Science for economic and social development
Science and technology contribute to development when they become productive capacity: firms that use new methods, health systems that adopt better diagnostics, public services that reach more people and jobs that reward new skills. The path from research to that capacity is long and often breaks. The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI) studies how research turns into productive capacity, health, public services and jobs, and what countries need in place to absorb technology on their own terms. This page is part of innovation and technological change.
- Institution
- The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
- Service level
- R0: information and enquiries
- 01Draftsources cited, labels attached
- 02Evidence checkevery value traced
- 03Independent reviewconflicts declared
- 04Editionpublished with its limits
- 05Correctiona new version, never a silent edit
The short answer.
Science for economic and social development is the path by which research becomes productive capacity: firms using new methods, health systems adopting better diagnostics, public services reaching more people and jobs rewarding new skills. GCRI studies where that path breaks and contributes bounded technical assistance, learning and linked research.
Draft to published version.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
People and services in Bangladesh.
Where people live and how far each division sits from a large city's services, shown for Bangladesh as an example geography for this subject.
From research to capacity, step by step.
- 01
Research and evidence
Questions that matter to a country, studied with methods that can be checked.
- 02
Adaptation and testing
Technologies adapted to local conditions and tested in controlled settings, for example through Nexus Labs test environments.
- 03
Adoption
Institutions and firms that take a tested option into practice, with the skills and finance it requires.
- 04
Capability that lasts
Trained teams, maintained infrastructure and knowledge that stays when a project ends.
Four outcomes the work aims at.
Productive capacity
Firms and sectors that can use new technology and compete.
Health systems
Diagnostics, data and services that reach more people reliably.
Public services and jobs
Digital public services and skills that turn technology into work.
Common gaps between science and development.
- Research agendas set far from the countries that need the results
- Pilots that end without a recipient institution to continue them
- Technology adopted without the skills, maintenance or energy to run it
- Evaluation that measures outputs rather than lasting capability
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Science, technology and innovation for development | The use of research, technology and innovation capacity to reach development goals, which UN bodies treat as a means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda. |
| Technology diffusion | The process by which a new technology spreads among firms over time. |
| Absorptive capacity | An economy's ability to use additional investment productively without waste or overheating. |
| Technical assistance | Non-financial support such as expertise, training, advice on methods and help with institutional systems, provided at the request of the institution that owns the work. |
Technical assistance and country capability.
GCRI's contribution is bounded technical assistance under a defined scope, learning through academy and learning, and research linked to economic transformation. Every handoff names a competent recipient. The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) examines development finance readiness under development readiness.
Technical assistance is capacity-building, not procurement, financing or execution authority.
Questions and answers.
Does GCRI fund development projects?
Who owns the capability built in a country?
How is success measured?
Can a university in a developing country lead research?
How does this relate to risk?
Around GCRI.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.