Foster technology transfer.
Governments everywhere are devising new incentives to foster technology transfer, such as by setting up labs where businesses can ‘test before they invest’ in digital technologies. For their dual transition to succeed, governments will need to raise their commitment to research and development (R&D). The G20 still accounts for nine-tenths of research expenditure, researchers, publications and patents (Figure 1.1).
Although research expenditure rose in most regions between 2014 and 2018 (Figure 1.2), 80% of countries still invest less than 1% of GDP in R&D.
In some cases, the researcher population has risen faster than related expenditure (Figure 1.3), leaving less funding available to each researcher.
To succeed in their dual transition, governments will not only need to spend more on R&D; they will also need to invest these funds strategically. There has been a surge in international scientific collaboration in many parts of the world since 2015 (Figure 1.4).
This will entail taking the long-term view and aligning their economic, digital, environmental, industrial and agricultural policies, among others, to ensure that these are mutually reinforcing. To be coherent, reforms, policies and resources will all need to point in the same direction, towards the same strategic goal of sustainable development. For developing countries, the dual green and digital transition is accelerating a process of industrialization that would normally take decades. For all countries, this transition is demanding an integrated approach to long-term planning and a heavy investment in infrastructure. The rapid societal transformation under way offers exciting opportunities for social and economic experimentation that could make life much more comfortable. It also presents the risk of exacerbating social inequalities and, for countries implementing ambitious infrastructure projects, of debt vulnerability. The Covid-19 pandemic has accentuated both of these risk factors.
SCIENCE AND THE PANDEMIC.
During the pandemic, countries have turned to scienceIn late 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, dubbed Covid-19, was detected in China before spreading rapidly around the world. From the outset, scientists shared information and data with one another, beginning with the sequenced genome of the coronavirus in early January 2020. The pandemic has showcased the benefits of this culture of sharing both within and beyond borders (see essay on The time for open science is now).
