Innovation system key to driving growth

Thailand should build a strong innovation ecosystem that can quickly yield outcomes, creating a new engine of economic growth, say executives and scholars.

- SUCHIT LEESA-NGUANSUK

This means the country should focus on research with a meaningful economic impact.

"Innovation is not about technology — it requires an innovation system to drive economic growth," Kris Chantanotoke, board chairman of Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) and chief executive of Siam Commercial Bank, said during a recent TSRI dinner talk titled "Igniting Thailand's GDP through the STI Fund".

To build an effective innovation system, incentives are crucial to foster network collaboration, said Mr Kris.

He said Thailand’s economy remains fragile, making it unlikely that annual GDP growth will exceed 2% over the next few years.

SETTING THE RIGHT GOALS

Mr Kris said innovation cannot drive the economy unless the correct goals have been set.

Thailand focuses on the input target and measures it by the number of research publications with a goal of having an R&D budget of 2% of GDP by 2027.

Unlike Thailand, Canada focuses on the impact target in an effort to become a leader in artificial intelligence, with a goal of generating US$50 billion in economic value over a period of 10 years.