The ICT Division of ESCWA organized the Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Observatories in ESCWA Member Countries - Phase II: Capacity-building on STI Indicators and Observatories, at United Nations House, Beirut, 18-20 January 2010. The Workshop included public sector specialists and technology experts who are involved in the creation and implementation of STI observatories and the development of STI indicators.   This second phase of the Workshop followed up on the first phase, which was held in November 2009 and aimed at establishing national and regional STI observatories in the ESCWA region.

The Workshop included training and case studies, namely: (a) STI role in development and policymaking; (b) production of STI statistics; (c) models for setting up STI observatories; and (d) regional cooperation and capacity-building in the field of STI.  The Workshop was attended by 20 participants from Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia.  Participants included candidate operators of potential STI observatories, and regional and international experts involved in the establishment and implementation of STI observatories.

The Workshop recommendations included the following: (a) raising awareness on STI observatories in the region; (b) setting a plan of work with the institutions involved in the establishment of national STI observatories; (c) building capacities on setting national STI observatories and the required resources; (d) identifying the STI indicators that are applicable for the region and conducting training on the use of these STI indicators; (e) promoting the identification of lead agencies for national STI observatories; (f) establishing a website for STI observatories for knowledge-sharing among observatories and partner institutions; (g) enabling access to STI databases and repositories; and (h) partnering with universities on technology research and transfer.

 

The previous and first phase of the workshop was entitled "Towards the Establishment of National and Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Observatories" and was held during 11-12 November 2009.