Networking research, development and innovation in Arab countries

"Innovation is central to the development of successful economies. Less-favored countries and regions are often those that lack the capacity to innovate and, consequently, that lack the ability to improve their positions in today's competitive global market. Capacity to innovate helps countries and regional groupings achieve advantageous positions in key industrial and service sectors. Research, development and innovation (RDI) networks designed to promote innovative inputs can secure competencies in areas of expertise unattainable by individual countries and institutions. Furthermore, RDI networks play a significant role in securing a critical mass of both human and financial resources, particularly given the increased importance of multidisciplinary approaches and demand for higher resource levels linked to tangible impacts. Increasing sophistication of the research and development (R and D) enterprise is reflected in the cost of equipment and consumables, which renders R and D activities an expensive business whose costs are better shared among as many concerned partners as possible."--Publisher's description.