Council of the Republic members discussed a legislative framework for development of public-private partnership in the field of innovation at a workshop hosted by Igor Voitov, Chairman of the State Committee for Science and Technology.
He stressed that the Law ‘On state innovation policy and innovation in the Republic of Belarus’ laid the foundation for the development of public-private partnership in the field of innovation, but there is still much to be done to make it work efficiently. In particular, to promote R&D projects important for the nation it would be reasonable to increase the effectiveness of state support of businesses performing R&D. Besides, measures must be taken to insure private investments in implementation of priority R&D projects. It is also important to stimulate commercialization of research findings of private sector through introducing relevant rules and regulations. Not least important is the modernization of the infrastructure of knowledge in the country.
It is important to understand that for development of public-private partnership in science, technology and innovation, collaboration between state authorities of all levels, non-profit business associations and subjects of innovation infrastructure is needed. Therefore, to establish such a partnership, it is necessary to form a concept, accelerate the adoption of a law on public-private partnerships and updating of the existing legislation. A list of infrastructure objects for the long-term perspective should be also made. Yet another step is to set up an interagency council and an agency to promote partnership between the public and private areas.
In 2011, research intensity of Belarusian GDP was 0.8 % (the requirement was 1.2 %). It is very low. In the EU research intensity of GDP totals around 2 %. In 2013, this parameter is expected to reach 1.2% or even 1.4 %. To implement the plan, spending for R&D should be increased 3-fold.
