The document summarizes the main conclusions and recommendations of the Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) at the request of the Kazakh government. The review assessed Kazakhstan's national innovation system and policy framework, identifying strengths like high-level innovation prioritization, but also areas for improvement such as enhancing connectivity within the system and improving coherence of innovation policies. Key recommendations included strengthening industry-science linkages, knowledge generation and transfer, and making innovation support institutions more effective with improved linkages and regionalization. The UNECE expressed willingness to work with Kazakhstan on implementing the review's recommendations.

1. 1
The Innovation Performance
Review of Kazakhstan:
Main Conclusions and
Recommendations

2. 2
The United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE)
One of five UN Regional Commissions
Promotes economic cooperation and integration in the
wider Eurasian region
One of its missions: to promote economic growth,
knowledge-based development and higher
competitiveness of countries and businesses in its
member States

3. 3
Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan
• Undertaken at the request of the
Government of Kazakhstan
•Supported by the Eurasian
Development Bank
• Jointly implemented by international
and national experts
• Reviews critically the national
innovation system and innovation
policy framework
• Provides concrete policy
recommendations in these areas

4. 4
Structure of the Review
1. Recent economic and innovation performance
2. National innovation system and innovation governance
3. Framework conditions, innovation policies and instruments
4. Knowledge generation
5. Industry-science linkages and collaboration in the innovation
process
6. Innovation support institutions
7. Financing innovative entrepreneurs
8. Innovation and international economic integration
Annex. Prospective innovation-driven investment projects

5. 5
Strengths of the national innovation system
(NIS) of Kazakhstan
Innovation is a policy priority at the highest level of
national strategy and policy
In implementing this strategy Kazakhstan has made a
remarkable progress in developing the NIS
All the building blocks of modern innovation systems
(in terms of institutions and policy frameworks) are
already in place
The Government allocates increasing amounts of
public resources in support of innovation

6. 6
National Strategy
Government programmes to support
Inovation
Innovation policy & public institutions
Framework conditions
Conducive business environment
Transparency and predictability of the environment
Policy instruments and incentives for innovation
Support to entrepreneurship
Business sector
Large companies (inc. FDI)
Mature SMEs
New TBFs
Intermediaries
Technology transfer offices
Incubators; Technoparks
Innovation brokers
Innovative
entrepreneurship
SME development
University startups and spinn-offs
Knowledge
generation
Higher education
Research institutions
Support infrastructure
Banking system
Early stage financing (business andgels; VC)
Support to risk sharing
Information systems and networking
The National Innovation System (NIS): today …
Market demand
Consumers (final demand)
Producers (intermediate demand)

7. 7
National Strategy
Government programmes to support
Inovation
Innovation policy & public institutions
Framework conditions
Conducive business environment
Transparency and predictability of the environment
Policy instruments and incentives for innovation
Support to entrepreneurship
Business sector
Large companies (inc. FDI)
Mature SMEs
New TBFs
Intermediaries
Technology transfer offices
Incubators; Technoparks
Innovation brokers
Innovative
entrepreneurship
SME development
University startups and spinn-offs
Knowledge
generation
Higher education
Research institutions
Support infrastructure
Banking system
Early stage financing (business andgels; VC)
Support to risk sharing
Information systems and networking
…and in the future
Market demand
Consumers (final demand)
Producers (intermediate demand)

8. 8
Review recommendations:
Enhancing the national innovation system (NIS)
Strengthen connectivity within the NIS
 horizontal instruments that facilitate linkages
 public support to coordination and risk-sharing mechanisms
 use of policy instruments that boost the demand for innovation
 develop/diversify services that facilitate innovation activities
 support more widely non-technological innovation
 assist more energetically knowledge-generating organizations in
transforming ideas into innovation projects
 targeted development of innovation linkages (between large and small
domestic companies, between foreign and domestic companies, etc.)
The Review recommends a number of concrete actions
Apart from policy measures it discusses the creation of a
National Innovation Council (NIC), with representatives of
the business sector and the relevant ministries

9. 9
Review recommendations:
Improving the coherence of innovation policies
Align strategic objectives with the results of foresight
programmes and other priority-setting mechanisms
Improve the bottom-up flow of information and ideas and their
integration into innovation initiatives, through a
consultation process
Introduction of new demand-oriented public support schemes
targeting chains of innovation activity
Support the emergence of new innovative enterprises and
especially new technology-based firms
Strengthen mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the results
of policy programmes

10. 10
Review recommendations:
Foster enhanced knowledge generation & transfer
Differentiated policy instruments according to the type of
R&D, the level and type of risk
Foster enhanced collaboration with foreign direct investors
to encourage innovation activities
Strengthen linkages and foster the creation of
collaborative networks among innovation stakeholders
Specifically targeted instruments to facilitate the
development of technology-based SMEs

11. 11
Review recommendations:
Strengthening industry-science linkages
The scope of horizontal policies and instruments should be
widened at the expense of the narrowing of vertical ones
Strengthen the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) as a
driver of innovative development
 assigning ownership rights to individual researchers/inventors
 creating favourable conditions for the creation of firms based on the
results of their research
 elaboration of precise guidelines to this effect
Introduction of criteria in the evaluation of knowledge
producing organizations related to the measurable effects
of external linkages

12. 12
Innovation support institutions
Kazakhstan has set up a network of innovation support institutions.
Challenge: how to make it more effective (improved linkages)
how to increase its scope (regionalization)
Issues identified in the Review: Instruments
Insufficient number of innovative companies Pre-incubation initiatives
Increased role of universities as source of potential companies
“Enclavisation” of technology parks Teams specialised in developing linkages
Horizontal programmes to encourage collaboration
Underdeveloped skills to run technology parks Training programmes in collaboration with the private sector
Changes in the curricula of education institutions
Low visibility of technoparks Efforts to increase domestic and external projection and brand image

13. 13
The way forward
The Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan is not
an end in itself; it just highlights some possible
benchmarks on the way forward
The UNECE is ready to work together and in close
cooperation with the Government of Kazakhstan for the
practical implementation of the recommendations of the
Review
During the V Astana Economic Forum we shall be holding
a round of consultations with the Government to develop
a Implementation Plan for joint future efforts in this area

14. 14
Thank you!
Rumen Dobrinsky
Director
UNECE Economic Cooperation and Integration Division
E-mail: rumen.dobrinsky@unece.org
Telephone: +41(0)22 917 24 87