S&T structure, s tatisti cal s ystem and i ssues related to S&T indicator development in Sri Lanka by Seetha Wickremasinghe National Science Foundation.

S&T structure, statistical system and issues related to S&T indicator development in

Sri Lanka

bySeetha Wickremasinghe

National Science Foundation Sri Lanka

Presentation Layout Socio economic indicators S&T policy structure S&T statistical system Issues related to collection and dissemination of S&T statistics Key outcomes of recent R&D surveys Specific ongoing S&T projects Planned S&T projects Constraints

Some key socio economic indicators

GDP (2004) SL Rs. Million - 1,797,941 (Agriculture-18 %; Industry -27 %; Services - 55

%) Average annual % growth rate of GDP - 4.0 Population (in million) - 19.2 Population growth (%) - 1.3 R&D expenditure for year 2004 (% of GDP) - 0.18 Researchers in R&D (per million people) - 191 Physicians (per million people) - 430 Literacy rate (% age 15 & above) - 92.1 HDI rank (out of 173 countries) - 96

Contd/- Expenditure on education (% of GDP) - 2.09 Expenditure on health (% of GDP) - 1.69 University education (pupil/teacher) - 14.5 Unemployment rate (%) - 8.6 Labour force (million) - 7.9Sources (2004): Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Dept. of Census & Statistics;

Ministry of Health; Ministry of Education; Human Development Report 2004

S&T Policy Framework in

Sri Lanka The Ministry of Science &

Technology is the key Ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka that provides a framework for

the Science & Technology development and growth of the

country.

Mission of the S&T Ministry:

Formulation of programmes and projects based on National Policy in respect of Science and Technology and the direction of the implementation of such programmes and projects

Main Institutions involved in S&T Policy framework in Sri Lanka

Ministry of Science & Technology- Policy Implementation

National Science & Technology Commission- Policy FormulationNational Science Foundation- Policy Research & Recommendations

Council for Agricultural Research Policy- Policy on agricultural sector

National Science & Technology Commission

Industrial Technology Institute (former CISIR)

National Science Foundation

Arthur C. Clarke Centrefor Modern Technology

Nation. EngineeringResearch

& Development Centre

Sri Lanka Institute for Information

Technology

Council for Inform.

Technology

Atomic EnergyAuthority

Ministry of

S & T

Institutes under the S&T Ministry

Other Ministries handling S&T related activities

Agriculture Environ. & NaturalResources

Ministry of S&T

Industry & Investmentpromotion

Fisheries & AquaticResources

Small & Rural Industry

Lands &Indigenous Medicine

Plantation Industries

Power &Energy

Highways

Education

Growth of different state organizations handling S&T Activities (since 1900s).

Name No. Government Departments 18

Universities 13+(2)Research Institutes 29Boards 8Bureau Agencies 4Authorities 7Institutions 10Health 5Corporations 7Others 8Total 104

S&T Structure of the country Local R&D Institutes - 100% R&D work (e.g. TRI,

RRI, CRI) Universities - Teaching, Research , & Training S&T Institutes - S&T services to public & other (Dept. of Census &

Statistics) Industries - e.g. Sri Lanka Telecom Private - e.g. Marga Institute, CENWOR International R&D Institutes - e.g. IWMI International - e.g. UNESCO, FAO, World

Bank Agencies NGOs - e.g. IUCN

S&T Statistical

System

Dept. of Census & Statistics

UniversityGrants

Commission

SLAAS

Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Ministry of Health

Department of Agriculture

National Science

Foundation

Council For Agricultural

Policy

Responsibilities regarding S&T Statistics National Science Foundation is mandated for the regular collection of R&D and S&T Statistics (S&T

Policy Act No. 11 of 1994)

It is the responsibility of the Science and Technology

Policy Research Division (STPRD) of NSF

R&D Survey is guided by an Advisory Board to the STPRD

Internal progress review meetings held every 02-04 weeks with a Statistical Consultant

S&T Data Collection Procedure (National R&D Surveys)

1. Questionnaire Survey by mail 2. Four (04) types of questionnaires prepared * Government Sector * Higher education sector * Business enterprise sector * Private non profit sector

3. Contact persons appointed for each institute for coordination and data collection 4. Research Assistants appointed & trained where necessary (i.e.Universities)

