The technology and innovation landscape has changed considerably since 2006 when Finland as a Knowledge Economy: Elements of Success and Lessons Learned [see also report 39378] was first published by the World Bank Institute (WBI).
... See More + Finland is known for its consistent progress in the economy and competitiveness, as well as the egalitarian society underneath it. Yet, the challenges experienced by Finland in the beginning of the 20th century were similar to those experienced by many countries today. Finland emerged as an independent nation in the midst of international economic and political turbulence. In spite of its remoteness, relative scarcity of natural resources, smallness of the home market and recent history characterized by wars and social cleavages, Finland transformed itself from an agriculture-based economy in the 1950's into one of the leading innovation-driven, knowledge-based economies and high-tech producers in the twenty-first century. The development was rapid, and involved determined action and sometimes drastic decisions by the government and other key actors. Today, at the end of 2013, Finland is facing new types of challenges both domestically and internationally in efforts to maintain its societal sustainability and economic competitiveness. Finland Knowledge Economy 2.0 presents some of the key policies, elements, initiatives and decisions behind Finland's path into the Knowledge Economy of today. The authors hope to provide the readers inspiration, new ideas, and novel insights. Hopefully some of the lessons learned may prove valuable in another context. Based on this account of the development of Finnish Knowledge Economy, the authors have identified six areas of lessons, each described in detail in respective chapters. The book should not be seen as a scientific all encompassing study, but rather as a "Knowledge Economy cook-book", with practical cases, links and insights provided for further exploration.
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Publication 86943 APR 08, 2014
Halme, Kimmo [Editor]; Lindy, Ilari [Editor]; Piirainen, Kalle A. [Editor]; Salminen, Vesa [Editor]; White, Justine [Editor]
Ratings for the Decentralized Rural Electrification Project (PERD) for Guinea were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low or negligible, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: projects in which private financial institutions are expected to play a significant role during implementation should include a detailed assessment with potential interested commercial banks about the conditions under which they are expected to perform, aligning the incentives of the institutions with those of the project. Specifically, the fees for the commercial bank and their relation with loan recovery should be identified and agreed, at least in regard to key aspects, during preparation. In future similar operations, an incentive related to loan recovery should be established and prioritized in the contract with the commercial bank. The PERD is a good example of blending equity, loans, and subsidies to achieve effective electrification in remote rural areas. The actual proportions of these inputs must be adapted to specific circumstances. During PERD execution it came to light that the proportion of loan plus subsidy required was higher than initially estimated, and this will have signaled the need to track loan payback rates more closely to ensure sustainability of the approach. In recent years, the Renewable Energy Technologies, or RET 'learning curve' has been high, costs have been reduced dramatically, and several examples in Sub-Saharan Africa have become a reality. As financing schemes have started to prove successful and an enabling environment is created, a similar approach could be replicated in Guinea but focusing on RETs. However, as these technologies are not yet commonly used, more preparatory work would need to be carried out.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR2935 MAR 28, 2014
In recent years, services tradability has increased. Services that previously required the physical proximity between the consumer and the producer can now be delivered across borders.
... See More + As technology opens new channels for international trade in services, laws and regulations become more and more relevant in supporting this economic activity and setting the conditions for its success. Domestic regulations, such as limitations on foreign participation, monopoly rights, and laws that limit the temporary movement of people, directly affect the provision of services. Economic reforms that have privatized and deregulated industries over the last two decades have allowed for the greater participation of private providers, both national and foreign, in services such as telecommunications, finance, and transport. Other services, such as professional ones, which have traditionally been supplied by the private sector, are increasingly being exposed to international competition, expanding the variety and quality of services offered. But countries' legal and regulatory frameworks have not kept pace with these vast market (and policy) transformations. Now is an opportune time for countries to modernize their regulatory regimes and reap the economic and social benefits of increasing trade in services. Most administrations, especially in developing and least developed countries, face a number of constraints in adopting this agenda of modernization. First, reviewing a regulatory framework is a time- and resource-consuming task that requires highly technical knowledge. Second, most developing countries have limited skills and human resources to put in place new, independent, regulatory agencies, and at the same time maintain capacity to define broad policies in ministries that are often sector based. Finally, assessing the impact of existing regulations and designing suitable alternatives requires a careful balance between technical feasibility, trade impact, and policy goals. One objective of this toolkit is to help countries mitigate these costs. The toolkit is designed to assist policy makers, regulators, and experts in assessing their countries' regulatory environments. It proposes a three-step approach to the reform of services regulations. The first step is to map all regulations that affect a wide range of activities; this might include, for example, cataloguing the laws and regulations that affect investment, labor, and migration. The focus is not only on formal regulations but also on the administrative practices that determine how the regulations are applied. Many countries have state-of-the-art regulations on the books, but allow wide discretion in their application. This creates uncertainty, instability, and regulatory risks. In other cases, the institutional setting is weak, which undermines enforcement. In that situation, the regulations and their administration might be adequate, but the capacity to enforce those regulations may not exist.
