South-South Ideas Paper: Mapping South-South Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation for Theory and Practice

Science, technology, and innovation (STI) are key to economic and social development, yet the capacity for scientific innovation remains unequally distributed across the globe. Working from the perspective of access, equity and inclusion (AEI), the present study analyses the state of STI in the Global South and the potential challenges associated with creating an effective linkage between STI and South-South Cooperation (SSC). Our objectives are to assess the state of STI in the Global South from an analytical perspective, determine its importance, identify the challenges and issues faced by stakeholders as they strengthen their STI architecture, and generate a template for a database and inventory of SSC-STI linkage initiatives so as to track STI collaboration through SSC.

This study offers insights into the nature of the gap that exists in STI infrastructure between the industrialized and the developing worlds, particularly in countries considered as the least developed, through the analysis of a number of the standardized indicators used to quantify achievement in knowledge and technology. It further considers a number of instances of cooperation between countries in the Global South through sharing technology and attempts to identify the existing cooperation patterns. The patterns thus identified form the basis for a template that may be used to document the kinds and variations in technology sharing among partner countries in the Global South that can serve as reference points for further collaboration and sharing. The template will also help to create an inventory of technologies that could potentially be improved or modified to meet the specific requirements of interested partners.

The document offers policy recommendations that may enhance STI architecture in the Global South through SSC.