Reflecting a broader trend towards the offshoring of services, a number of developing countries are attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in research and development (R&D). Recognizing the role that innovation and R&D plays in development, developing countries are increasingly paying particular attention to the phenomenon. Innovation and R&D are essential for upgrading technologies, moving up the development ladder, and catching up with developed countries. In technology generation, transfer and diffusion, developing countries are cooperating with transnational corporations who are dominant players on the global scene.
In the light of the changing patterns of the globalization of R&D, the Expert Meeting will examine the development implications of the process and will focus on six important themes related to FDI in R&D and its impact on development:
- What kind of opportunities are presented, and risks created, by the offshoring of R&D to developing countries?
- To what extent can FDI in R&D in developing countries help reduce the R&D and innovation gaps between developed and developing countries?
- How does the globalization of R&D affect the transfer of technology to host economies?
- How does the globalization of R&D contribute to national science and technology efforts and the development of national innovation systems of developing countries?
- What kind of host-country policies can facilitate diffusion of technologies from the R&D activities of transnational corporations to the local economy?
- What measures can home countries adopt to promote R&D-related FDI in developing countries?
The meeting will bring together leading experts, government representatives, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and representatives of the private sector. In addition to the documentation provided by the UNCTAD secretariat, participants are expected to prepare brief papers on the subject. These papers will be made available at the meeting in the form and language in which they are received.
