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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
INNOVATION POLICY
REFORMATION TRENDS IN
TRANSITION COUNTRIES ON
THE MODEL OF ARMENIA
Tigran ARZUMANYAN
2nd PhD School on Innovation and Economic
Development: Globelics Academy 2005,
Lisbon, Portugal
23 May – 4 June, 2005
A LITTLE HISTORY ...
• During the Soviet period Armenia
developed a ramified and actively
operating system of research and
technological institutions.
• These capabilities were oriented to a
significant degree toward supporting the
Soviet military-industrial complex and
most of research institutions were well
financed directly from Moscow.
After the collapse of the USSR...
• The difficulties of a transition period,
worsening of the economic situation,
destruction of previous economic, scientific
and other connections, sharp decrease of a
demand for a traditional Armenian
production (including intellectual) have
unavoidably led to the sufficient reduction in
the activities of many scientific and technical
subdivisions and relevant S&T capacious
productions/industries.
PROBLEMS FACED
 reduced budget allocations to R&D, mainly
used for salaries and covering growing
operating costs;
 sharp reduction of total number of research
staff and slowdown of inflow of young
specialists to science and technology resulting
in deficiency of practicing scientists in the 2540 age bracket;
 emigration of qualified Armenian specialists
to the developed foreign countries or other
sectors of the economy.
0,6
0,5
DYNAMICS OF GERD/GDP %
(1990-2002)
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,3
0,2
0,3
0,2
0,2
0,1
0,2
0,1
0,1
0
1990
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Source: National Statistical Service of Armenia, 2003. Statistical Yearbook of Armenia,
www.armstat.am
FINANCIAL ALLOCATIONS TO R&D
Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D
• (GERD) was 0,2 % of GDP in 2002
• In 2002 GDP was around 50% of GDP
1990 in nominal values;
• Governmental funds according to type
of activity:
– about 70% to basic research
– about 27% to applied research
– about 3% to experimental developments
NUMBER OF R&D INSTITUTIONS
(1991-2003)
140
120
124 122
101
100
80
94
96
82
73
88
91
96
99
60
40
46
44
20
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Source: National Statistical Service of Armenia, 2004. Statistical Yearbook of Armenia,
www.armstat.am
NUMBER OF RESEARCH PERSONNEL
(1997-2003)
25000
20000
20000
15000
10000
7716 8133
6528 7309 6965 6737 6277
5000
0
1990 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Source: National Statistical Service of Armenia, 2004. Statistical Yearbook of Armenia,
www.armstat.am
S&T INFRASTRUCTURE
Parliamentary
Commission for
Science
University
R&D
Subordinated
R&D Institutes
Source: Compiled by the author
Department of
Science Ministry
of Education and
Science
Science
Departments
of Relevant
Branch
Ministries
Presidium of
National
Academy of
Sciences
R&D
Institutes
MAIN R&D INSTITUTIONS OF ARMENIA
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
- Total number of Institutes - 40
Including:
• Division of Physical, Mathematical &
Technical Sciences - 13 Institutes, in the fields
of ICT, Physics, Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics,
Radiophysics &Electronics, Geophysics,
Engineering Seismology, Mechanics,
Mathematics, Geological Sciences, etc.
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (2)
• Division of Natural Sciences - 16 Institutes,
in the fields of:
Biotechnology, Medical Genetics, Environmental
Studies, Neurochemistry, Chemical Physics; Fine
Organic, General and Inorganic Chemistry,
Microbiology, Physiology, Ichthyology, Zoology,
Physiology, Hydroponics, Botany, etc.
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (3)
• Division of Humanities and Social Sciences 11 Institutes, in the fields of:
Archaeology, Ethnography, Oriental Studies,
Philosophy, Sociology, Law, Economics,
History, Armenian Studies, Art History,
Linguistics, etc.
•
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND
SCIENCE
20 national universities supervised by
the Ministry of Education & Science
including:
Yerevan State University, Medical University,
Engineering University, Agricultural Academy, etc.
• About 70 private universities established during
last years
OTHER BRANCH R&D INSTITUTIONS
• Ministry of Trade & Economic Development
About 40 institutes (Yerevan Physics Institute,
Institute of Biotechnology, Institute of Opticphysical Measurement, Institute of Applied
Chemistry, etc.)
