Previous Fora / 2011
MANDELL, Joshua
Science and Technology Program Officer, World Bank, STI Global Forum
Joshua Mandell is currently the Science and Technology Program Officer at The World Bank working at the Global Practice for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (ITE). The ITE portfolio is focused on building innovation capacity in the public and private sector. This work includes building a knowledge workforce, promoting technology commercialization and entrepreneurship, strengthening science and innovation policy and supporting inclusive innovations for developing countries.
Mr. Mandell served as the Senior Fellow at the Institute on Science for Global Policy at the University of California and the Senior Science and Technology Adviser at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, where he was responsible for research collaboration between the UK and US, trade and investment opportunities in S&T, and international science policy. Before joining the UK Worldwide S&T Network in July 2003, Joshua worked as an environmental scientist and policy consultant in the private sector and for the U.S. Government where he specialized in areas of natural resource management, geographic information systems, remote sensing and environmental regulatory policy. He also served in the Office of the Vice President at the White House.
ABSTRACT
14:30-16:30 18 NOVEMBER
PLENARY SESSION V. “FORUM OF GLOBAL FORA”
Transforming the World Bank Global Fora into Action for Developing Countries
The demand from countries to better understand and implement a viable innovation ecosystem leading to economic growth is remarkable and growing. The World Bank is strengthening its capacity to meet this demand through the provision of technical assistance and pilot projects, to large scale financing of holistic innovation systems in countries.
The World Bank Global Fora held in 2007 and 2009 were instrumental in the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge and best practice for implementing science, technology and innovation (STI) capacity building projects in the Bank’s client countries. In order to provide the most impactful STI interventions in developing countries, the World Bank Group realizes it must coordinate with and partner with experts from the wider STI and development communities including but not limited to academia, foundations, the private sector, governments, research institutes, NGOs and other international organizations. The knowledge gained from the Fora were compiled into a Global Forum Action Plan which provides a menu of interventions which can be modified and customized for implementation in countries from all of the regions. This Action Plan is also available for other organizations to use, in line with the World Bank’s Open Data Initiative implemented in 2010.
Recently, a new hub for STI activities was created in the Bank known as the Global Practice for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. The focus of this Practice is to increase the impact of innovation projects for our clients, and to create and share knowledge on the subject of innovation for wider use. The four focal points for the Practice include policies for innovation systems, technology transfer and diffusion, financing for innovation and entrepreneurship and inclusive innovations focused on the needs of the Base of the Pyramid. This work is performed in concert with the Bank’s commitment to tertiary education and supporting research at universities in developing countries. However, with the Bank’s focus on fighting poverty, it is critical that higher education reforms and its resulting research have the capacity to translate into a skilled workforce, job creation, technology commercialization, increased innovation and productivity in the private sector, and the realization of inclusive economic growth.