New data on research and development (R&D) shows that R&D expenditure in the OECD area grew by 4% in 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that R&D intensity increased to nearly 2.5% – the highest ever recorded for the OECD area. In addition to the updated OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators, we have also published findings on 2020 R&D spending across a selection of large businesses. Results suggest that R&D spending across these businesses continued to grow in 2020, albeit at a lower rate and with marked differences across sectors.
There’s still time to register for our upcoming webinar on gender bias in artificial intelligence (AI) data. This virtual event, co-hosted by the International Transport Forum, will bring together technical and policy experts for a discussion about how to combat gender bias in AI data, followed by a Q&A with the audience. The event begins at 14:00 (CEST) on 29 March, and will be streamed with French and Spanish simultaneous interpretation.
Despite the rapid spread of digital technologies, the world has a lot of catching up to do to reduce digital divides and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Track your country's progress in bridging digital divides by exploring the Going Digital indicators, which have recently been mapped to the SDGs.
As governments race to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and control the spread of new variants, it is important to ensure that policy decisions are founded upon sound scientific advice. Learn more about the principles that underpin effective science advisory systems in our Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook.
In our latest papers, we explore the role that innovation and human capital play in shaping industry productivity, and the challenges and opportunities involved with building genomic and biobank collaborative platforms.
