Malta's R&I policy - The Malta Council for Science and Technology

In March 1988 the Minister for Education recommended that:

(i) A National Commission for Science and Technology be established and that it should reside within the Office of the Prime Minister.  The proposed Commission was to be mandated to establish:

“1) What the country has in this field by carrying out a survey of people, equipment, and libraries / documentation.

2) What the country needs to have in terms of people, equipment and libraries / documentation.

3) To review and propose educational programmes to ensure the availability of suitably trained scientists and technologists.

4) To see what possibilities exist for the training of scientists and technologists overseas and to propose agreements with foreign governments for the provisions of scholarships and bursaries.

5) To co-ordinate and assist the effort related to the transfer of technology and technological innovation”¹.

(ii) An Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of the respective Ministers for Education, Social Policy and Productive Development be set up.

In August 1988, the Government established the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) as an advisory body to assist it in the formulation and implementation of a National Science and Technology policy.  In a letter to the Chair of the Council, the Prime Minister established 11 objectives – which included:

“1. to submit proposals and recommendations to the Government concerning a national policy for science and technology that will take due account of the specific situation and requirements of the Maltese Islands.

2. to participate in the national socio-economic planning process.²

4. to prepare short and medium term plans for the science and technology activities in Malta, largely oriented towards perceived national needs in the Maltese public and private sectors….”

In January 1994, the Minister of Education and Human Resources presented a Science and Technology Policy Document directed to act as a clear statement emphasising Government’s commitment to science and technology.  The Science and Technology Policy Document identified:

“seven areas as meriting particular attention and concentration ... singled out inasmuch as Malta could reap the benefits of comparative advantage by establishing excellence in them… [as well as] attain the level of quality assurance required by European and the highest world standards in the relevant products and services.”

The areas identified were: (i) national information technology strategy; (ii) co-ordination of land and sea related activities; (iii) energy saving and renewable energy applications; (iv) improvement of water production and water use; (v) building on Remote Sensing Centre at M’Xlokk to develop scientific capabilities in relation to local and regional environmental decision making; (vi) protection and conservation of scientifically significant geological and landscape features; and the (vii) application of bio-technology in various spheres.

In terms of a strategic orientation for science and technology, MCST had three major impacts.

First; MCST, through its Vision 2000 work promulgated, in 1992 the concept of Malta as a regional hub.  At a conference held specifically on the issue on 5th May 1992, the then Chairman of MCST had stated that:

“The issue which [MCST] is presenting, that is the proposed development of Malta as a communications node, is not an issue for idle speculation, it is for conscious choices to be made by the leadership of our country.  The questions which we are asking are: Do we want to strive for this particular future, for this particular development of our country? ….If so, are we ready to make the necessary investment in research and development which it calls for?” ³

It is pertinent to underline that the hub concept introduced by MCST has continued today to be a fundamental premise of national strategic planning.

Second; MCST with strategic intent designated top priority to information technology.  In September 1993, MCST commissioned an autonomous and independent study to formulate the initial thrusts of a National IT Strategy (NSIT) with terms of reference to:

“…draw up recommendations for the deployment of I.T. on three fronts, namely:

- Business Opportunities and developments;
- Telecommunications Infrastructure; and
- Education.” ⁴

Few will deny that the work carried out by MCST in this regard established the foundations upon which Malta’s thriving information economy is based.

Third; Between 1996 and 2004 the role of MCST was oriented primarily towards the facilitation of the EU Framework programmes wherein MCST has had marked success, as well as institution-building strategies, including the National Laboratory and the Innovation Relay Centre among others.

In 2005, the Prime Minister, in order to strengthen the institutional set-up for research, development and innovation in science and technology tasked the Cabinet Committees’ Support Unit to carry out a strategic audit of MCST.  In October of 2005, the Prime Minister’s Office initiated a reform of MCST.

The Prime Minister, on 11th January 2006, in a speech to the newly set-up Advisory Council to the MCST identified the following as the cardinal principles directing the reform of MCST:

“Firstly, RTDI State investment must add value to our economy and our society.  RTDI is not an end in itself but rather a catalyst for developing Malta into a modern, knowledge-based economy.  State capacity realities must be taken on board; and such capacity cannot be squandered by fragmenting it across a broad range of policy areas.  Rather, capacity must be directed towards establishing an enabling framework that will allow value-added RTDI to flourish.  Success demands focus, commitment and resources; in turn underpinned by vision, leadership, determination and aggression.  We have achieved this in the ICT and financial services sectors, primarily because we ensured that these attributes were in place.  There is no reason why, given the same attributes, the same level of success cannot be achieved in science and technology.

