Libro Blanco Vol I en Ingles

TOWARDS A NATIONAL INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR COMPETITIVENESSVOLUME 1SEEKING ANSWERSFor Chile, looking ahead to the future is fundamental. However the task is not easy, since it is not achieved by simply stretchingforward that imaginary line of what the country has done in the past. The future is so dynamic and the speed with which changes occur isso fast that figuring out the future forces us to consider multiple scenarios, recognizing, however, that there is no strategy that can coverall the possibilities and as such it is essential to be well prepared to face the uncertainties.Therefore, to carry out this task, the Council contracted the services of an international consultancy firm and started workingtogether in the second half of 2006, and will continue working during 2007 on the preparation of a competitiveness study on Clusters ofthe Chilean economy which seeks to provide answers to various questions: what spaces exist to incubate sectors with potential? Whatfailures may be inhibiting the appearance of advantages in those sectors? And, what can the State do –through the provision of publicgoods or the elimination of existing obstacles– so that these production areas can grow and develop? Where are the lags that show spacefor improving our competitiveness?For this, the work has not been based on an arbitrary analysis nor is it captured from sectors with potential within the economy, aswell as emerging sectors. It must be made clear that not all pro-innovation funds will be allocated following this selective approach ofclusters, since indeed the other areas with a demand for developing innovation projects without selectivity of this type will also besupported.The analysis also considers the present situation of Chile, global trends, and the effort necessary for those sectors to reach theirpotential, in accordance with the capabilities of the country. And as a result of the exercise, a first map has already been produced inwhich obviously established and developed sectors, which already have clear advantages, have appeared in the economy, but there arealso other emerging ones –such as outsourcing– not based on natural resources, but which are directly or indirectly highly demanding ofpublic goods, in terms of human resources, technology and adequate regulatory frameworks.Regarding the sectors with the greatest potential –and also focusing on the development of clusters or production conglomerates inorder to highlight the problems associated to network economies–the deficiencies that may be hindering their take-off will be identified(due to insufficient provision of public goods or failures of coordination), once again comparing the national reality with the developmentexperiences of those sectors in other countries. This reveals, for example, that in Chile some components of a specific cluster that havebeen characteristic and even vital in other parts of the world have not appeared or developed yet. This may also be valid not only forsectors emerging today in the local economy, but also in the more developed sectors in which the country has great advantages 88 .88 An example of this may be: Why have mining services not appeared in Chile, in contrast to other mining countries? Is it due to regulatory problems, failures ofhuman capital, infrastructure deficits, or a low level of connectivity? Would a large copper producer have incentives to carry out this study? Are the large copperproducers responsible for developing these new sectors? Making and answering these questions is also a public good.142