KARACHI: Innovation is the most important determinant of competitiveness and adds value to the economy by increasing knowledge in production, services and processes, Dr. Lars Eklund, founder of the Scandinavian Competitiveness Group said on Thursday at a workshop on innovation organized by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF). 

The workshop titled “Pakistani Innovation Initiative Kickoff” highlighted the importance of innovation and analyzed complex issues and proposed innovative and collaborative approaches to address bottlenecks.

Prominent among those attending the workshop were Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of CSF, Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director Higher Education Commission (HEC), Ms. Jehan Ara President Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES, and Dr. Samar Mubarakmand, Member for Science and Technology, Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan.

The topics discussed included ‘Innovation activities in Pakistan: a Higher Education perspective’ ‘Innovation in IT: the prevailing situation in Pakistan’; ‘Increasing the competitiveness and innovation in Pakistan’s manufacturing industry’ and ‘Innovation best practices’.

Dr. Eklund, who is also the Director at the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA), pointed out that payoff of investments in innovation was particularly rewarding when bottlenecks were systematically addressed in the value chain.

He stressed that the ideal of triple helix – business, politics and academia – were essential for innovation and should continuously be refined. “The triple helix model is based on the assumption that innovation takes place in interaction between different groups of actors in a specific context rather than in the head of one or a few extraordinarily talented individuals in a splendid fashion,” he said.

A good part of the workshop was conducted on the triple helix model with the participants engaged in dialogue on a string of objectives and strategies pertaining to innovation in Pakistan. 

CSF is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) established to reposition Pakistan’s economy on a more global competitive footing.  

Dr. Naqvi emphasized that the time was ripe to look at the entire ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship and then take it to the next level, adding that work had been done on innovation and entrepreneurship in Pakistan but not through a cohesive effort and that it had been in bits and parts.

Mr. Arthur Bayhan said that CSF was aiming to improve the conditions for innovation in Pakistan and extend help in formulation of an innovation policy. “We are working to give innovation its rightful prominence,” he said. 

Innovation is a key driver of competitiveness and economic growth but remains absent from the general discourse in Pakistan.  Moreover, there is no comprehensive policy or strategy to assist the government in collaborating with academia and the private sector to foster innovation across the country.