Salutations
 
YBhg Dato’ Azman Mahmud          
Chief Executive Officer
MIDA
            
Professor Graham Kendall
Vice Profost (Research and Knowledge Transfer)
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
 
Distinguished guests,
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
A very good morning to all of you,
 
I am delighted to welcome you all, on behalf of Malaysia Investment and Development Authority (MIDA) and the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, to today’s International Conference – Funding Research on a Changing Landscape.
 
This Conference represents an important discourse on the importance of collaborative research and development (R&D), to promote collaboration between academia and industry, and share the working models of academia and industry collaboration.

Science is becoming more global and mobile
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
As we are moving towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, science will be increasingly global, occurring in more and more places than ever before. Since the beginning of the 21^st century, the global spend on research and development has nearly doubled, publications have grown by a third, and the number of researchers continues to rise. North America, Japan, Europe and Australasia have all witnessed growth, with each increasing spending by around one-third between 2002 and 2007. In the same period, ‘developing countries’, including the emerging economies of China, India and Brazil, more than doubled their expenditure on R&D, increasing their contribution to world R&D spending by 7 percentage points from 17% to 24%.
 
According to UNESCO Science Report Towards 2030 which was published late last year, science is becoming more mobile. The number of international students rose by 46% between 2005 and 2013: from 2.8 million to 4.1 million. Countries are striving to attract and retain talent to drive the knowledge economy to which they aspire or to maintain their international competitiveness.
 
This trend towards greater scientific mobility is accompanied by another: the growing number of private firms that are relocating their research laboratories abroad. Although universities are collaborating much more internationally than before, their infrastructure tends to be less physically mobile than that of private firms, with only a minority setting up campuses abroad. The private sector thus has a potentially considerable role to play in spreading the ‘resource balance’ in science and technology around the world.
 
As science has expanded in the late 20^th and into the 21^st century, it has become interconnected. According to the Royal Society, over onethird of research papers are the direct result of international collaboration, with authors’ addresses from more than one country. The number of internationally co-authored papers has more than doubled since 1990. Today over 35% of articles published in international journals are internationally collaborative, up from 25% 15 years ago.
 
The architecture of world science is also changing, with the expansion of global networks. These involve networks of individuals, mostly self-organised but sometimes orchestrated (as in the Human Genome Project). Some networks are based on collaborations at international organisations (such as CERN); others are funded internationally, by multinational businesses (which fund their own laboratories and work in universities across the globe), by major foundations (such as Gates), or by cross-national structures such as the EU. These global networks increasingly exert a significant influence on the conduct of science across the world.
 
The connections of people, through formal and informal channels, diaspora communities, virtual global networks and professional communities of shared interests are important drivers of international collaboration. These networks span the globe. Motivated by the bottomup exchange of scientific insight, knowledge and skills, they are changing the focus of science from the national to the global level.
 
Collaboration brings significant benefits, both measurable such as increased citation impact and access to new markets, and less easily quantifiable outputs, such as broadening research horizons. The facilitation of collaboration, therefore, has a positive impact not only on the science conducted, but on the broader objectives for any science system be that enhancing domestic prosperity or addressing specific challenges.
 
Global challenges need global solutions
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
2015 was indeed a momentous year. The global community spoke in one voice and adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 20130 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Climate Agreement. Staying on task to achieve these goals, and consistently monitoring progress will be big undertaking for all countries.

The scale and depth of the goals require a radically different and disruptive approach -- the essence of innovation -- along with significant scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements. Science, technology and innovation (STI) have the potential to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of our efforts to meet the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda and create benefits for society, the economy and the environment.
 
Science, technology and innovation are more than simply tools for advancing the cause of one nation. Recent meetings of global networks such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or regional meetings of the European Commission, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the African Union demonstrate the contribution of science in addressing cross-border issues. Global challenges such as climate change, food, water and energy security all feature highly on the agenda, and require politicians to engage with science globally and locally in order to identify sustainable solutions. There is also an important role for science in addressing concerns such as poverty alleviation, sustainability and diversity.
 
