The document summarizes key points from the OECD STI Outlook report. It notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented mobilization of scientific research, with billions pledged for research initiatives. Science and technology offer the only exit from the pandemic, but the crisis has also exposed gaps in research systems. Going forward, STI policies need to be reoriented to tackle challenges like sustainability and resilience. International collaboration will remain critical for solving global problems.

1. Key messages
Andrew Wyckoff | Director, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI)
Andrew.Wyckoff@oecd.org
STI Outlook launch
12 January 2021

2. OECD STI Outlook – the narrative
Unprecedented mobilisation. Public research funders,
private foundations and charities have set up an array of newly
funded research initiatives worth billions of dollars in record time
Science and technology offer the only exit strategy
from COVID-19. The pandemic has underscored more than in
other recent crises the importance of science and innovation to
being both prepared and reactive to upcoming crises
The pandemic has stretched research and innovation
systems to their limits and exposed gaps and weak spots.
There is an opportunity to reorient STI policies and direct science
and innovation towards sustainable and inclusive futures

3. The STI system response to Covid-19 has been
decisive, rapid and significant
#OECDSTIO

4. Research response to COVID-19
Funding for
research and
innovation has
been supported by
active government
interventions
around the world
But there are risks
of indiscriminate
diversion of
research efforts
Evolution of COVID-19 research funding programmes and pledges
Source: Data gathered by OECD from public sources published by funders
 Emergency funding period Integrated into mainstream mechanisms 

5. Research response to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an
unprecedented mobilisation of the scientific
community
Number of PubMed-indexed documents, whole counts
0
2 000
4 000
6 000
8 000
10 000
12 000
Source: OECD calculations based on US National Institutes of Health PubMed
data, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, (accessed 30 November, 2020).
Trends in COVID-19 biomedical and life sciences
research publications, 1 Jan to 30 Nov 2020
0 2 000 4 000 6 000 8 000 10 000
Japan
Netherlands
Switzerland
Iran
Brazil
Australia
Germany
France
Canada
Spain
India
Italy
United Kingdom
China
United States 26 716

6. COVID-19 as an accelerator of trends already underway
76% of COVID-19
scientific publications
are open access, c.f.
diabetes (43%) and
dementia (40%)
This, along with other
changes, could
accelerate the transition
to a more open science
in the longer run
Open access of COVID-19, Diabetes and Dementia
publications, January-October 2020
Source: OECD calculations based on US National Institutes of Health PubMed data,
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, (accessed 30 October, 2020).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0
10 000
20 000
30 000
40 000
50 000
60 000
70 000
80 000
COVID-19 Diabetes Dementia
All publications Share of open access (right-hand scale)
%

7. COVID-19 as an accelerator of trends already underway
• Research and innovation
activities have been
severely disrupted by
lockdowns and social
distancing measures
Current impact of COVID-19 on scientists' work
OECD Science Flash Survey 2020, https://oecdsciencesurveys.github.io/2020flashsciencecovid/, (accessed on 12 October 2020)
0 20 40 60 80 100
Come to a halt
Continued as normal
Intensified
Reduced in intensity
Shifted towards
COVID-19-related topics
Shifted to home
%

8. COVID-19 as an accelerator of trends already underway
Impact of COVID-19 on scientists’ work
OECD Science Flash Survey 2020, https://oecdsciencesurveys.github.io/2020flashsciencecovid/, (accessed on 12 October 2020)
0 50 100
Use of digital tools for
research
Access to scientific
information and data
Time available for
research
Funding for research
Use of research
materials and facilities
%
Decrease Stay the same Increase
• Research and innovation
activities have been
severely disrupted by
lockdowns and social
distancing measures
• Digital tools and open-data
infrastructures have allowed
scientists to continue to
function outside their usual
laboratory or field
environments

9. 0
5
10
15
20
25
34
Business innovation response to COVID-19
The biopharmaceutical industry
has launched hundreds of clinical
trials targeting COVID-19 drugs
and vaccines
Source: United States National Institutes of Health, ClinicalTrials.gov, (accessed 8 December, 2020).
Registered COVID-19 vaccine studies by economy
Economies with two or more listed vaccine studies

10. Business innovation response to COVID-19
R&D expense and revenue growth in selected companies
Percentage change between April-September 2019 and April-September 2020
Source: OECD calculations based on published quarterly business financial reports, December 2020.
Heterogeneous
impact with R&D
performance in the
digital sector
thriving and activity
in R&D-intensive
manufacturing
sectors falling (e.g.
automotive,
electronics)
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
% Software, computer services and electronic equipment Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
Automotive, aerospace and defence Revenue growth

11. A turning point for STI policy?
STI has proven an essential
element of the resiliency
countries have shown in the
crisis up until now
Digital technologies have
mitigated effects of lockdowns
There is unprecedented rapid
development of vaccines
Could STI do even more to
enhance societal and
economic resilience?
There are other challenges, too,
notably the climate emergency, that
require STI to embrace a
sustainability agenda
However, there are long-standing
problems in STI systems that
hinder their abilities to address
challenges like COVID-19 and
climate change
Does COVID-19 offer a
disruptive moment for these
problems to be addressed
more aggressively by STI
policy?

