Can academic diaspora help developing countries?

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This year all political parties going into the
general elections will defend comprehensive
party manifestos. Almost all of them will
promise science and technological
developments. They will talk about how
important it is for the country to now invest in
developing an understanding of rapidly
changing technologies around artificial
intelligence, robotics, and blockchain. Almost
all manifestos will touch upon socio-
economic benefits of fourth industrial
revolution. However, none of these otherwise
well-intentioned documents will inform us
‘who in Pakistan will deliver all this?’
Perhaps the answer to this question lies with
Pakistan’s academic diaspora. All state
institutions requiring ideas and help with
implementing some of the above mentioned
complex technologies can reach out to
Pakistanis abroad. However, such efforts at
individual level usually have limited impact
on national development. There would be so
many vice chancellors, professors and other
academicians of Pakistani origin abroad who
can lend their knowledge (e.g. through
channels of mentoring) however such brains
need to be viewed as part of the overall
human capital of Pakistan. They need to be
demonstrated that their advice is respected
and implemented for change in policy and
practice.
To attract remittances from Pakistanis living
abroad the government of PML-N had
introduced Asaan Remittance Account and M-
wallets. But what schemes could be
formulated by the next government to attract
ideas, knowledge and experiences of
Pakistanis living abroad?
To start with, it is important that our foreign
office and embassies abroad see academic
diaspora as ambassadors who can correct
perceptions about Pakistan. Years of violence
in the region and resulting law and order
difficulties for Pakistan have in turn shaped a
doubtful image of the sixth largest population
in the world. The foreigners, including
potential investors, see several parts of the
country unsafe for long term engagement. The
recent successes towards achieving peace in
the country need to be communicated.
Perhaps Pakistanis in foreign think tanks and
universities could help.
Second, in a survey conducted by the
Sustainable Development Policy Institute
(SDPI), academic diaspora expressed a deep
sense of frustration in light of their past
experience in dealing with public institutions.
For example, several academics from abroad
revealed how time to time Planning
Commission had reached out to them for help
and support with formulation of development
plans and sectoral policies. However, despite
of significant hand holding provided by such
individuals, Planning Commission’s own
follow up was weak. On several occasions the
policies for which input was provided never
saw light of the day. Even the inputs provided
were lost owing to lack of knowledge
management systems all across the federal
ministries and provincial departments.
To avoid losing such minds it is important to
connect academic diaspora with tertiary
education institutions — known to have better
institutional memory and ability to connect
with foreign professionals. The role of such
diaspora should be clearly defined in national
and sub-national innovation policies.
Third, the academic diaspora needs to view
the government as a credible partner to
engage with. This can only happen if top
leadership leads the way in this direction. For
example, during the first year of Prime
Minister Modi in office, he went abroad to
meet with the Indian diaspora thrice; with a
key objective to persuade many of them to
experiment their ideas in collaboration (e.g.
through joint ventures) with counterparts back
home.
Fourth, just like globally reputed universities
are known to have alumni offices to
coordinate with graduates abroad, both China
and India have set up national institutions to
coordinate and follow up with academic
diaspora. Such a national institution should
have a three pronged goal to: a) act as the first
window for engagement with academic
diaspora and provide necessary information
and follow up services; b) continuously strive

3. 3
to strengthen state-diaspora relationship
through instruments already available with
foreign missions abroad; and c) mobilize
diaspora’s intellectual capital. This should be
easy at least in countries where Pakistani
diaspora may already face several types of
discrimination.
Fifth, the next government should focus on
financially supporting networking among
academic diaspora. This will provide
sustainability to networks and associations set
up by Pakistanis abroad; ultimately giving
them recurrent opportunities to come together
and identify how they will collectively help
Pakistan’s development. China started
providing such support several decades back
and continues to do so until today.
Sixth, to effectively seek sector-specific
knowledge it is important to have information
regarding specialized expertise of academic
diaspora abroad. Institutions such as the
Overseas Pakistani Foundation may be
facilitated by the government to establish a
database on such lines. The Higher Education
Commission can help in this regard as it
already has established contacts with foreign
faculty abroad.
Seventh, we need to explore the reasons as to
why it remains difficult to convince academic
diaspora to come back to Pakistan perhaps
even for sabbatical reasons. One way to
address some of these reasons may be to
provide a place (and effective voice) to this
highly educated diaspora on the policy table.
Perhaps Planning Commission and provincial
Planning & Development Departments can
invite adjunct positions where Pakistanis from
abroad could come and deliver their services
on short to medium term contracts.
As Pakistan completes ten years of continued
democracy this month, it is important to
recognize the services of Pakistan’s enduring
professionals abroad. Future governments
should formulate policies that regard the
diaspora options theory i.e. policy orientation
with the goal to utilise economic, human and
social capital of migrant population which in
turn can revitalise skills development and
investment in regions and places where they
maintain ancestral ties.
The writer is joint executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan.
His book ‘Pakistan’s Agenda for Economic Reforms’ was recently published by Oxford
University Press. Twitter: @vaqarahmed
Dr Vaqar Ahmed
The writer’s book ‘Pakistan’s Agenda for Economic Reforms’ was recently published by the Oxford University Press.
He is Joint Executive Director, SDPI and can be followed on twitter @vaqarahmed
http://tns.thenews.com.pk/can-academic-diaspora-help-pakistan/