Category Archives: Research and development (R&D) data

Data + Policy = Action on International Day for Women and Girls in Science

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By Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

On 11 February, the world will observe the International Day for Women and Girls in Science. While celebrating achievements, we must continue to focus on advancing gender equality in science and technology as women are still underrepresented in all areas, from research and engineering to tech start-ups. Pursuing gender parity in science is also part of wider global efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) while supporting SDG 9 for innovation and SDG 17 on technological capacity building in developing countries.

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From Brain Drain to Gain: The Benefits Arising from International Knowledge Networks

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By Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
This blog was also published by Norrag

Thinking about studying abroad next year or know someone who is? You’re not alone. International student mobility is on the rise and data show that everyone benefits. Rather than depriving developing countries of their best talent through ‘brain drain,’ mobile students are offering ‘brain gain’ by creating a global pool of highly-skilled human capital. Continue reading →

How Much Does Your Country Invest in Research and Development (R&D)?

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Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and Damien Chalaud, Executive Director of the World Federation of Science Journalists

As the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gathers momentum, there has been a lot of noise about the ‘big ticket’ factors seen as fundamental for their achievement: immediate and sustained action, political will, adequate resources, equity … the list goes on. And it’s true. We need all of these and more. But there has been less clamour about the role of innovation, even though this will fuel progress on each and every SDG. And there has been barely a whisper about its foundation: research and development (R&D).

This matters: investment in R&D is one of the main drivers of investment in the new knowledge, technology and thinking that drives innovation at country level. So, if governments want to know how well they are doing on innovation, they really need to know how well they are doing on R&D. Continue reading →