These ‘global challenges’ have received much attention in recent years, and are now a key component of national and multinational science strategies and many funding mechanisms. The challenge for us now is how to reap the maximum benefit of global science; how to ensure that the fruits of this science are best used to address current and global issues, and to prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the future.
 
Global challenges are ambitious but achievable goals that harness science, technology, and innovation to solve important national or global problems and that have the potential to capture the public’s imagination. To give an example on April 2, 2013, President Obama called on companies, research universities, foundations, and philanthropists to join him in identifying and pursuing the Grand Challenges of the 21^st century. 
 
Grand Challenges can help create the industries and jobs of the future; expand the frontiers of human knowledge about ourselves and the world around us; help tackle important problems related to energy, health, education, the environment, national security, and global development; and serve as a “North Star” for collaboration between the public and private sectors.
 
Science and Policy Nexus
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Science is essential for addressing global challenges, but it cannot do so in isolation. A wide range of approaches will be required, including the appropriate use of financial incentives, incorporating non-traditional forms of knowledge, and working with the social sciences and wider disciplines. Science is crucial but it is unlikely to produce all the answers by itself: the science infrastructure works best when it is supported by, and enables, other systems.
 
A growing number of development issues are of a multi-dimensional and cross-sector nature. This high degree of complexity often requires a greater need for scientific input, scientific assessment, and scientific modelling in the policy making process. Yet science and other forms of knowledge are not used effectively in policymaking; and policy makers do not always effectively inform scientist about their needs for scientific knowledge.
 
One of the biggest misconceptions when thinking about the science-policy interface is that science policy communication follows a ‘linear model’, which assumes that policy makers pose questions, and then scientist feed in the appropriate evidence so that policy makers can make well informed decisions. This type of situation is largely uncommon, as science and policy are both complex activities that are not so straightforward in their approaches to solving problems.
 
In the case of Malaysia, there are nine National R&D priority areas which was developed by the National Science and Research Council (NSRC) in order to address the global challenges. It includes biodiversity, cybersecurity, energy security, environment and climate change, food security, medical and healthcare, plantation crops and commodities, transport and urbanization, and water.

Under the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, an existing agency will be restructured to become the RMA to strengthen the institutional mechanism to manage public R&D&C&I initiatives to improve effectiveness, maximize outcome and increase return on investment. In addition, the agency will also review existing programmes to eliminate those which are overlapping and supply-driven and reduce low-impact programmes
 
Science 2 Action – Moving beyond 2020
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Moving forward in order to achieve sustainable growth beyond 2020, Prime Minister Najib championed the Science 2 Action (S2A) initiative. The S2A is the initiative to intensify the application of science and technology for industry development, people's well-being and governance of science, technology and industry that aligns to the New Economic Model which was introduced in 2010. It aims to reinvigorate science so that it is ready and able to generate the big new ideas and game changing strategies that will create wealth and jobs for our people. The S2A initiative is made up of three key components: Science to Industry, Science to WellBeing and Science to Governance. 
 
Ultimately, the value of the S2A Initiative will be proven through the creation of new jobs, greater wealth and a strengthening of Malaysia's competitiveness in the international markets, as measured by the Global Competitiveness and Global Innovation Indices. The Prime Minister's vision is for Malaysia to be ranked among the top 10 countries in both. Through S2A, both government and industry will intensify their focus on promoting excellence in high technology and industrial development to make Malaysia a stronger nation.
 
Research across International Networks
 
As part of the S2A initiative was the establishment of the NewtonUngku Omar Fund, a joint initiative between the Malaysian and British governments. The Newton-Ungku Omar Fund has created new opportunities to enhance our bilateral relationship and scientists from both countries to work together on potentially life-changing research and innovation initiatives.
 
I am pleased to share the encouraging progress made by the Newton Ungku Omar Fund since it was started in 2014. There have already been eleven main collaborative programmes established under the banner looking at areas of human capital development, research and development and most importantly, the translation of research outputs from the laboratory to the market. Researcher Links and Institutional Links programmes have already started building strong network linkages between Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
 
The worldwide growth of public support for research has presented an opportunity for countries large and small to work in concert across national borders.  Cooperation and collaboration can enhance the quality of science, avoid unnecessary duplication, provide economies of scale, and address issues that can only be solved by working together.  Heads of research funding agencies have a responsibility to meet these objectives on behalf of the research community.
 