Secondly, RTDI’s value to our economy and society must be realised in tangible innovative products, processes and services.  This in turn means that the nation’s drive to RTDI must primarily be business-driven.  We must therefore focus on our strengths, which based on experience to date, appear to be rooted in our ability to build on and develop RTDI breakthroughs achieved elsewhere and bridging technologies. …

It is for this purpose that the Government in the 2006 budget speech tasked MCST to draw up a National Strategy for RTDI in science and technology:  to establish the priorities and targets and to define the measures, actions, levers, and incentives to be introduced, improved upon and consolidated so that we secure an environment within which value added RTDI can flourish. …

Thirdly, the emerging potential for public-private partnerships in applied research which give Malta a regional edge in the Euro-Mediterranean region needs to be explored.  If feasible, such an approach will have two direct benefits.  On the one hand, it will provide an opportunity for Malta to be anchored as a centre for excellence for business-driven RTDI in the region.  While on the other hand, it will allow local industry and University increased opportunities to work together and in tandem with major foreign institutes to deliver business-driven RTDI that can be exported to the region. …

Fourthly, Alternative forms of support, both public and private, for more exploratory, basic research and for training our doctoral researchers need to be encouraged and allowed to evolve.  We believe that this should be the role of the University of Malta which together with its international connections, exploiting EU funding should act as the prime lever for basic research.   Our University is particularly well-positioned to assume a proactive role in this regard – as has been successfully applied by other Universities overseas.

Fifthly, applied and basic research investments and activity must occur simultaneously.  Government, through MCST needs to ensure that the required mechanisms exist to ensure convergence and above all coherence between diverse initiatives.  For example, resources and facilities for research in the public and private sectors could be shared and made more readily accessible to young researchers and entrepreneurs.  Future horizon scanning between the University of Malta and other post-secondary institutions, together with industry should be conducted on an on-going basis to ensure that we have the appropriate skills development programmes in place, at the right time to sustain the growth of our economy and a learning society.  Furthermore, the Government will strongly encourage University-led initiatives that promote basic research activity in response to Government’s applied research priorities.

Sixth, as I mentioned earlier, RTDI requires vision, leadership, aggression, determination and a degree of resourcefulness, if it is to be successfully inculcated as a way of life in our society.  MCST has been tasked with the redefinition and prioritisation of its roles, based on its new position within OPM, that is to provide the vision and coherence, to facilitate stakeholder engagement, and to catalyse the process of change. …

Seventh, establishing a flourishing RTDI environment requires financing – not only State and EU financing but also the unleashing of research funding from the private sector and in particular financial institutions.”

The reforms have resulted in the following institutional framework:

(a) In order to politically champion the strategic importance of R&I, given that research and innovation as a policy instrument cuts horizontally across various policy domains (higher education; education; employment; industry and enterprise; capital; and competitivity, etc) policy ownership for R&I was, in October 2005 placed within the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

(b) The Council was reformed with the separation of responsibilities for management and R&I policy direction. Thus, the Board constituted on the Council has policy and management direction for MCST.  R&I advice is provided through the constitution of an Advisory Board, chaired by the Principal Permanent Secretary and constituted of scientists, industry, and academia.  The Advisory Board has the following terms of reference:

“01. Establish a formal mechanism for national players to advise Government (through MCST) on the R&I strategy, policies and priorities.

02. Enable MCST to inform stakeholders regarding its policies and activities.”

(ii) The mission of MCST was changed to read as follows:

“The Council for Malta Science and Technology shall act as the Government’s lead agency for primarily, business driven R&I in Science and Technology and will seek to catalyse cohesion, coherence and congruency in Government’s R&I goals, objectives, strategies, policies, programmes and activities.”

In essence MCST is the lead administrative entity entrusted with the responsibility to implement the National Strategy for Research and Innovation and will work with related entities to ensure joined-up activity of actions taken.

MCST is organised as follows:

(iii) The objects of MCST as expressed in its Charter amended in 1994 were rationalised in order to provide focus to MCST.  These have been set as:

“01. R&I Strategic Planning:  to coordinate the development and updating of a National R&I Strategic Plan, including the identification of the economic priority areas towards which State financing for value-added R&I is channelled; as well as to assure its attainment.

02. Policy Design, Evaluation and Audit:  to design R&I policy, evaluate policy recommendations on R&I prepared by other ministries, and conduct audits to assess the effectiveness of new and existing policies.

03. Catalyst and Enabler: to catalyse science and technology activity in government and to ensure congruency, coherency and cohesion in such activitiy.

04. R&I Programme Governance and Management:  to govern and manage local, EU and international programmes related to R&I in Malta and to ensure that, where so appropriate, programmes and initiatives are assigned to third parties on initiatives that fall within the thrusts of the National R&I Strategic plan.

05. Commercialisation of research: to work closely with the University of Malta and MCAST to promote commercialisation of research projects.

06. Marketing: to identify Maltese R&I success stories and promote Malta on an international level as a centre of R&I.”

(iv) An Intra-Government Committee on R&I has been set up bringing together appropriate government entities with the brief to:

“01. Formulate joined-up policies on R&I.

02. Attain congruency of R&I policy aims.

03. Achieve coherency in R&I action.

04. Act as a communication and information sharing fora on R&I activity.

05. Act as an issue resolution mechanism on R&I matters.”

Diagram 01 below depicts the current institutional framework for R&I in Malta. 

1 Pg 4, Memorandum (Memo 288) from the Minister of Education to Prime Minister dated 9th March 1988 and titled ‘Science and Technology Implementation Policy
2 Pg 37, Review of MCST, PREST, University of Manchester, September 2002
3 Pg 3, Vision 2000: Malta Regional Hub, MCST 1992
4 Pg xii, A National Strategy for Information Technology in Malta, MCST, October 1998