Strengthening policy coherence and integration to ensure that science, technology and innovation support the achievement of the SDGs in Africa and Asia

Many developing countries face serious impediments to harnessing science, technology and innovation (STI) for sustainable development. They need to improve their STI capacity, and therefore should implement appropriate STI policies. But they also face capacity constraints in designing and implementing coherent STI policies and integrated programmes. Identifying key constraints, finding solutions and building domestic STI capacity are crucial to promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Objective:

To strengthen the capacity of beneficiary developing countries to design and implement evidence-based, coherent and integrated policies that develop national science, technology and innovation capacities for the achievement of SDGs.

Expected Accomplishments:

• Improved capacity of public and private stakeholders to assess their national STI capacities, with a view to identifying gaps and incoherencies in policies, and to identify priority actions.

• Enhanced capacity of policymakers to design and implement coherent science, technology and innovation policies that align with the overall development strategies of countries for the achievement of the SDGs.

This project includes three STI Policy reviews to assess national policy frameworks, identify gaps and strengths, and propose policy actions to remedy the gaps, capacity building on STI and establishing an STI policymaker network for mutual learning. The three STIP reviews will pilot the new STI policy review framework for country reviews that UNCTAD is in the process of developing to adapt them for the goals of promoting more sustainable development and meeting the SDGs.

The project aims to deliver an integrated package that ensures coherence across various policy areas, strengthens national STI policy frameworks and institutions, and builds STI capacity in developing countries. Key stakeholders are government ministries involved in formulating a wide range of policies, the business community, and academic and research institutions.

It is expected that at the end of the project, policymakers in beneficiary developing countries will be more familiar with both common challenges and good practices from other national experiences to address STI policy integration and coherence as a tool for sustainable development.

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