The United Nations General Assembly invited Professor Xiaolan Fu, founding director of the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD) at ODID, to speak at a meeting on ‘Fostering science, technology and Innovation’ on December 10.

In her speech, Professor Fu argued that 'development of technological and innovation capabilities should be a priority of the post-2015 development agenda'.

She pointed out that many middle-income countries have begun the process of catching up with rich nations in terms of innovation, with their share of patents and technical journals steadily increasing over the last three decades. She went on to discuss how firms in low-income countries have great potential for innovation, but are significantly constrained by factors outside their control – as outlined in a recent report by TMCD, which brings together the results of its project on the Diffusion of Innovation in Low-Income Countries. Lack of finance and skills, as well as limited collaboration and international technology transfers, make it harder for firms in these contexts to innovate.
 
Professor Fu recommended policies to the General Assembly that could be enacted to encourage innovation. She proposed a variety of measures at both the national and international level that could provide better financing for innovation, encourage capability building and technology transfers, and even bring about broader cultural and institutional change.

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