The subprogramme on Economic Cooperation and Integration was created as a result of the UNECE reform adopted in December 2005. The Subprogramme aims to promote a policy, financial and regulatory environment conducive to economic growth, innovative development and higher competitiveness in the UNECE region, with a particular focus on countries with economies in transition. The adoption of its programme of work at the first session of the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration (CECI) in September 2006 paved the way for the activities of the Economic Cooperation and Integration Division. The year 2007 represented an important milestone, as the Subprogramme started work in five focus areas, and achieved concrete results building on considerable preparatory efforts.
The first meeting of the Team of Specialists on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies took place in March 2007, with the participation of a wide group of experts designated by UNECE member States as well as representatives of international organizations and other stakeholders. This Team of Specialists represents an important practical source of expertise and guidance to carry out the mandated activities in this area. The Team agreed on the modalities of implementing the tasks set up in the programme of work and on the concrete forms of collaborative work, including through the use of the CECI interactive information exchange platform. As a result of the cooperative efforts in this area, the Team developed a comprehensive Comparative Review of country experiences in the UNECE region focused on the creation of a conducive environment for higher competitiveness and effective national systems of innovation.
The International Conference “Reducing Barriers to Entrepreneurship and Encouraging Enterprise Development: Policy Options” (Geneva, June 2007) was attended by a large group of experts, in particular from countries with economies in transition. The Conference provided an opportunity to discuss how to overcome administrative barriers to enterprise establishment and operation and what regulatory changes are needed to create more favourable conditions for entrepreneurship. The participants made a number of recommendations and proposals to further improve the environment for entrepreneurship in the UNECE region. The network of experts in this area has served to provide valuable inputs to this process of identification of good practices in this thematic area. The support of experts from government, business and academia contributed to the productive discussions at the conference and the dissemination of its conclusions.
A Meeting of Experts on Financing for Innovative Development was held in Geneva in May 2007, with the participation of representatives of government agencies operating in this field, business angels, venture capital associations as well as the wider business community. The meeting was jointly organized with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The participants discussed the challenges faced by innovative enterprises in raising finance and the ways to address them, including the role of business angels and early-stage financing support programmes, venture capital and other forms of financing, as well as the importance of development finance institutions in fostering innovation. This meeting contributed to the ongoing efforts to establish and develop an expert network in this area. The deliberations provided an important input to the compilation of a Comparative Review of the experiences of UNECE countries in financing innovative development. The Review was completed with the continued support of this group of experts.
An International Conference “Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Transforming Research and Development Outputs into Intangible Assets in Economies in Transition” (Geneva, July 2007) discussed main challenges, good practices and policy options relating to the role of intellectual property in the transfer of technology from research institutions to the business sector. Among the topics addressed were: intellectual property strategies for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises, intellectual property rights enforcement, intellectual property audits, accounting and valuation issues. The discussions at the conference provide a good basis for further collaborative work on these issues and for developing related policy options.
The Team of Specialists on Intellectual Property held its second annual session in July 2007. The Team reviewed progress in the compilation of a Comparative Report on the commercialization of intellectual assets, cooperation with other international organizations in this area, in particular the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and adopted its programme of work for 2008. The meeting welcomed the ongoing efforts for collaboration with other CECI thematic areas, in particular financing for innovative development, and cross-sectoral cooperation with related activities carried out in other UNECE divisions, for example those covered by the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies. Capacity-building activities took place in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. In addition, training events on the use of intellectual property as a tool to raise finance were held in Geneva and Ljubljana in collaboration with WIPO and the expert network in the area of financing for innovative development.
An International Conference “Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building on Promoting Successful Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the UNECE Region” was organized in Tel-Aviv in June 2007 with the support of the Government of Israel. The conference discussed lessons learned from experiences of member countries and acknowledged the importance of capacity-building activities to foster the development of the necessary skills for the effective implementation of PPPs. The conference provided an occasion to review the Guidelines to Promoting Good Governance in Public-Private Partnerships, a document which demonstrates how Governments and the private sector can improve governance in PPPs and which can create the basis for the elaboration of training modules in this area. An Expert Meeting held on 13 November 2007 discussed further practical steps in developing a Comparative Review of practical experiences of PPPs in the UNECE region. CECI work in this area has been supported by the continued cooperation with UNESCAP and UNECA within the framework of the United Nations Development Account Project “Public-Private Partnership Alliance Programme for Capacity-Building in Infrastructure Development and Provision of Basic Services”.
The extensive collaborative work has contributed to the elaboration of policy documents in all five focus areas which were submitted for consideration at the second annual session of CECI in December 2007. These documents can serve as the basis for the identification of issues and preparation of training materials and toolkits for future capacity-building activities.
Since it was launched in 1998, the ongoing UNECE project for the biomass sector has been at the forefront of new developments in the field of biobased energy carriers. The experience of innovative developments in the logistics chain of wood and agroresidues is being widely shared with countries within and outside the UNECE region.
In the course of the year, the Division developed, in close cooperation with the UNECE Information Systems Unit, and introduced on its webpage the CECI information exchange platform. The platform is an innovative technological tool for communication, networking and joint work with the CECI main constituency, in particular its Teams of Specialists and expert networks.
The challenges ahead
In 2008, the Economic Cooperation and Integration Division will build on the achievements of the past year and will continue its efforts in support of the implementation of the CECI programme of work and, in particular, in expanding the scope of demand-driven capacity-building activities. The Division will focus increasingly on the development of materials and tools that can support these activities, including the preparation of guidebooks, training materials and other toolkits in various thematic areas.
The Division is prepared to face the challenge of continuously reflecting the actual and changing needs of UNECE member States in its activities. It is committed, within the existing resource constraints, to assist member States, especially countries with economies in transition, in the dissemination and implementation of good practices fostering knowledge-driven development.
The Division’s involvement in practical projects is also expected to gain new territory. In 2008 the biomass project will expand its activities from Northwest Russia to other regions of the Russian Federation that are developing their renewable energy sources. The focus of this work will be on the promotion of best practice in close cooperation with the private sector, in particular in the areas of logistics of second generation biomass flows in countries with economies in transition.
In order to overcome these challenges and support the effectiveness of the Division’s work, it is essential to continue developing and strengthening partnerships with other international organizations and stakeholders in the different focus areas. These links will contribute to achieving synergies, facilitating the shared use of scarce expertise, will enhance the relevance of CECI activities and will better align them to actual needs. At the same time, by putting in contact various networks of interested parties, these efforts will promote knowledge sharing and the emergence of partnering communities across UNECE member States.
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