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The key messages for this brief are as follows: 1) Africa has a window of opportunity to enlarge the economic benefits from its booming oil, gas, and minerals industries; 2) The lack of specialized expertise is a major bottleneck obstructing the potential for more well-paid jobs and home-grown supplier companies; 3) Significant skills shortages exist both in terms of numbers and quality, particularly within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM fields); 4) Establishing public private partnerships and regional centers of excellence is key to building these specializations; and 5) The World Bank is supporting 10 African countries as they train workers for the extractive industries.
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The key messages for this brief are as follows: 1) Africa has a window of opportunity to enlarge the economic benefits from its booming oil, gas, and minerals industries; 2) The lack of specialized expertise is a major bottleneck obstructing the potential for more well-paid jobs and home-grown supplier companies; 3) Significant skills shortages exist both in terms of numbers and quality, particularly within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM fields); 4) Establishing public private partnerships and regional centers of excellence is key to building these specializations; and 5) The World Bank is supporting 10 African countries as they train workers for the extractive industries.
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The key messages in this brief are as follows: 1) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related research output and impact are related to a regions long-run economic development. 2) The overall publication output by Sub-Saharan Africa has increased over the past ten years, but not all subregions have grown at the same pace. 3) While relative output in the Health Sciences has increased, relative output in the Physical Sciences/STEM has been stagnant. 4) The impact of research in the Health Sciences is much greater than that in Physical Sciences/STEM, even after controlling for differences in citation norms. 5) Science is an international enterprise, and research collaboration is an important driver of success.
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The key messages in this brief are as follows: 1) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related research output and impact are related to a regions long-run economic development. 2) The overall publication output by Sub-Saharan Africa has increased over the past ten years, but not all subregions have grown at the same pace. 3) While relative output in the Health Sciences has increased, relative output in the Physical Sciences/STEM has been stagnant. 4) The impact of research in the Health Sciences is much greater than that in Physical Sciences/STEM, even after controlling for differences in citation norms. 5) Science is an international enterprise, and research collaboration is an important driver of success.
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The key messages in this brief are as follows: 1) The direct link between Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ASET) and economic growth is widely accepted. 2) Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have made rapid gains in child survival and progress from primary to secondary school; however, just 8 percent of university-age youth are in university, and only 1 percent will graduate in a science or engineering field. 3) This situation is now changing, with increased attention being paid to ASET by the African Union, NEPAD, UNESCO, and many others, and African research capacity is beginning to diversify in response to country demand. 4) African countries need to devise customized ASET strategies that can support national strategies for economic growth and respond to pressing challenges, as well as collaborate on regional initiatives and institutions.
... See More + In doing so, they can draw on rich lessons of experience. 5) Science, Technology and Innovation can be measured by two sets of indicators: Output (achievements in knowledge generation) and input (trends in the enabling conditions for scientific and technological production).
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The key messages in this brief are as follows: 1) The direct link between Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ASET) and economic growth is widely accepted. 2) Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have made rapid gains in child survival and progress from primary to secondary school; however, just 8 percent of university-age youth are in university, and only 1 percent will graduate in a science or engineering field. 3) This situation is now changing, with increased attention being paid to ASET by the African Union, NEPAD, UNESCO, and many others, and African research capacity is beginning to diversify in response to country demand. 4) African countries need to devise customized ASET strategies that can support national strategies for economic growth and respond to pressing challenges, as well as collaborate on regional initiatives and institutions.
... See More + In doing so, they can draw on rich lessons of experience. 5) Science, Technology and Innovation can be measured by two sets of indicators: Output (achievements in knowledge generation) and input (trends in the enabling conditions for scientific and technological production).
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Using newly collected national and sub-national data, and historical case studies, this paper argues that differences in innovative capacity, captured by the density of engineers at the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution, are important to explaining present income differences, and, in particular, the poor performance of Latin America relative to North America.
... See More + This remains the case after controlling for literacy, other higher order human capital, such as lawyers, as well as demand side elements that might be confounded with engineering. The analysis then finds that agglomeration, certain geographical fundamentals, and extractive institutions such as slavery affect innovative capacity. However, a large effect associated with being a Spanish colony remains suggesting important inherited factors.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6814 MAR 01, 2014
This report concerns the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and post conflict reconstruction, especially with ways in which ICTs can be used by governments and donors to support the transition from violence to stability.
... See More + The report is divided into two parts: part one presents an overview and framework for analysis; and part two presents' case studies. The World Bank Group (WBG) has been concerned with sustainable recovery from violent conflict since its origins in 1944 as indicated by the name of its leading institution, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The role of ICTs in development has also been prominent within the Bank's portfolio since the 1990s, as they have developed rapidly in technological complexity and geographic reach, becoming ever more central to government and business, to the sharing of knowledge, and to interactions between individuals and within communities. This report gives an overview of the relationship between conflict, reconstruction and the role of ICTs. It builds on experience within the Bank as well as on a wide range of practitioner, academic, and other literature. It draws on five case studies of aspects of ICT development in societies emerging from conflict, which were commissioned by the Bank and which are reported in subsequent chapters. These case studies were specifically chosen to reflect the experiences of widely differing countries, at different stages of recovery from conflict: Afghanistan following decades of civil war followed by international intervention; Liberia following a negotiated settlement to protracted civil war; Timor-Leste since its troubled acquisition of independence; Rwanda seeking stability in the aftermath of genocide; and Tunisia, which recently experienced not civil war but insurrection leading to a change of government.