Contd/-5. Follow up action (reminders by phone, mail &

fax, visits to the institutes)6. Data entry7. Data Analysis8. Development of S&T indicators9. Publication of full report10. Publication of booklet with S&T indicators11. Dissemination of Indicator booklet to relevant stakeholders

Difficulties encountered No proper (legal) authorization to NSF to request data

from relevant stakeholders No mechanism for regular updating of S&T data in

the institutes Many stakeholders are not interested in R&D surveys and have their own reservations Only a few S&T sector institutions collect data

regularly for their particular interests but there is no network/link even

among such institutes. Many S&T sector institutes do not have regular data

collection system

Issues of concern relevant to S&T statistics: Some OECD definitions are not suitable for

developing countries and hence need some amendments. i.e. S&T fields - Social Sciences, Law.,

Individual funds received are not recorded in financial reports of the Institute

Funds awarded for collaborative research may be recorded twice or more

Standard questionnaire may not be perfectly applicable for Business enterprise sector

Some institutions have definitions such as researcher/ engineer, but they do not have proper educational qualifications

Contd/- Many institutes do not keep their previous records or do not refer to same Some institutes do not like to change their old questionnaire format due to the difficulty in comparison with the previous records

Basic and applied research – funds received for basic research are also used for infrastructure development

and training. Hence there is confusion as to whether the

whole amount is counted under basic research

National Expenditure for R&D- 2004

Government, 67.5%

Other, 9.3%

Foreign, 22.6%

Private, 0.6%

Science and Technology Personnel (STP) by Category

STP Category

2004

Totalnumber

Percentof STP

Per million inhabitants

Scientists (Research)

4,030 14.2 208

Scientists (Administration & Management)

5,716 20.1 294

Technicians 12,302 43.3 634

Other Supporting Staff

6,384 22.5 329

Total 28,432 100.0 1,465

Distribution of S&T Personnel (STP)

by Sector -2004

Sector1996 2004

STPPercen

t STP Percent

Higher Education

3,990 14.3 4,285 15.1

State 18,645 67.1 12,685 44.6

Private 5,165 18.6 11,462 40.3

Total 27,800 100.0 28,432 100.0

Note: Total STP includes all Researchers, Technicians, Supporting Staff and other Scientists in Service Sector Institutions

Educational Qualifications of S&T Scientists Qualification

1996 2004

No. % No. %

Ph.D. 1,473 14.0 1,001 10.3

M.Phil./ M.Sc. 2,116 20.0 1,407 14.4

B.Sc. + P.G. Diploma

551 66.0*

410 4.2

B.Sc. (Special)

6,377 65.4

B.Sc. (General)

5.7

Total10,55

5100.0 9,746 100.0

*Include B.Sc. (Special) and B.Sc. (General) Degrees

Distribution of Scientists by Sex and Sector

Sector

1996 2004

TotalFemale %

TotalFemale %

Higher Education

3290 24.76 2,920 72.5

State 5897 44.39 6,557 20.9

Private 4099 30.85 269 6.6

Total 13,286 100.0 9,746 100.0

Number of Patents registered locally, during

the period 2001-2004 by Sector

Sector 2001 2002 2003 2004

S&T Institutes 5 5 8 5

Higher Education 1 1 4 4

Private 4 7 8 13

Individual 64 49 41 75

Total 71 62 59 99

Institutions having MIS: National Science Foundation (STMIS) National Science & Technology

Commission University Grants Commission Ministry of Tertiary Education & Training Industrial Development Board Council for Agricultural Research Policy Central Bank of Sri Lanka National Chamber of Commerce Agrarian Research & Training Institute

Current trends in S&T disciplines

ICT (Software Development ) & Biotechnology, Molecular Biology,

Energy, Nanotechnology etc.

Specific ongoing projects:

Brain Drain of scientific community S&T Graduate Tracer Study series Employers’ perceptions on S&T graduates

Development of S&T databases at NSF:

STMIS (www.mis.nsf.ac.lk) Database on inventors Database on sophisticated scientific equipment & services available Database on Sri Lankan Expatriate Scientists

Planned projects by the S&T Policy Research Division (STPRD) of the NSF:

Study on Women in Science

S&T Labour Market Survey

Constraints:

Frequent turnover of trained staff High cost involved in R&D Surveys Low response to questionnaires Training opportunities for research

team Acute shortage of staff & vehicles

Thank you