At present, there are a number of information and documentation centers as well as a number of teaching and

documentation centers as well as a number of teaching and research institutions. A systemis called for whereby all these institutions will be' able to share experiences and research results witb the objectives of saving time and costs.

S. We must generate a capability to forecast world technology trends

and

to

assess

emerging

technologies.

It

is

to

some extent

true

that

the

limiting factor

to

renewing our economy is not raw materials

rather technological information and

knowledge

to

tum the raw

materials into process and products. The technologies (especially

in

information, biotechnology and material sciences) have reshaped the

world economy and have marginalized those countries such as Uganda

which depend on the

export

of raw materials -for foreign exchange

earnings. These shifts have affected us much more than any other region of the world because of our excessive dependence on raw materials (coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco) and our inability to move to higher levels of industrial processing (e.g, making instant coffee and other products from the grown coffee beans, finished garments from the cotton, fruit concentrates from the oranges, pineapples, mangoes, etc for export). Our strategic importance as a source of raw materials has diminished as the industrialized world continues to identify alternatives to our exports.

A national science and technology policy, organically integrated with the national development plan, will lead us to an identification of our technological needs and specifications. Therefore if we had the capacity to forecast the world technological trends and were able to assess emerging technologies, we would then be in a positionto carry out a national technological needs assessment on one hand and a national capabilities assessment on the other. Having identified and assessed our technological needs and capabilities, these, together with technological considerationsintegrated into national plans, would help us in the process of national social-economic development planning which would have to be done on the basis of three domains :

i) Digestion, adaptation and improvement of imported technologies;

ii)

Improvement of

indigenous and traditional technologies;

iii) Production of new and future-oriented technologies;

6. After identifying our technological needs and specifications, decisions on which technologies to buy and which ones to develop locally will have to be made. Should the decisions regarding a

be

must

be

searched for, and then assessed.On manyoccasions, developed countrieshavebeen accused of using developing countries as dumping grounds for their outdated and obsolete technologies. We could avoid this if we institutionalized technology assessment measures.

A technology assessment unit, if set UPtwin beused to assess technology impact conduct studies to fill informations gaps and make independent evaluations of technology development projects, Issuesof relevanceto the technology assessment unit could include :

i) Resource endowment and development. The unit could study what is available and come up with suggestions and recommendations regarding the development and utilization of the available resources e.g. we have so many water falls, which onesshouldbedeveloped now, in five years' time, in ten years' time etc... for hydroelectric power generation ? To what use should this powerbeput, e.g. electric trains, ruralelectrification etc...? What man power should bedevelopedto help in this process ? What are the costs (social, financial, environmental etc...) involved ?

ii) Social preference. For example, concerning the question dress, does the population prefer cotton dress to synthetic fibres? Ithas to be noted thatin the long run, depending on availabilityand cost, the populationcan be madeto change their preferences. If this is done for the good of the whole economy, so much the better. For eiample, a good proportion of

the

population now prefer

to

travel by taxi rather thanby

bus. Should

the decision be tochange to electric trams and trains in order to save on petrol and diesel, deliberate policies will have tobe put in place.

iii) Cultural heritage,e.g. some tasks are traditionally looked at"as being for men and others are being reserved for women. This is graduallychanging but mustbe keptin mind during the technology assessment process.

iv) Human Resources

Development.

This will have to be done so that the nation is able to master an~

appropriately deploy the acquired technology.

v) Environmentimpact.

An

environmentimpact assessment will alwayshaveto becarried out ifwe are to

remain

^I able to meet the needs of the present generation without

CO~·omising the ability offuture generations to meet their .. For example, supposing we struck oil, at

what

rate ould

we

exploit this resource and to what use Shoul~\the proceeds be put?The 16.8 m population is incr · g at the rate of 2.8%per annum. This implies that th demand for energy is also increasing. Most of the population currently depend on fuelwood for their energy. Are we able to sustain this demand for fuelwood without compromising the needs of future generations? Whatmustbedone now?

iv) Energy conservation, This isto some extentlinkedto v) above.

vii) Scale of

economy,

some technologies will besuitable for

small

scale production, while others willbesuitable for large production runs. Considering-.the

market

stru~ (both local and foreign) a decision regarding

what

type of technology will have to

be

taken.

