Reports

Much has changed in the space economy over the past decade, with an ever-growing number of countries and business enterprises involved in space activities. Despite progress made in the quality and availability of data, the international comparability of space economy statistics remains limited. A decade after its first publication, it is therefore time to provide an up-to-date revision of the OECD Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy to reflect the changing landscape of space activities, space technologies and subsequent evolving user needs. This new edition aims to encourage and facilitate data collection among both incumbents and new actors involved in space activities, respond to the needs of the public agencies that still fund the bulk of space programmes, and support industry and private decision-takers who will also benefit from improved statistics on the space economy.

This paper analyses the evolution of the funding, governance and policy context of research and technology organisations (RTOs) over the last ten years, and the implications of these changes on their ability to achieve their mission. It shows that their contribution to solving societal challenges is now tightly intertwined with their historical mission of supporting innovation in industry and public administrations. Delivering on this increasingly demanding mission in evolving and sometimes unstable funding frameworks has led them to experiment with new internal organisational structures, business models and partnerships. The paper also draws implications for policy makers who play a key role in setting the environment in which RTOs operate and that determines in part their ability to deliver on the twin imperatives of strengthening economic competitiveness and tackling societal challenges.

Digital transformations bring about fundamental changes in how institutions – from governments to businesses – operate. National statistical offices (NSOs) face growing expectations from data users and need to adapt their digital capabilities accordingly. For NSOs in low and middle-income countries, who may have had limited exposure to digitalisation to date, keeping pace with rapid technological change is challenging. This report uses examples from six NSOs to explore common barriers for NSOs in their digital transformations and identifies specific drivers. The report makes a case for digital transformations through more comprehensive institutional changes such as governance, procurement and human resources. In addition, the report outlines specific recommendations at the individual, technological, organisational and system level to guide NSOs and their partners towards a successful digital transformation.

The debate on industrial policy has made a comeback in both academic and policy circles. Yet, no consensus exists on an industrial policy paradigm and the absence of a common reference framework unduly obfuscates the debate – even which interventions are to be considered 'industrial policy' is not clear-cut. Against this background, this paper proposes a coherent framework for analysing the formulation of industrial policy, relying on a purposefully broad definition of the latter. Leveraging the proposed framework and a companion paper which synthetises the available empirical evidence, this paper stresses the complementarities between policy instruments, thereby justifying the use of industrial strategies, acknowledges the role of targeted industrial strategies, which can direct technological change and growth, and of demand-side instruments, which can contribute to transformative industrial change, but calls for a stronger emphasis on evaluation and the regular re-assessment of targeted industrial strategies.

While the case for industrial policy is gaining traction across OECD countries, little consensus exists on the effectiveness of such interventions. Building on a new analytical framework for industrial policy developed in a companion paper, this paper reviews the empirical literature on the effectiveness of industrial policy instruments, laying out the knowns and unknowns. Overall, it strongly supports the premise that well-designed economic incentives for firms and good framework conditions shaping the business environment are effective. At the same time, it emphasises the limited and inconclusive nature of the evidence regarding the increasingly frequent targeted and demand-side instruments. Finally, it underlines the complementarities between economic incentives and other interventions such as skill policies or framework conditions, notably competition and trade policies. Framework conditions are indeed key in enabling the most productive firms to grow and an important channel for structural change.

Le Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030 se caractérise par un degré d’ambition sans précédent, mais il représente aussi un formidable défi pour les pays du fait de la complexité et de l’imbrication de ses 17 objectifs et 169 cibles. Afin d’aider les gouvernements nationaux à le mettre en œuvre, l’OCDE a mis au point une méthode unique permettant de comparer les progrès accomplis ainsi que les dynamiques sous-jacentes pour l’ensemble des objectifs et cibles du Programme de Développement Durable. Sur la base du Cadre mondial d’indicateurs relatifs aux Objectifs de Développement Durable et de données provenant des Nations Unies et de l’OCDE, le présent rapport propose un bilan détaillé des résultats obtenus par les pays membres de l’OCDE. Pour l’ensemble des cibles pour lesquelles des données existent, ce rapport évalue la distance que les pays de l’OCDE ont à parcourir afin d’atteindre les Objectifs de Développement Durable mais il va plus loin et approfondit l’analyse en mettant en évidence les tendances de fond ainsi que l’impact potentiel de la pandémie de COVID-19. En faisant le point sur les forces et les faiblesses des pays par rapport aux différents ODD, ce rapport vise à aider les pays Membres à avancer au mieux vers la réalisation de ces objectifs et à identifier leurs propres priorités d’action.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems are in a period of rapid development and offer significant potential for the promotion of health and well-being. At the same time, they raise a range of unique ethical, legal, and policy questions, and few BCI-specific rules exist in a fragmented regulatory landscape. This report aims to help develop a responsible and anticipatory governance approach to promote innovation while shaping the trajectory of technology through a set of mechanisms, including (i) soft law, (ii) standardisation and ethics-by-design approaches, (iii) corporate self-governance, and (iv) participatory experiments for upstream governance.

Ce rapport est la première édition d'une nouvelle publication annuelle sur les sujets liés à l'emploi et la gestion publics. Cette édition présente la vision d'une main-d'œuvre de la fonction publique prête pour les défis à venir, tournée vers l'avenir, flexible et enrichissante pour un large éventail d'agents de la fonction publique. Il fournit des informations pour aider les gouvernements à réaliser cette vision grâce à des données et des analyses comparatives, un ensemble d'études de cas illustratives et des commentaires d'experts. Les systèmes de leadership et de recrutement de la fonction publique sont des éléments fondamentaux pour renouveler et transformer la fonction publique. Ces deux questions sont mises en évidence et illustrées par de nouvelles données issues d'enquêtes récentes.

Governments can use artificial intelligence (AI) to design better policies and make better and more targeted decisions, enhance communication and engagement with citizens, and improve the speed and quality of public services. The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is seeking to leverage the immense potential of AI to promote the digital transformation of the public sector. The OECD, in collaboration with CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, prepared this report to help national governments in the LAC region understand the current regional baseline of activities and capacities for AI in the public sector; to identify specific approaches and actions they can take to enhance their ability to use this emerging technology for efficient, effective and responsive governments; and to collaborate across borders in pursuit of a regional vision for AI in the public sector. This report incorporates a stocktaking of each country’s strategies and commitments around AI in the public sector, including their alignment with the OECD AI Principles. It also includes an analysis of efforts to build key governance capacities and put in place critical enablers for AI in the public sector. It concludes with a series of recommendations for governments in the LAC region.