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The development objectives of the Telecommunications Sector Reform Project for Myanmar are to: (a) improve the enabling environment for the telecommunications sector and extend coverage in selected remote pilot locations; and (b) establish priority eGovernment technological foundations and institutional capacity for Government to embark on its public sector reform program.
... See More + There are four components to the project, the first component being creating an enabling environment for connectivity. This component will focus on technical assistance for addressing policy and regulatory bottlenecks to maximize the benefits of the sector reform agenda ($2.00 million). Technical assistance will be provided to MCIT on policy matters and to the regulator on various regulatory matters. The second component is the extending connectivity to rural areas. This component will support the development of the Government's universal access strategy in order to accelerate the provision of telecommunications and internet services in remote areas of Myanmar. The third component is the enabling eGovernment foundations. This component aims to support the Government's charter in governance reforms by improving transparency and accountability. It will also place a stronger emphasis on the provision of Government information and services for its constituents as committed by the President to its people. Finally, the fourth component is the project implementation support.
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The Information for Development Program's (InfoDev) "From Mind to Market" approach was designed to bridge early-stage innovation support gaps and guide promising ideas on toward minimum viable products, ultimately turning them into sustainable businesses.
... See More + The approach aims to source ideas from a large talent pool and spur the best innovators to turn their innovations into sustainable, growth-oriented start-ups. The primary goal is start-up creation. Secondary goals include the generation of pools of ideas and prototypes, the creation of basic topical knowledge for a large group of innovators, and broader awareness-raising around a new topic, as well as partnership and capacity-building for implementation partners. This report summarizes the approach, which is based on four steps: 1) the identification of a novel topic with market potential and high potential for international development; 2) the implementation of a broad based collaborative, open innovation competition; 3) the implementation of an activity that forges minimum viable products through face-to-face support at sites across the globe; and 4) the follow-up with a program of incubation and acceleration for the best and most committed innovators.
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In the period under review, infoDev's projects and activities reached more than 100 countries via its convening power, its unique, 'ground-up' approach to stimulating the growth of innovative enterprises, and its robust multi-stakeholder engagement strategy.
... See More + Our disbursements increased over 50 percent between 2012/13 from the previous two years, totaling $15.5 million in 2013. In addition to designing and deploying more locally owned and operated innovation centers and labs around the world focused on mobile, climate, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and agribusiness, infoDev has innovated in testing out new models of startup or seed finance, a critical gap in developing countries today that often stymies growth entrepreneurs. We tried out new models to train and build communities of women entrepreneurs. We developed cutting-edge toolkits, good practice guides, and analytical pieces on a wide range of issues, from the use of mobile phones at the Base of the Pyramid to the development potential of online crowd funding platforms to the link between diaspora communities and angel investing. In May 2013, infoDev convened more than 800 innovation and entrepreneurship stakeholders at our biennial fifth Global Forum on Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship in South Africa. Seeing policy makers, angel investors, development practitioners, entrepreneurs, technology giants, and innovation activists engage so robustly with one another brought home the multidimensional nature of our work. In the developing world, all these stakeholders must engage with one another to truly profit from the burgeoning global knowledge economy. In 2013, an independent evaluation of infoDev documented many interesting findings about infoDev's relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency.
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Credible information about risk is an essential element of Disaster Risk Management (DRM). Thousands of times each year, disasters reveal decisions about how to apply this information to the management of risk.
... See More + When a school collapses during a moderate earthquake, citizens may point to the failure of the construction firm to adhere to building standards, or to the failure of a government to enforce building codes, or to the education ministry that should have retrofitted the structure to better resist known seismic risks. In each case, critical information was missing, information that might have driven a different choice about architectural designs, building materials, the site for the building (siting), or actions to remediate a known vulnerability. Across the disaster risk management cycle, institutions are now engaged in a process to build this stock of information. The aim is to improve the chain of decision making across an entire system, from the donors who fund retrofitting of schools to the parents who need to know how safe their local schools are.
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The report provides a brief summary of the existing Third Research and Innovation Strategy (RSI3s) and specifies the complementary activities that need to be undertaken on each level to fulfill the ex-ante conditionality as stipulated in the most recent draft general regulation of the European Commission, and to ensure strategic coherence across all documents.
... See More + The report also assesses whether the draft RIS3s will contribute to the socio-economic transformation of the country. In the review, the report focuses on several important aspects, including: (i) formal fulfillment of ex ante conditionalties; (ii) coherence of key strategic documents within Polands innovation framework; (iii) the overall quality of the framework; and (iii) smart specializations. As part of the assignment, the Bank and the Ministry of Regional Development organized a special workshop for all sixteen regions to present the reports initial findings, discuss conclusions and recommendations and follow up with regions and voivodships (regions) on specific areas of interest.
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Working Paper 86527 JAN 01, 2014
Piatkowski, Marcin; Szuba, Tomasz; Wolszczak, Grzegorz