12. Looking forwards, to tackle the challenges of
sustainability, inclusivity and resiliency,
governments will need to reorient their STI policies
#OECDSTIO

13. The need to reorient STI policies
The pandemic is an opportunity to reorient STI policies and trajectories

14. Moving towards a more targeted policy mix
Source: OECD R&D Tax Incentives Database, August 2020, http://oe.cd/rdtax
Shift in business R&D support policy mix, 2000-19
Tax incentives
have displaced
direct funding
over the last two
decades
A new ambitious
policy agenda will
need to reverse
this
Govt spending on
R&D will need to
be defended
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Direct funding BERD Government tax relief for R&D
Government budget allocations for R&D Business expenditure on R&D
2007=1
Governments respond to
the Global Financial Crisis

15. The US policy mix is less dependent on tax incentives
Source: OECD R&D Tax Incentives Database, http://oe.cd/rdtax, December 2020.
Direct government funding and government tax support for business R&D (BERD) 2018 and 2006
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
%
Direct Funding of BERD Tax Support for BERD
Subnational Tax Support for BERD Total 2006 (excl. subnational tax support)

16. International science collaboration has been critical
A lot of international scientific co-
operation on COVID-19 has been
initiated by researchers
themselves, and has built on
existing ties
Science depends on the global
knowledge commons for
progress
International scientific collaboration on COVID-19
Source: OECD and OCTS-OEI calculations based on US
National Institutes of Health PubMed data,
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, accessed 30 November, 2020.

17. The ascendency of China
Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD), 2000-18
The prominence of
China in these links is
hardly surprising
China has become
the world's second-
largest R&D
performer – 80% of
the expenditure of the
United States in 2018
Source: OECD MSTI 2020/1, Aug. 2020
0
100 000
200 000
300 000
400 000
500 000
600 000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
China Germany EU28 (OECD estimates)
France United Kingdom Japan
Korea United States
Million USD PPP constant prices

18. China and the US have close scientific ties
Research links between
China and OECD
countries have grown
strongly in recent years,
and this is reflected in
patterns of COVID-19
co-publication
But there are concerns
about a lack of
reciprocity in these
relationships that
threaten their future
International scientific collaboration on COVID-19
Source: OECD and OCTS-OEI calculations based on US National Institutes of Health PubMed data,
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, accessed 30 November, 2020.
4%
2% 2% 2%
1%
10%
3%
2%
1%
1%
8%
5%
4%
3%
2%
7%
5%
2% 2% 2%
8%
4%
2% 2% 2%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
China
UnitedKingdom
Canada
Italy
India
UnitedStates
UnitedKingdom
Australia
Canada
Italy
UnitedStates
Italy
China
Australia
Canada
UnitedStates
UnitedKingdom
Spain
France
Germany
UnitedStates
UnitedKingdom
Thailand
China
Saudiarabia
United States China United Kingdom Italy India
%

19. Acting globally to solve global problems is critical
• Just as the pandemic is a global
problem, it requires global solutions
involving international STI co-operation
and collaboration
• The impressive speed on vaccines has
built on nascent global co-operation to
develop new technology platforms to
tackle emerging disease . . . and years of
basic research funding
ACT-Accelerator is driving unprecedented collaboration
Source: WHO (2020), ACT-Accelerator: Status Report & Plan, September 2020 – December 2021

20. New approaches to technology governance:
anticipatory, participatory and directed
• Targeted efforts to shift technology governance more upstream
• Making it more anticipatory, and engaging stakeholders at an earlier stage so as
to better maximize the positive attributes for societal goals and minimise the
negatives
Basic
research
Applied
research
Development
Commercialization /
Diffusion
Upstream Mid-stream Downstream
OECD Recommendations on AI and Neurotechnology

21. OECD STI Outlook – take-away messages for the United States
Government support to STI will need to be more
directed to deal with the sorts of challenges we
face: furthermore, the science system needs to support more
high risk / high reward research to foster breakthroughs
Global co-ordination will need ramping up to tackle
these challenges: the US is well-placed to adopt leadership
roles in establishing the necessary international arrangements,
such as collaborative technology platforms
Relations with China: China cannot be excluded from these
international arrangements, but collaboration should ensure core
values, such as openness in science, academic freedom, and
research ethics are respected

22. Learn more in the ‘dual format’ OECD STI Outlook
Website online: oe.cd/sti-outlookBook launch today

23. Stay informed on countries’ STI Policies to tackle COVID-19
• Get the latest information on STI policy
responses to the crisis across +40
countries and the EU, with timelines and
other interactive charts
• Featuring information on 700 STI policy
initiatives targeting scientific advice and
communication, collaboration mechanisms,
new funding initiatives, impacts on the STI
system, etc.
https://stip.oecd.org/covid/

24. THANK YOU!
Andrew Wyckoff
Director, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation
Andrew.Wyckoff@oecd.org
oe.cd/sti-outlook #OECDSTIO