Science and Technology in Development: The Changing Role of Official Development Assistance

e live in a new era. One could almost talk about a new civilization emerging, W the global market civilization. The global market has its own characteristics. It is being formed around a number of cities around the world, which provide the key ingredients: technology, finance, information, and people. Some two hundred million people are today living in or around the urban centers which dominate the new global economy. They belong to the groups of people that are the likely winners of globalization. At the same time, there is a great risk that strong market forces will marginalize parts of the world’s population-those who are not integrated into this new global economy. One salient feature of the new economy is the importance of knowledge. We have always lived in a knowledge society. The difference today is the revolutionary pace at which technologies change. In the early parts of this century it was estimated that the volume of knowledge in society doubled every fifty years. Today it happens in five years. One important characteristic of the new technologies-particularly in combination-is the potential for wealth creation. Hence, we are already witnessing rapidly widening gaps in wealth and income between the “knowledge workers” and the rest of society. Knowledge is power, today more than ever before. The formidable challenge, as I see it, is to reach out to the poor, to the marginalized, all over the world and offer them the opportunity to learn. A new divide is emerging between those with knowledge and those without. Money and wealth can be redistributed, at least in theory. That is not the case with knowledge. Knowledge must be acquired through one’s own work and efforts. Consequently, development in the future will be different. Investments in physical infrastructure will still be important. But even more important will be investments in knowledge. Quite obviously this must have implications for all of us engaged in development and development cooperation. Development cooperation has come under criticism in recent years. The reasons