The Innovation for Sustainable Development Review (I4SDR) of Uzbekistan is a UNECE advisory project carried out at the request of the Government of Uzbekistan to support the country’s transition toward innovation-driven, greener and more diversified growth. It responds to a context of deep economic reforms, WTO accession efforts and an explicit political push to put innovation high on the national agenda through the creation of the Ministry of Innovative Development and new legislation and support schemes. The project’s overarching aim is to examine how Uzbekistan’s innovation system, policies and institutions can better underpin the 2030 Agenda and national priorities, and to provide inputs for the forthcoming Innovation Strategy 2022–2030 and related green growth and circular economy frameworks.
The review uses UNECE’s updated I4SDR methodology, which links innovation policy directly to sustainable development, and was developed through intensive dialogue with national authorities and stakeholders. Research started in March 2021 with a virtual scoping consultation to agree on the focus areas, followed by in-depth analysis of economic and innovation performance, governance arrangements and policy instruments, using national statistics and international indicators. Two elective chapters were added at the Government’s request, zooming in on innovation infrastructure and on science-industry linkages as critical levers for structural transformation. Draft findings were circulated to ministries, academia, the private sector and international partners, reviewed by independent experts, and discussed with national stakeholders, leading to endorsement of the recommendations in November 2021 and their refinement in the final text.
As a project, the I4SDR delivers a comprehensive diagnostic and policy roadmap rather than isolated recommendations. It synthesizes key messages on the need to sustain reforms, strengthen innovation governance and coordination, build firm-level absorptive capacity, upgrade innovation infrastructure (zones, parks, incubators, accelerators) and modernize science-industry linkages so that public research and foreign technology flows more effectively support private-sector upgrading. The report also highlights data and monitoring gaps and points to UNECE tools and regional initiatives, including under SPECA, that Uzbekistan can leverage for implementation. Its findings are intended to guide the Ministry of Innovative Development and other public bodies in designing and sequencing innovation policies, and to provide a shared evidence base for continued dialogue with development partners and domestic stakeholders on using innovation as a driver of sustainable, inclusive growth.
Innovation for Sustainable Development Review (I4SDR) of Uzbekistan
