update the government’s progress and share scientific knowledge and its applications with the public.
The GOSL recognises that existing government services under different Ministries lack suitable experts for rapid commercialisation of R&D. It also knows that the internal mechanisms are too slow to make an impact. There are also severe funding limitations to ‘fill-the-gaps’. Given the constraints, most importantly, the NIRDC will signal a critically needed commitment to STEM R&D in the country.
The confidence to move forward in this regard is highly commendable and should be appreciated by the broader society.
Sri Lanka is notoriously insular and backward in communicating and educating the general public, not only in scientific knowledge but in other spheres, too. As a former academic, I can vouch that our confidence eroded gradually in the late 1980s. The erosion in STEM education, R&D and many other matters of importance to society became an avalanche in the ’90s. It continued at speed in the new millennium.
It is also clear that the NPP’s best and most effective R&D strategy includes efforts to convert research that has already been completed or nearly completed into commercialized forms. I would call this “re-igniting” the R&D flame. Attention must be directed at R&D works that are “proof-of-concept” and those for which market research has been done and show promising ROIs.
R&D products must produce value-added marketable products or services to succeed in the local and global marketplaces. That is the only way to immediately boost the economy and for people and maintain public support for R&D.
A special funding allocation might be made available via NIRDC to be used for expected expenditures, such as scaling-up, land acquisitions, relocations of viable projects, patent protections, construction and repair costs, staff recruitments, consultations, training, paying taxes, operation and management, disaster risk reduction, legal, environment certifications and other approvals.
Also, NIRDC may help the R&D commercialization process by setting up technical and reviewing committees to provide guidelines and support for such services and essential infrastructure and utilities, software, data analyses and virtual meeting facilities.
In many other countries, R&D commercialisation is facilitated by dollar-to-dollar matching funding on various scales. “In-kind” contributions estimate the value of full-time or part-time employees in a project, enabling proponents to estimate real-life costs. The NIRDC is likely to adopt such global practices to foster the innovation culture that it is committed to.
Words of Caution
Based on my 45 years of involvement in gaining and then delivering STEM education, here are some words of caution. On the supply side of “knowledge”, higher quality education, incentives for universities and ‘think tanks’ to produce relevant research for commercialisation are all central to re-inventing an “innovative” society. However, the broad R & D agenda MUST go beyond the ever-increasing demand for commercial products by private industries. The reality is that the “innovators” (like book authors) often get only a tiny fraction of the money made from a product.
R & D in Sri Lanka must also vigorously respond to the needs of projects that may not make money immediately but provide a raft of other direct and indirect poverty alleviation and environmental benefits. There are many such examples that I am familiar with. To briefly quote one from my area of expertise – the uses of the biomass of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Lantana (Lantana camara) for various goods and services in many African countries and India.NPP’s challenge in working on so many fronts in our society that decayed over the past 25 years cannot be underestimated. Even in advanced economies like Australia, narrow government schemes supporting R&D are often fragmented and disarticulated, which makes them ineffective.
The reforms to the national STEM Education and R & D innovation systems and commercialisation of innovations necessary to take advantage of gains from technological catch-up will require a longer-term and dedicated effort. The setting up of a nexus by way of NIRDC, is only the first step. Competence, commitment, and, dare I say, ‘global experience’ are paramount to succeed in this task.I commend the NPP for accepting the central idea that STEM and related R&D are simply the wheels upon which the country has to come out of the mire it is bogged down in. Economists will continue to dabble in numbers, but we, the scientists, know that the country needs more than debt restructuring over the next 10 years. I dare say that I am convinced that the sustainable solutions and national productivity increases sought by the 22 million population will only come from STEM R&D advancements.
I am encouraged by the knowledge that a large group of expatriates and local STEM applicants are engaged in this exercise, helping the NPP and the population emerge from the darkness that enveloped the country for at least three decades. We must all strive not to diminish the potentially enormous gains that the NPP achieved by winning consecutive elections and public trust, as well as their plan.
Former Associate Professor Nimal Chandrasena (formerly, Department of Botany, University of Colombo), Editor-in-Chief WEEDS, Journal of the Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society.
Dr. Nimal Chandrasena nimal.chandrasena @gmail.com
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