UNU-MERIT Policy Briefs

The Policy Briefs series is designed to reach policy-makers in developing countries and those groups and individuals seeking to influence the policymaking process at national and international levels. The production of each Brief is a collaborative effort, bringing together experts from specialised research institutions located in both the North and the South. The experts participate in the selection of topics to be covered, and contribute articles on one of the agreed topics. UNU-MERIT co-ordinators edit these contributions into a coherent 8-12 page Policy Brief.

The specific objectives of the PB series are to:

• Provide reliable, relevant information for policy-makers in developing countries;
• Strengthen the capacity of research institutions in developing countries to contribute meaningfully to the dialogue on technology policy issues in their countries;
• Create greater awareness in the industrialised world of issues relevant to the concerns of developing countries.

The following issues have been published to date:

2006

UNU Policy Brief, Number 11, 2006. Using Science and Technology Indicators to support knowledgebased economies (PDF 220 KB). By Robert Tijssen and Hugo Hollanders

UNU Policy Brief, Number 10, 2006. Foreign Direct Investment: Key Issues for Promotion Agencies (PDF 204 KB). By Mariana Zanatta, Ionara Costa and Sergey Filippov

UNU Policy Brief, Number 3, 2006. Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Transport Alternatives: Issues for Developing Countries (PDF 204 KB). By Lynn Mytelka and Grant Boyl

UNU Policy Brief, Number 1, 2006. Open Source and Open Standards: A New Frontier for Economic Development? (PDF 401 KB). By Rishab Aiyer Ghosh and Jan Philipp Schmidt, March 2006.

2005

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 4, Issue 1 (PDF 131 Kb)
Measuring Innovation: Making Innovation Surveys Work for Developing Countries, Goedhuys, Micheline (Ed.), December 2005

UNU Policy Brief, Number 1, 2005. Regulating Bioprospecting: Institutions for Drug Research, Access and Benefit-Sharing (PDF 397 KB). By Padmashree Gehl Sampath, March 2005.

2004

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 3, Issue 2 (PDF 382 Kb)
Some Interrelationships Between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity
Abstracts in French and Spanish

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 3, Issue 1 (PDF 338 Kb)
North South Partnerships in Agricultural Biotechnology
Abstracts in French and Spanish

2003

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 2, Issue 2 (PDF 220 Kb)
ICTs for Innovation: Policy Issues for Developing Countries
Abstracts in French and Spanish

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 2, Issue 1 (PDF 118 Kb)
Transnational Corporations, Learning and Innovation: Implications of the TRIMs Agreement
Abstracts in French and Spanish

2002

Technology Policy Brief, Volulme 1, Issue 4 (PDF 118 Kb)
Energy and the Environment
Abstracts in French and Spanish

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 1, Issue 3 (PDF 155 Kb)
Bio-Pharmaceuticals and Health
Abstracts in French and Spanish

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 1, Issue 2 (PDF 225 Kb)
Agricultural Biotechnology
Abstracts in French and Spanish
Please also visit the Biotechnology Policy Group at the Open University.

Technology Policy Brief, Volume 1, Issue 1 (PDF 201 Kb)
Technology Policy Issues at the WTO
Abstracts in French and Spanish

For more information on the Series please contact Ms Wangu Mwangi

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