Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Wayne Marshall, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Annette Weekes, recently signed an Organization of American States (OAS) agreement to develop a Science, Technology and Innovation policy for Barbados. (GP)

Barbados is set to benefit from an Organisation of American States (OAS) project to boost its capacity to develop a Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy.

This comes after the OAS invited member states to submit proposals in “Inclusive Resilience for an Effective Recovery with a Focus on Science and Technology”.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Wayne Marshall, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Annette Weekes, recently signed the OAS agreement for the execution plan to develop the policy.

Currently, Government’s drive for digital transformation is dependent on multiple factors, one of which is building human capital in STI. Human resource development in this area is critical to Government’s agenda for the promotion of digital transformation, renewable energy, health, bioscience, and the blue economy.

The MIST, under its unit of Science, Marketing Research and Innovation, will develop the STI policy, in addition to training in instruments for measurement of innovation and research and development, which allows policymakers to determine how policy initiatives are working. The capacity to measure will enable Barbados to benchmark against other countries.

Such a policy is necessary to guide promotion efforts, while ensuring that all stakeholders are familiar with the goals of the Government as it relates to the use of STI as instruments of socio-economic development. Through this initiative, Barbados can also signal its commitment to an increased focus on STI.

Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology

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