HONG KONG 2005

The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) is responsible for spearheading Hong Kong's drive to become a world-class, knowledge-based economy. The commission, which is under the Communications and Technology Branch, formulates and implements policies and measures to promote innovation and technology; supports applied research, technology transfer and application; promotes technological entrepreneurship; facilitates the provision of technology infrastructure and development of human resources and promotes internationally accepted standards and conformity assessment services to underpin technological development and international trade. The commission works closely with its partners in the Government, industry, business, tertiary education institutions and industrial support organisations.

To make Hong Kong a regional centre for innovation and technology, the Government has been implementing various initiatives to drive forward innovation and technology. It offers a range of infrastructure and funding support for applied research and development activities.

The $5 billion Innovation and Technology Fund was established in June 1999. It supports projects that will help upgrade the level of technology and promote innovation in the manufacturing and service industries. By year-end, the fund had provided financial support of some $2.04 billion to 758 projects undertaken by research institutes and the industry.

Major efforts have been made to promote technological entrepreneurship. Under the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme provides dollar-to-dollar matching grants of up to $2 million per project to help small start-up companies carry out research and development activities to turn innovative technological ideas into commercially viable products, processes or services. By year-end, $230 million in financial support had been provided to 218 companies.

The $750 million Applied Research Fund was established in March 1998. By year-end, $410 million in financial support had been provided to 25 companies through private venture capital firms. With the introduction of the new strategic framework for innovation and technology development, the fund is being wound down but it will not cease operation until exits of all existing investments are arranged.

The $250 million DesignSmart Initiative was launched in June 2004 to strengthen the support for design and innovation, and to promote the wider use of design and innovation in industries to help them move up the value chain.

Under the DesignSmart Initiative, the Design Support Programme supports projects in four categories — design research; design/business collaboration; professional continuing education in design and promoting a design culture. By year-end, 18 projects had received financial support of some $33 million. In a separate project, five young, promising designers won the Hong Kong Young Design Talent Awards, with sponsorship for overseas training as prizes. Another measure of the DesignSmart Initiative is the InnoCentre, which was set up jointly by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and the Hong Kong Design Centre. This is a one-stop shop aiming to create and sustain a cluster of high value-added design activities, including the provision of an incubation programme for design start-ups.

The publicly funded Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) has been in operation since September 2001. It performs high quality research and development for use in industry and its research programme focuses on information and communications technologies.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Chinese Medicine Limited was incorporated in May 2001 as a subsidiary company of ASTRI. Its job is to work towards positioning Hong Kong as a world centre for the development of health food and pharmaceuticals based on Chinese medicine. It aims to develop Chinese medicine as a high value-added industry for Hong Kong through the promotion and coordination of related activities and strategic support for scientific and evidence-based development programmes. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has pledged to donate $500 million to support the institute's research and development programmes which concentrate on standardisation, technology and product development, safety appraisal and clinical studies.

The Hong Kong Design Centre was established in September 2002 as a multi-disciplinary organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Hong Kong design industry and its competitiveness in the region. Its major activities included the organisation of the Design Education Week in June and the Business of Design Week in November.

After reviewing the state of innovation and technology development in Hong Kong and considering the feedback received during a three-month public consultation exercise in 2004, the Government announced in January 2005 the implementation of a new strategy to ensure optimal use of resources and improve the relevance of applied research and development (R&D) to the needs of the industry. Under the new strategy, the Innovation and Technology Fund will adopt a highly focused approach and will deploy substantial resources to support the establishment and operation of R&D centres in the following areas:

The five R&D centres are expected to start operating in early 2006. They will develop core competencies in their respective technology areas and become the focal points of applied R&D and technology transfer. In line with the market-driven, demand-led approach of the new strategy, the R&D centres will work closely with the industry in drawing up the direction of their R&D, defining the future path of technology development, and facilitating the commercialisation of R&D results.

The Mainland and Hong Kong Science and Technology Cooperation Committee was formed in 2004 to formulate and coordinate technology cooperation and exchange programmes between Hong Kong and the Mainland. In 2005, the Cooperation Committee formed working groups to enhance cooperation in four technology areas: automotive parts and accessory systems, Chinese medicine, integrated circuit design and radio frequency identification technologies.

The ITC and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology have been running the Guangdong and Hong Kong Technology Cooperation Funding Scheme since 2004 to support applied R&D projects in technology areas of common interest. In 2005, the two sides decided to support 126 projects in six technology areas with a total funding of $360 million. The ITC also participated in the 'Planning Study on Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation in Science and Technology for 2006-2010'. Completed in September 2005, the study has recommended various measures to enhance technology cooperation among the nine Mainland provinces and the two SARs in the Pan-PRD region.

The ITC organised the Innovation Festival 05 from July to October to foster a culture of innovation and technology in the community. The festival, which featured an innovation expo, a competition, 'My Favourite Inventions for Quality Living', a new thematic web portal, youth day, roadshows, seminars and workshops, showcased Hong Kong's technological achievements. The ITC also organised the 2005 Hong Kong Student Science Project Competition, nominated entries for the State Science and Technology Awards and set up a Hong Kong Pavilion in the China Hi-Tech Fair 2005.