Towards ERA: Challenges and opportunities

Prior to joining the European Union, Malta, like all other accession countries, had to submit an inordinate amount of qualitative and quantitative data to the Commission. Looking through the data linked to the European Research Area (ERA), one starts to understand that only through the widest social and political consensus, and broad community participation, can membership obligations be truly tackled and, eventually, fulfilled.

With human resources capital being Malta's most tangible asset, the EU Innovation Scoreboard 2003 figures give a sobering if not worrying indication of Malta's current situation compared with the EU average. The EU data for new science and engineering graduates (S & E grads - ages 20-29) show that in the case of Malta this stands at 3.3 per cent of total graduates compared with an average of 11.3 per cent of the EU-15. Lifelong learning, so necessary to bridge competency gaps and to keep abreast of new developments stands higher at 4.4 per cent but below the EU-15 average of 8.4 per cent.

The latest published figures for the percentage of the working population with tertiary education (2002) show Malta scoring last from 31 European countries, with seven per cent. This figure is significantly lower than the EU average of 21.2 per cent which in its turn is lagging behind the US (37.2 per cent) and Japan (33.8 per cent).

Europe's strategy to catch up with other world regions is through removing growth barriers and investing in the future, that is in innovation, education and diffusion of new technologies. As an EU member state we have to embark on a process of structural reforms leading to more flexible labour and product markets, investments in innovation and education, further diffusion of new technologies. These elements are crucial in reversing the present trends and bring productivity and employment to levels compatible with the competitiveness goals embedded in the Lisbon (ERA) agenda.

Malta has practically no R&D expenditure in both public and private sectors. The establishment of a national RTDI programme with an initial budget of Lm300,000 is the first small step towards national structured research funding. Nevertheless, to reach the ERA's goals of 2010 (three per cent GDP), that budget has to increase two hundredfold to approximately Lm50+ million yearly with a recommended two-thirds input from the private sector.

No national research strategy would really work unless it is addressed in three manners employing inter-related activities, that is, structures, processes and outcomes.

The outcomes have to be those indicated by the Council in the various strategies it has adopted including Innovation Scoreboard and Competitiveness indicators. Furthermore, Malta cannot possibly afford to have 40 per cent of its population stopping at secondary level schooling and less than 10 per cent of the population having tertiary education qualifications (including university diplomas). There has to be a structured monitoring programme which consistently tackles these indicators ensuring that Malta makes a tangible, quality transition to a knowledge-based society.

It is part of human nature to feel uneasy in the face of change but the European Union, our new reality, embraces change. It means that collectively, constantly, we have to work towards practical solutions that ensure a smooth transition to a knowledge-based society. The knowledge society depends for its growth on the production of new knowledge, its transmission through education and training, its dissemination through information and communication technologies and on its use through new industrial processes or services.

Full stock of the structural situation has to be taken - training competencies, competency gaps, educational qualifications, work practices, organisational models, continuing professional development, lifelong learning, standards, leadership styles, process/service/knowledge designs and systematic solutions found through innovative process development.

Beyond jockeying for positions and/or maintaining the status quo, leadership in this country should focus on the national interest of making Malta a principal European player in knowledge creation, human resource development and innovation. This can only be done by embracing all and sundry into undertaking a collective effort to successfully achieve progressive targets of wealth creation, employment and entrepreneurship. Not tackling the issue well enough or undertaking fragmented initiatives is plain enough to see - duplication, brain drain, work turnover, unemployment, repeats of Maltese translation debacles, performance shoddiness; resulting in unhealthy acrimony that finds its major outlets in the political class and the social partners.

The EU is a tremendous learning curve for everyone. Membership will not bring any more advantages than participating in common European goals. Only through hard work and visionary leadership will we achieve what we still have to achieve. Faced with a Catch-22 situation, we should perhaps plot our own course, within a European framework but nonetheless with a leading role.

The EU is very much aware of its borders and of the current international climate.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that it has welcomed Turkey's intention to join the EU and that, significantly of relevance to Malta, it is increasing funding for common projects with neighbouring countries such as African countries and Russia and the independent states from 2007.

The path we travel towards 2010 should include the following strategies:

Seek community-wide consensus on a national research strategy and programme.

Devise flexible vocational and educational training packages.

Create national research institute/s dedicated to expanding and relatively new multidisciplinary industries like biotechnology, information and communication technologies and business solutions.

Promote clustering of entities (legal, business, research, consultancy, educational, employment etc) that operate in the same work context.

Communicate the benefits of RTDI community-wide.

Study closely local/international success stories especially start-up SMEs and use the knowledge to identify innovative workpractice/organisational/infrastructural set-ups.

Foster retraining/conversion/accessibility lifelong learning and career opportunities to inactive, unemployed and under-utilised employees through educational and training programmes.

Bridge research and business gaps.

Create checks and balances through internal/external auditing.

Pursue progressive and aggressive sourcing of EU funding and FDI.

Encourage further public/private initiatives/partnerships.

Monitor constantly established and continuing national research/business/education targets.

It is time to revisit our national strategies and work towards a regional hub model with Malta playing a central and leading role in a Mediterranean basin comprising a market of 400 million people. The Competitiveness Report 2003 observes that three countries from the EU-15 have had growth acceleration rates higher than the US - Ireland, Finland and Luxembourg. These countries, all small, have made use of their strategic position, historical ties and innovation to achieve real success stories. They are testament to the adage that small is beautiful; let's bury the hatchet - we can do it.

Dr Theuma is a University of Malta staff member with a Ph.D from Reading University. He has collaborated on Foresight, Capacity Building and National RTDI Watch projects.