Belarus, UNECE prepare country’s second innovation performance review

The State Committee on Science and Technology (SCST) of the Republic of Belarus and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe are planning to conduct a repeated innovation performance review of Belarus at the end of 2015 – early 2016. Such an agreement was reached during a meeting between SCST Chairman Alexander Shumilin and UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach, BelTA learned from the press service of the State Committee on Science and Technology.

Alexander Shumilin said that improving the innovation policy brings tangible results. Last year alone Belarus climbed five points in global innovation indexes. "We make an emphasis on innovative development, and therefore need to continue this work. We are interested in experience and technical assistance of the UNECE in different areas of innovation activity, including the development of infrastructure of comprehensive support of the youth innovative entrepreneurship and imagineering in our country,” he said.

The parties noted that the second innovation performance review is needed to evaluate the results achieved since the first project considering the changed external conditions. The innovation performance review of the Republic of Belarus was done in 2010-2011 by the UNECE together with the State Committee on Science and Technology. It was the result of joint work of leading foreign experts who gave an independent assessment of the status and trends of development of innovation activity in Belarus.

According to UNECE Executive Secretary Christiana Friis Bach, today there is an impressive list of countries willing to get the review to improve their innovative activity. It is expected that Minsk will host a group of experts on 17-18 November.

The State Committee on Science and Technology has been cooperating with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe since 2009. Belarus seeks to get technical assistance to improve its innovation policy and increase the efficiency of innovations.