The sciences and research systems are increasingly recognized as important factors to economic development because of their close connection with innovation, and because of the broad role science plays in helping economies meet social, environmental, health, and international goals.
At the 2012 APEC Leaders’ Meeting, Leaders welcomed the establishment of the Chief Science Advisors and Equivalents (CSAE) as a point of dialogue within the APEC community on the role of science in policy formation.
The 1st CSAE meeting was held in New Zealand in 2013 and subsequent meetings have been held annually in Malaysia (2014), Peru (2015), Lima (2016) and Australia (2018). In the last meeting held in Brisbane on 25–26 October 2018 the topics that were discussed were related to workforce capability, public understanding of science, tropical medicine and health, agritechnology, etc. The meeting’s participants prospected the role of science and technology in the vision for APEC post-2020. The documents from the meetings can be found here.
The CSAE emphasises the importance of inclusive collaboration in science, technology and innovation to enable economies to develop and promote economic growth and stability across the region. It has been also reflected in the 2018 Chair’s Era Kone Statement, which highlighted the importance of science, technology and innovation in enabling inclusive, sustainable economic growth for the region.
The CSAE is encouraging all APEC working groups with engagement in science, technology and innovation issues to directly engage with the Vision Group process and consider the inclusion of future goals directly related to these issues.
The next CSAE meeting is tentatively scheduled for a to-be-confirmed date in August, 2019.