2.2.3 Developing countries actions
Assessment of local technology needs and meeting of local demands
Participatory development is now widely recognised as a way of achieving effective
technology transfer at all levels of development endeavour. This has grown from
a perceived need to move from donor driven technology transfer to national needs
driven approaches. It can facilitate market transformation through the involvement
of firms and consumers. Governments are the most direct and influential actors
for promoting a favourable environment for participation among the private sector,
public sector organisations, NGOs and grassroots organisations at regional and
local levels. Practical experience with participation but the step towards mainstreaming
in government and development agencies still has to be made.
Meeting local demands also includes examining what the social impacts of technology
transfer will be and how negative impacts can be reduced. There is a particular
need for developing guidelines for ensuring that technology transfer projects
do not disempower or negatively influence weaker social groups in a society.
Such guidelines could draw from guidelines on integrating gender issues in technology
development.
Participatory development can thus achieve:
- Better choices and identification of possibilities and opportunities in
local systems
- Better commitment to projects which improves implementation and sustainability
- Opportunities to negotiate conflicts
- Empowerment- which raises awareness about the need for stakeholders to
achieve solutions themselves.
- Access to additional resources for the project raised from the target project
beneficiaries through payments, and time.
Property right issues and ownership
The experience in agriculture, forestry, and use of other natural resources
has shown that the successful introduction of new technologies often depends
on a recognition of the existing forms of ownership, or on taking steps to create
an improved property rights regime. With an understanding of existing - legal
and actual - forms of ownership, technologies or modified resource uses can
be adapted to fit this existing system. If property issues are taken into account,
those introducing new technologies or proposing modifications in land or resource
use can be more assured of the support of the target populations or groups.
Appropriate R&D programmes for adaptation of ESTs to own local conditions
Developing countries' R&D efforts are often adaptive, following externally
developed technology, suggesting the need for additional resources to develop
indigenous innovative capacity. R&D and the process of innovation are closely
linked, but innovation has been found to fail at the level of capability - the
ability to focus specific sets of resources in a particular way (e.g., financial
management, marketing, understanding user needs, etc.) rather than because of
inadequate resources or hardware. The process of dissemination depends closely
on influencing key opinion formers, at government, industry, firm or community
level.
Improved pathways for South-South transfer
Most technology transfer to date has passed along a North-South axis, and given
financial constraints in many developing countries and CEITs this situation
is likely to continue. However, creative means of using developed country bilateral
aid, multilateral programmes and increased access to world capital markets may
provide opportunities to increase South-South transfers. Enhancing South-South
transfers is important, because developing countries may encounter challenges
that are unlikely to be found in developed countries, but for which solutions
exist in other developing countries. Initiatives to improve the pathways for
South-South transfer could include:
- Sharing of information regarding the performance of ESTs in developing
countries;
- Joint R&D and demonstration programmes;
- Opening markets for ESTs from other developing countries.
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