ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2005

In association with Development Policy and Practice and the International Development Centre at the Open University

Milton Keynes, UK
7th-9th September 2005

Connecting people and places: challenges and opportunities for development

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH
CHAIR: JOANNA CHATAWAY, DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND PRACTICE, OU

DIVIDES AND RULES
THE IMPACT OF NEW WAVE TECHNOLOGIES
ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION IN THE SOUTH
Lynn K. Mytelka, Professor at Carleton University (Ottawa) & Institute of New Technologies (INTECH) at the United Nations University, Maastricht

The last quarter of the twentieth century may well go down in history as a watershed in the transformation of human society and economy. It was in this period that labour and mechanical artefacts began to cede their place of precedence to knowledge in the production of goods and service. It is now commonplace to assert the importance of knowledge as a critical factor in development in the North, where policies and programmes have been put in place to strengthen learning, innovation and the accumulation of knowledge. Changes in international trade, investment and intellectual property rules have further contributed to the speed with which new waves of technological change are succeeding each other and technological trajectories and competitive practices are being shaped globally. In this process ever-wider North-South divides have emerged. This paper examines the impact of these changes on access to knowledge and on the opportunities and capacities needed to make technological choices and to innovate in developing countries. Particular attention is paid to new wave technologies changing such as biotechnology and its application in agriculture and in the pharmaceutical sector.