ADB Cambodia Technology Transfer and Monitoring and Evaluation Systems   

ADB Cambodia Technology Transfer and Monitoring and Evaluation Systems

To become an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050, Cambodia’s Industrial Development Policy (2015-2025) relies on high-skill human capital, especially science and technology professionals. Becoming increasingly aware of the importance of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), the Government of Cambodia established the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI). However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the structural weaknesses of Cambodia’s growth model based on attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs), which was extremely vulnerable to external shocks. This prompted MISTI to explore avenues to strengthen the Cambodian economy by developing Cambodia’s STI Roadmap 2030, aimed at catalyzing Cambodia's transformation from a labor-intensive to a skills driven-economy and helping SMEs respond to COVID-19 and innovate.

The urgency of transforming Cambodia’s economy from labor-intensive to skills-driven, and achieving their Industrial Development Strategy, prompted the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop the project TA-9766 REG: Southeast Asia Public Management, Financial Sector, and Trade Policy Facility. The global selection process for this project resulted in TIV being chosen to provide MISTI support, inputs, and guidance in developing a monitoring and evaluation system framework and key performance indicators for Cambodia's Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap 2030 and coach staff in its application, and providing technical input for the planned Technology Transfer(TT)/Intellectual Property(IP) Law.

TIV critically analyzed MISTI’s existing Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework for the STI ecosystem and the draft Technology Transfer/Intellectual Property Law and provided expert comments and recommendations to be adopted in the later version of the M&E framework and the draft Law. In addition to the recommendations given to MISTI regarding the M&E framework, TIV provided numerous training sessions to MISTI staff on key topics relevant to the framework, IP, and technology transfer. These sessions encompassed a review of indicators in the M&E framework and a gap analysis between the STI Roadmap and the M&E Framework. They provided guidelines and recommendations on streamlining processes within MISTI by following international best practices. Furthermore, TIV trained MISTI staff on the digital economy, the role of IP and technology transfer in economic development, and technology transfer/commercialization offices (TTO/TCO).