One of the global initiative to bring leading research funding organizations around the world is through the Global Research Council. The Global Research Council is a virtual organization, comprised of the heads of science and engineering funding agencies from around the world, dedicated to promoting the sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among funding agencies worldwide. The Council provides a forum for publicly funded research councils worldwide to engage with one another, and to build the relationships necessary to foster increased international cooperation. The goals of the organization are twofold: to identify best practices for funding agencies that can foster international collaborations among the research community; and to support the establishment of world-class funding agencies in countries with an emerging research investment.
 
The establishment of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network is another example of cross border research collaboration. Launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in August 2012, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society, and the private sector in support of sustainable development problem solving at local, national, and global scales. The aim is to accelerate joint learning and help to overcome the compartmentalization of technical and policy work by promoting integrated approaches to the interconnected economic, social, and environmental challenges confronting the world. 
 
The SDSN works closely with United Nations agencies, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector, and civil society. We have also established SDSN Malaysia Chapter which was launched by Prof Jeffrey Sachs himself October 2013. The Malaysia Chapter will host and help coordinate the activities of SDSN within the nation. This will include promoting solutions initiatives and mobilizing key scientific and technical expertise towards implementing action-oriented solutions for the longterm sustainable development of Malaysia.
 
Another example of cross border research collaboration is the Future Earth spearheaded by International Council for Science (ICSU). It is a ten-year international research initiative that will develop the knowledge for responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change and for supporting transformation towards global sustainability in the coming decades. Future Earth will mobilize thousands of scientists while strengthening partnerships with policymakers and other stakeholders to provide sustainability options and solutions in the wake of Rio+20.
 
Another example of cross border research collaboration is the development of Low Carbon Society Scenarios for Asian Regions is initiated under the auspices of SATREPS.  It is a joint effort between Japan and Malaysia which brings together a team of multidisciplinary researchers from Kyoto University, the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Okayama University and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). The aim of the research collaboration is to define Low Carbon Society (LCS) visions and crafting a road map towards LCS at the national and city-regional levels, in line with Malaysia’s voluntary commitment to reduce the country’s carbon intensity by 40% by year 2020 (based on 2005 levels). 
 
The research project begins with a pilot study of Iskandar Malaysia (IM), a “special economic region” located at the southernmost tip of Mainland Asia that is poised to become a regional economic powerhouse by 2025.  The project will showcase best practice in LCS for the Asian Regions and will therefore benefit not only IM and Malaysia, but also the Asian Regions.  It will be a hands-on project where researchers and government officials of Asian countries work together in implementing research outputs within the cities or regions involved, leading to the eventual establishment of an Asian Low Carbon Society network.
 
Moving Forward
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Clearly cross border research collaboration in science looks set to increase in terms of importance, scale and impact. It requires international co-operation on a large scale because of the nature and magnitude of the potential consequences of these problems. No one country or scientific discipline will be able to offer complete solutions.
 
National research funding should be adaptive and responsive to global challenges, supporting the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the science required to address these issues.
 
Research funders should provide greater support for international research collaboration through research and mobility grants, and other mechanisms that support research networks.
 
The challenge for governments, scientists, NGOs and others is how best to orchestrate research efforts to address such issues collectively, while combining scientific with wider social, political and economic perspectives.
 
This is also an opportunity for our scientists and researchers to get involved in national policymaking but also in international science diplomacy: informing foreign policy on global challenges, promoting international science co-operation and research centres, and improving international relations. 

 
We need to be part of the large international processes and not just to be a bystander. What I urge here is a more proactive, high-profile role of our scientific community in helping diffuse some of the global challenges facing humanity.
 
This conference is a step in that direction. I wish all participants a fruitful and beneficial meeting of minds. This will certainly underscore our commitment towards greater cross border research collaboration.
 
Thank you. Terima kasih.

Source : Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name : KHAIRUL AMIR ALAIS 
Information and Communications Division
Malaysian Investment Development Authority
Tel : 03-22673505 
Fax : 03-2274 8470
Email : khairulamir@mida.gov.my
Web : www.mida.gov.my

--BERNAMA