UNIDO AND ITS ROLE IN TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO is the specialised agency within the UN System with the mandate to help developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their fight against marginalization. It mobilizes knowledge, skills, information, investment and technology to promote productive employment, competitive economy and sound environment. Concerning technology promotion, UNIDO’s programmes focus on stimulating innovation and technological progress at institutional and enterprise level for sustained and competitive growth of the economy. The technology needs assessment, the identification of technology sources and the technology transfer from technology developers to users are regarded and dealt with as critical elements in the process. Another feature of the UNIDO programmatic approach is to consider technology promotion and investment promotion as intrinsically linked and embodied in a UNIDO service module “Investment and Technology Promotion Programme” with the following characterisation: The programme comprises advisory and institutional capacity-building services to promote investment and technology flows and facilitate business alliances. Institutional capacity-building services aim at establishing/strengthening (i) national Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) as one-stop shops for investment promotion, (ii) technology centres and technology support institutions to assist enterprises with the assessment, transfer and management of new and appropriate technology and (iii) Subcontracting and Partnership Exchanges (SPX) to identify and promote manufacturing capacities and capabilities of local SMEs. Advisory services are provided to investment and technology promotion institutions in developing countries and economies in transition to assist them in the formulation and appraisal of business proposals, search for strategic partners abroad and locating potential sources of funds. The programme is increasingly using information and communication technologies (ICT) for various on-line applications including provision of on-line advisory services whenever feasible. The programme relies upon Investment and Technology Promotion Offices (ITPOs). The programme also maintains and expands linkages with other UNIDO entities such as International Technology Centers (ITCs), SPXs, field offices, NCPCs (National Cleaner Production Centers), etc. Global Forum activities are pursued to support and add value to technical cooperation programmes.