From the 2nd to the 4th of June, the 14th Session of the UNECE Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships (CICPPP) was held.
The session has covered issues related to:
first of all, Innovation and Competitiveness Policies:
- (a) Analyses of national innovation policies;
- (b) National and subregional capacity building;
- (c) International good practices on innovation policies for sustainable development.
secondly, People-first PPPs and Building Back Better concept.
On the 2nd of May, participants discussed the results, further actions and progress achieved regarding the Innovation for Sustainable Development Reviews of Armenia, the Republic of Moldova, Uzbekistan and Georgia as well as the Subregional Innovation Policy Assessment of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The ECE Sub-regional Innovation Policy Outlook 2020: Eastern Europe and South Caucasus is a pilot project that has been under development since September 2018. As a part of the project, a concerted, systematic and comprehensive assessment and comparison of innovation-related policies, institutions and processes across countries (including in Ukraine) and across a set of good practices and with a clear sustainable development perspective was made.
Also, the past and current work of the expert group of the UNECE Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships has enabled the participants of the 14th session to discuss the role of innovation policy in the implementation of the Building Back Better concept after the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovation is central to the shift towards more sustainable production and consumption post COVID-19 and the transition to a circular economy. New technologies, product design, digital platforms and innovative business models are the enablers for a circular economy.
On the 3rd of June, a panel discussion on “Improving, using and testing the first version of the UNECE People-first PPP Evaluation Methodology” took place. An introduction to the methodology was made by the Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Irina Novikova.
The draft of the methodology was developed in 2020, by a project team that included more than 150 international experts. Currently, the Evaluation Methodology is comprised of 22 benchmarks and 100 indicators within 5 main outcomes that must be achieved according to the UNECE “People-first” approach. Those outcomes are Access and equity; Economic effectiveness and fiscal sustainability; Environmental sustainability and resilience; Replicability; Stakeholder engagement.
On the 4th of June, the UNECE Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships discussed the work to be carried out in 2021 and 2020, the key priorities for 2023 as well as identified the areas of common interest and collaboration with other ECE bodies and international organisations.
The Committee has adopted the following documents:
“Smart and Sustainable Cities: The Role of Governance and Innovation Policy”
“Building Back Better: Using Platforms to Enable Sharing and Progress towards the Circular Economy”
“Building Back Better: Innovation-enhancing Procurement for Sustainable Development”