In his article titled ‘Innovation Key To Making India a Global Competitor’, Dr Amit Kapoor, President and CEO of India Council on Competitiveness, said while various static and dynamic factors determine the growth of a nation, innovation remains a key driver of its competitiveness. He went on: “An innovation-driven economy not only increases industrial efficiency but also ensures long-term sustainability of growth and competitiveness of the nation.” Bangladesh has been placed at the 129th position in the annual Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015; the position remained unchanged as it was in last year’s assessment. The annual rankings are jointly published by Cornell University, INSEAD (a graduate business school with campuses in Europe, Asia and the Middle East), and the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The GII is used as a tool for reviewing and supporting various innovation policies and their claims to effectiveness to determine the impact that an economy’s degree of development has on their benefit. The index aims to capture many facets of innovation, including policies that promote long-term growth, increase job prospects, and improve productivity. The index covers 141 economies around the world and use 79 indicators to gauge innovation capabilities and results. Interestingly, India is the worst performer among BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) with all the others improving their positions from those of the last year. China is the best among BRICS countries. It secured the 29th place, up by six notches. India ranks 81 out of 141 countries. But, in the Central and Southern Asia region, it retains its top spot in the regional ranking, followed by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka. Globally, Switzerland, followed by the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and the US are ranked as the most innovative countries in the world. Russia has improved its position by one notch to stay at 48. South Africa ranks 60th, down by seven notches, while Brazil secures the 70th position, nine places behind the last year’s ranking.
Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015: Lessons for Bangladesh
India continued its dismal performance in global innovation for the fifth consecutive year. It has slipped from the 64th position in 2012 to 66th in 2013 and 76th in 2014. In fact, earlier this year in the World Bank’s “Doing Business Report” for 2015, India slipped by two notches to the 142 spot. “Everyone under 18 has only one guru, Google guru,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi two months ago. He insisted that India’s IT industry, where innovation plays a critical role, is successful because the government is “not there anywhere.” By implying that state participation stifles industry growth, this widespread sentiment belittles industrial planning and the promotion of particular sectors or corporate champions. Does Modi’s statement about the absence of government support India’s commitment to R&D and innovative capacity? Innovation is a driver of national competitive advantage, and ultimately the individual is the primary source of innovation. Therefore, connecting human development and government intervention becomes a crucial task in supporting growth strategies. The Modi government has initiated steps such as single-window clearances, emphasis on self-certification by industries and easing labour laws in a bid to improve the environment for business in the country. Despite its low rankings in the GII, India appears to have a healthy start-up environment. Bangladesh has moved down by one notch to 129 in this year’s GII from last year’s 128. Improvement in three key areas–infrastructure, business sophistication and creative output–helped the country prevent downtrend in the index for 2014-15, according to the Global Innovation Index. The following steps can be considered and implemented in Bangladesh so that the country can become one of the most powerful nations in terms of global innovation:
Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015: Lessons for Bangladesh
* The government should practise good governance, which will lead to transparency, accountability and the rule of law and thus prevent crimes and corruption and ensure sustainable development.
* The government should make the best possible framework for promoting local people’s participation in governance and development process as well as for articulation of local needs and mobilisation of local resources.
* The government should make selective interventions for the enterprise-academy-government relationship.
* The local governments must be firmly involved with the centres and setting their agenda.
* The area where policies are developed must be separated from the area where they are executed (politicians are not necessarily good managers).
* The management of the centres must be carried out by professional management personnel under professional management structures. The managers must be trained in business administration (not in research or teaching).
* People in Bangladesh may be encouraged to develop appropriate technologies that are indigenous in nature. Research should be carried out to further develop and improve these technologies.
* A systemic approach must be promoted from political environment to improve communication among all the associates. The quality policies, the information systems, and sharing strategic plans among the actors are some of the instruments that can be employed to achieve this goal.
* Mechanisms to evaluate the impacts of the centres and a clear commitment to management that defines short, medium and long-term goals in accordance with the goals of the regional and national governments must be established.
* The innovation environment must generate ties with local companies in general and with the social and local actors where the centre is located.
* The regional centres of innovation should have dynamic structures where generation of ties with other actors of the national innovation system can be promoted.
* The creation of public-private alliances must be encouraged.
* Strategic leadership at the regional and local levels is necessary.
* Linkages among research, extension, technology and education should be strengthened.
Despite hindrances, there is good potential for Bangladesh to achieve an innovation-driven tomorrow. Internationally, Bangladesh continues to be a reputed innovative hub and a formidable source of human capital. What Bangladesh requires is the united effort of the government and the private sector to boost innovation that could act as a catalyst in bringing about this change. It is important to create an environment for innovation. It is also essential that the government gets involved as a catalyst for interaction among stakeholders, particularly regarding the mechanism that leads to a closer relationship between the academia and businesses, promotion of the best intellectual property management practices at universities and technical institutions and actions that facilitate an increase in the number of patents. The writer is Assistant Inspector of Colleges, Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), Mirpur Cantonment.
