PARTNERSHIPS

1.Higher Education Commission (HEC)

Among the undertakings stipulated in the MoU, the HEC and CSF agreed to jointly set up a forum for the identification of research-based projects that will assist in the development of a knowledge-based economy. The forum will also identify research institutions who may be invited to join the Forum. Knowledge-based projects and potential research institutions will be evaluated and matching grants will be provided by the CSF to selected projects.

Cooperation with Universities & Research Institutions for Knowledge-based Enterprise Development

An action plan has been developed by the CSF and HEC to implement the activities stated in the MoU. It was agreed that the two organizations will work together to generate and identify science and technology-based projects at universities throughout the country that have the potential to be commercialized. It was also noted that cooperation can build off of three types of activities already initiated by HEC:

• 20/ 80 grants for 10-12 industrial projects
• Funding for a broader spectrum of hundreds of sector-specific research projects
• Support of Centers of Excellence within key universities and research institutions Per the suggestion of CSF, the two entities will also investigate the feasibility of holding a series of trade fairs to highlight the science and technology-based projects developed at universities. The aim of the fairs would attract private-sector representatives looking for innovative products and systems to commercialize

Activities related to another key point of cooperation, promoting professionalism in business schools, will be dealt with in a second venture between the CSF and the HEC.
Currently in the second stage, it is now planned that the stakeholders will convene in the aforementioned cities to discuss in greater detail projects identified as worthy of support. 12-15 projects will be supported. The groups will also be briefed on requirements for proposal submission and funding. Attendance at these meetings will be restricted to senior faculty, researchers who have put forward research suitable for support, relevant industry and government representatives and staff from the CSF and the HEC. The program will be advertised for the invitation of proposals through a HEC/ CSF application form. The application will be reviewed by the HEC Review Committee (HRC) for short listing on the joint criteria mentioned in the application form. A joint CSF/ HEC meeting will review the short-listed projects and select the project according the criteria of the both institutions respectively. The selected projects will be submitted to the boards of the both institutions for the final approval.

CSF/ HEC will also undertake initiatives to implement two other complementary activities:

1. Trade fairs in Islamabad and Karachi in 2007/ 2008 to promote academia-based research projects with knowledge-based commercial potential to the private industry.
2. Develop jointly a business incubator project as a pilot to promote the incubator concept for business development in Pakistan.

2.Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC)

The CSF has signed an MOU with the PARC. An Action Plan has been drafted and a TA consultant will undertake a review of PARC plan’s with a view to commercializing the various research activities at the National Agricultural Research Center.

• Click here to see the Action Plan

3.Government of Sindh (GoS)

The CSF has signed an MOU with the Government of Sindh to undertake a variety of activities principally in the agricultural sector.

• Click here to see the Action Plan

4.World Economic Forum (WEF)

The Competitiveness Support Fund is the partner institute in Pakistan for the Global Competitiveness Network of the World Economic Forum. As the partner institute, the CSF implements the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey in Pakistan, a survey implemented globally in over 125 countries worldwide. The results of the Executive Opinion Survey are presented each year in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.

As the partner institute, the CSF implements over 100 executive surveys annually. The next surveys will be implemented in the spring of 2007. To promote competitiveness in Pakistan, the CSF also helps to disseminate the results of the Global Competitiveness Report and the rankings of Pakistan in order to identify areas where competitiveness can be improved and to encourage dialogue and debate on competitiveness in Pakistan’s business, government and academic forums. The CSF also analyzes the results of the competitiveness rankings published in this report and prepares information for the economic press.

In this context, the CSF will work closely with the WEF to organize relevant workshops in Pakistan. CSF will also attend the relevant WEF meetings outside of Pakistan to strengthen the operations of CSF through exchange of experiences to develop the best practice and networking.

5.Board of Investment

As many of the fundamental objectives and programs of the BOI and the CSF have significant commonalities, both agree to work together and cooperate with each other for the development of Pakistan’s industry on the following terms and conditions:

• Prepare a Strategy Paper - Towards a Structured Reform Process for Improving the Investment Climate and Enhancing Competitiveness of Pakistan’s Economy.
• CSF will undertake a joint initiative with the Board of Investment (BOI) to create a Foreign Investors Council of Pakistan (FIC) as a forum for policy dialogue between the GOP and the Foreign Investor Community with a view to strengthening Pakistan in competing for international investment, promoting Pakistan as a preferred investment location and enhancing Pakistan’s competitiveness.
• CSF has undertaken a Policy Study/Action Plan on Special Economic Zone and Benchmarking. The study benchmarked Pakistan with India, China, Thailand Malaysia and Vietnam. The CSF will work with BOI to implement the Action Plan prepared by the CSF to facilitate the proposed Task Force towards setting up special economic zones in Pakistan.
• Based on the policy study “Policy Analysis on the Competitive Advantage of the Food Processing Sector in Pakistan: Focus on Quality, Safety and Standards” CSF has developed a Policy Action Plan to Enhance Finance and Competitiveness in the Horticulture Sector. The BOI will be involved in the proposed Task Force for Horticulture Finance and Competitiveness as a Member of the Task Force with a special focus on international investment in the sector.
• CSF will assist the BOI in its efforts to benchmark BOI with other successful investment promotion bodies in and outside of the region to enhance effectiveness of its operations.
• Jointly organise a workshop/conference on “Cross-border Co-operation through Trade and Investment” in FATA. The participants of the workshop/conference may include the stakeholders in the region, the interested Pakistani entrepreneurs (especially from FATA ), and the interested participants / foreign investors including those from Afghanistan.  
• Preparation of “Investment Guides” to make information available regarding investment opportunities, cost of doing business and marketing prospects for as many areas of Pakistan as is mutually acceptable and feasible.
• Any other activities deemed appropriate by mutual agreement to be necessary in the future for increasing investment and enhancing competitiveness in Pakistan and promoting Pakistan as a preferred investment destination in the region.

6.Pakistan Business Council

Based on the CSF presentation at the PBC, CSF feels that the issues in the micro economy which can be jointly addressed through PBC/CSF cooperation can be broken down into the following three groups:

Group 1:

• Supply chain efficiency
• Access to markets, and
• Access to technology

Group 2:

• Entrepreneurship training
• Management and staff training

Group 3:

• Family firm structures, and
• Delegation and authority

Although all three groups are interrelated and play a vital role in increasing micro competitiveness of the local enterprises, as a start CSF suggested Group 1.

In the Pilot Study CSF proposes to identify one industry, maybe the leather garment industry and do a detailed supply chain analysis of the leather garment (or any other) industry. Selection criteria will be discussed. A detailed supply chain analysis for the leather garment industry would:

1. Document the supply chain from the farms (which are the source of the animals) to the customer in the West who purchases and uses the garment.
2. Identify those processes which create the most value in the chain as well as the major cost multipliers.
3. Suggest remedies which could include consolidation, skill up gradation, access to finance, greater access to markets etc.

Based on the results of the Study, industry will be provided support through the CSF platform to implement the recommendations of the Study. Support from CSF to the industry can be in the form of financial, business modeling, access to markets, technical etc. The PBC will monitor the Study and provide monitoring and implementation support to the CSF.