Considerations such as generation of employment,

utilization of local resources, saving of foreign currency etc. will haveto be considered. .

In addition to such issues, concepts such as system independence,modernity,individual versus, collective technology, cost of technology, neutrality of scale, risk factor, evolutionary capacity, multipurpose versus, unipurpose technology willhave tobeconsidered.

7. The decisionto generate and develop our own technology calls for research requiring the setting up of pilot plans and process development facilities. An attempt is being made by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Co-operativesinone aspect. The Ministry is setting up an Industrial Research Institute in foodTechnology and Ceramics at Nakawa. The planned facilities include laboratories and pilot plants that canbeused in process development.

8. Results of the pilot plant and process development phases will

lead

^to a syndication process involving engineering design, prototype development, testing and commercialization. As noted above, no engineering design facilities exists at the moment. Engineering design is taught as part of the engineering course at the University. This is grossly inadequate.

CONCLUSION

Ithas been noted that the ability to renew our economy will

depend

on our capacity to apply science and technology. Despite our persistent efforts to build

science

and technology infrastructures andto set

up promotional schemes,

scienceand technology have failed to take

root and bear fruits mainly because we have so far treated science and

technology as an isolated process in the dynamics of development

and

not as an integratedpart, inseparable from the social, economic process

and also because, decisions regarding technologies have often been taken in isolation without due consideration of the total development picture.

In an effort to respond to this situation so as to foster a total environment for technology and science to prosper in support of development, we are in the process of formulating a science and technology policy.

1. This

win

guide, promote and regulate science and technology activities for national development.

2. We are proposing that laws and policy guidelines be such that a conducive climate is created for science and technology to prosper. The mass-media trade shows, expositions, science clubs, technical publications etc...must alI be encouraged.

Measures to encourage technological self-reliance must be taken. This includes encouraging creativity, innovations and competition.

3. Weneed to develop technology assessment capability so that we are able to forecast world technological trends and assess emerging technologies, assess national technological needs and capabilities and integrate these in our national social economic development planning process.

4. There is need to build capacity to adapt, improve on imported, indigenous and traditional technologies and to produce new and future-oriented technologies. A Technological Assessment Unit when set up, should be able to attend to such issues as . replication, adaptation, improvement, creation, engineering, design, prototype development, testing, commercialization etc...

5. Mechanisms to encourage technology innovation to meet national objectives to attract enough dedicated science and technology workers must beput in place.

6. Fiscal, legal and financing policy instruments must be designed and implemented in such a way as to reflect governments commitment for science and technology. In this respect therefore,

an

^{should be} done to get to and above the recommended 1% of GDP to be spent on science and technology activities.

7. Concern has been expressed in some Quarters about the lack of opportunity by affected people to express their views and opinions on science and technology related issues. For as much as conferences workshops, seminars, journals, newsletters could, to some help, it is felt however, that opportunities should be created for all stockholders in the development process (bankers, entrepreneurs, Governments, politicians, educators, scientists, engineers, representatives from the productive and commercial sectors and the organized public) to get together and discuss issues that affect them. Institutionalization of such dialogues and mechanisms for forwarding the results of these dialogues to the highest government policy decision-making organs such as the cabinet should be instituted.

8. There are at present a number of scientific and technological institutions in the country. Although generally lacking in equipment,

materials

and personnel, these few, with a bit of funding, could,

from

time to time be challenged to

justify

their demands for more funding by commissioning them to carryout various studies,producing prototypes etc. for government. This will

not

only ensure some funds

flow

to

those

institutions, but

will help in the process of building endogenous capacity and contribute to stemming brain drain.

Dans le document The influence of economic and development policies on science and technology in Africa (Page 46-54)