The Innovation For Development Report 2010 2011

This report provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in promoting economic and social development. It examines the impact of innovation on the economic growth of developing countries and the future role of technological innovation in international efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, amongst many other issues.

Innovation, often tempered by the language of inclusion, has become an indispensable element of contemporary development policy and practice in the so-called Global South. Driven by multinational companies, public–private partnerships and social enterprises, “innovation for development” aims to co-produce social goods (things of value) such as poverty alleviation with associated profit through innovative market-led solutions, opening up untapped and unserved markets in the developing world and exploiting the potential “fortune at the bottom of the pyramid”. But innovation for development is a contested notion with the capacity to shelter multiple political agendas. By reviewing existing academic theory and discussing four in-depth case studies from Bangladesh and India, this book interrogates how innovation for development is being framed, its politics and the impacts it is having on rural communities on the ground. The analysis suggests both an emerging hegemony constructed around a neoliberal, market-led agenda and the existence of countervailing voices that question this framing, sometimes radically so.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are arguably the main drivers of economic development today. This book explores the two in depth, at both the national and regional levels, using a variety of methodologies. The expert contributors discuss the subject from a policy perspective, with case studies from a host of countries including new member states of the EU as well as established EU member states. Split into three parts, the book focuses on: innovation, entrepreneurial activity and regional development, and entrepreneurship and SME policy.

Chavez’s Legacy: The Transformation from Democracy to a Mafia State refutes the claim that Chavez’s regime corrected the errors of Soviet Communism. This book traces Venezuela’s communist transformation and its effects on the neighboring nations of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. This book also examines Chavez’s behavior in the international arena, strongly emphasizing his close association with Iran and narcotics terrorism.

Technology is key to the development of nations yet is not freely or easily accessible. This book aims to contribute to the debate about empowering Africa to play a more meaningful role in the global innovation system. It emphasizes the important role of technology transfer in assisting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa to expand their technological capabilities. The book surveys IP and innovation policies in Africa's past and present, providing theoretical, policy, and legal frameworks, as well as specific measures that will help African LDCs. It proposes solutions to overcome challenges currently posed by inefficiencies in the flow of technologies to LDCs and by the fragmentation of the international legal framework that regulates technology transfer. Notably, the book proposes maximal implementation of the TRIPS Agreement provisions related to technology transfer and recommends the adoption of a uniform international legal instrument under the framework of the WTO to be designated as the Agreement on Trade-Related Issues of Technology Transfer and Innovation (TRITTI). The book advocates for proactivity from African LDCs and urges them to cultivate environments that attract and enable technology transfer into their respective states. This will facilitate technological learning, accelerate absorption and adaptation fit to an African context, and will catapult African LDCs down the road of innovation.

The relative importance of various drivers of economic growth and prosperity has evolved over time and for a growing number of countries, innovation, in its many dimensions, is emerging as a leading factor. The 'Innovation for Development Report' provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in enhancing the development process.

Innovation in Small-Farm Agriculture: Improving Livelihoods and Sustainability is an invaluable resource focussing on the current state of knowledge and scientific advances about the complex and intertwined issues of innovation and how they relate to livelihood of small-scale farmers. This book exposes readers with a holistic overview on how agriculture is most associated with the development and transfer of technologies to farmers and their participation in research and development initiatives to improve the relevancy and usefulness of its outputs and innovation which is not well documented. The book offers comprehensive coverage of the most essential topics, including: Recent scientific advances on agricultural innovations for small farmers. Emphasizes on opportunities and constraints of techno-institutional paradigms. Highlight low-cost and eco-friendly interventions. Case studies on various innovations in agriculture spanning the different agricultural gamut.

In the crowded field of climate change reports, 'WDR 2010' uniquely: emphasizes development; takes an integrated look at adaptation and mitigation; highlights opportunities in the changing competitive landscape; and proposes policy solutions grounded in analytic work and in the context of the political economy of reform.