• Ministry of Health Care
10 institutes involved in various medical research
• Ministry of Agriculture
6 institutes
RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE
BODIES
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & SCIENCE
• Responsible for general S&T policy
making in the country
• Management of Universities’ R&D
• Institutional & project based
distribution of budget funding to all
R&D institutions based on the decision
of Expert Commissions (Peer review)
MEMBERS OF EXPERT COMMISSIONS
• Experts from each R&D Institution &
University
• Scientific Councils of R&D Institutes and
Universities elect experts
Problems
• Impartiality of decision-making is
questionable (conflict of interests)
• Need for involvement of independent
experts
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
The Law assigns the Academy to:
• Manage R&D Institutes of NAS RA
• Coordinate basic research carried out
throughout Armenia
• Act as official scientific consultant to the
highest governing bodies of the country,
proposals of which in the field of S&T are
to be necessarily taken into discussion.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN S&T&I
•
During last years Armenian Government
initiated steps to improve the situation and
declared S&T and Innovation Policy as priority
area for development.
•
Law on Scientific & Technological Activity
adopted in 2000 to regulate interrelations between
research & technological organizations, state
bodies and consumers of research outcomes. It
states the need for promoting innovation and
commercialization of research outcomes as main
factor of economic growth.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN S&T (2)
• In 2002 the Government also specified main
scientific directions as priority areas for
development as follows:
– Armenian Studies;
– Information Technologies
– Basic research promoting applied research of vital
importance
– Advanced Technologies (Biotechnology &
Nanotechnology)
– New Energy Sources and New Materials
– Risk Factors & Human Health
PROBLEMS
• Absence of S&T&I coordinating body at the highest
governmental level;
• Status of the academic institutes as non-commercial
organizations as restricting factor to commercialization of
R&D results;
• The measures undertaken are mostly of declarative
character and don’t provide real mechanisms for achieving
the stated objectives;
• Declared priority areas are very general and hardly to be
developed all together by scarce funds allocated for R&D.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN S&T (4)
Along with stated problems certain positive trends
can be observed:
• According to officials, growth in IT sales has been
nearly 20% per year during last years, accounting
for 2% of the GDP (about $ 50 million USD in
export revenues in 2003).
• Around 200 small private software companies
have emerged in recent years, working primarily
through outsourcing contracts with large Western
software firms.
SUCCESS STORIES
• Enterprise Incubator Foundation founded in 2002
to assist:
• Building successful business incubation mechanisms
for IT start-ups.
• Stimulate growth in IT sector by providing interrelated
services;
• Drive Armenian technology products to international
market;
• Attract foreign investments.
SUCCESS STORIES (2)
• Open Source Armenia, initiated in 2003
• The project in Armenia in the IT area aimed at
developing a community of IT professionals and
exposing their potential to the world.
• Provide organizational, legal, technical,
management, marketing and financial support for
the OSA open-source software projects.
• Encourage development of hi-tech enterprises in
the country.
SUCCESS STORIES (3)
•
Viasphere Technopark
• State-of-the-art technology park located in
Yerevan providing infrastructure to local startups
and ICT companies worldwide looking to extend
their core development offshore;
• Currently houses several US-based subsidiaries
developing advanced technologies in variety of
ICT fields.
CONCLUSIONS
• To ensure further development of S&T and
Innovation processes in Armenia urgent
reformation of the whole system is needed.
• Establishment of coordinating body (Council on
S&T&I ) to develop system reformation
recommendations and carry out enforcement;
• Creation of special state programmes directed to
promoting academy-university-industry
cooperation;
CONCLUSIONS (2)
• With presently available resources it seems to be
very difficult for Armenia to sustain its robust and
huge R&D infrastructure, particularly, in the field
of basic research with sometimes overlapping
research activities. This necessitates some
realignment of the overall governmental research
structure with the concentration of available
resources for establishment of a few centers of
excellence in the declared priority areas.
Armenia is a small country but it has a
striking landscape and it contains
some awesome vistas
M
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NORAVANQ MONASTRY -XII-XIV AD
Yerevan by night
THANK YOU!
Tigran Arzumanyan
Foreign Relations Department,
National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law
E-mail:[email protected]