By Charles Uwadia
 R&D remains the bedrock of any self-reliant national economy. The Agrarian, Industrial and ICT revolutions have all been made possible as a result of progress made in R&D in these three sectors. Advancement in these sectors is one of the indices for assessing the development and competitiveness of national economies.

 Bodies involved in R&D include institutions of higher learning; government agencies and research institutes; international bodies; and industrial concerns.  Fields/disciplines covered by R&D are all-encompassing.

WSIS DECLARATION – NEED FOR R&D IN ICT
The WSIS declaration recognized education, knowledge, Information and Communication as being at the core of human progress, endeavour and well-being.

Further, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have an immense impact on virtually all aspects of our lives.  The rapid progress of these technologies opens completely new opportunities to attain higher levels of development.

The capacity of these technologies to reduce many traditional obstacles, especially those of time and distance, for the first time in history makes it possible to use the potential of these technologies for the benefit of millions of people in all corners of the world.

To achieve a sustainable development of the Information Society, national capability in ICT Research and Development should be enhanced.

 Furthermore, partnerships, in particular between and among developed and developing countries, including countries with economies in transition, in Research and Development, technology transfer, manufacturing and utilization of ICT products and services are crucial for promoting capacity building and global participation in the Information Society.

The manufacture of ICTs presents a significant opportunity for creation of wealth.Cultural diversity is the common heritage of humankind.

  The Information Society should be founded on and stimulate respect for cultural identity, cultural and linguistic diversity, traditions and religions, and foster dialogue among cultures and civilizations. 

The creation, dissemination and preservation of content in diverse languages and formats must be accorded high priority in building an inclusive Information Society. The development of local content suited to domestic or regional needs will encourage social and economic development and will stimulate participation of all stakeholders, including people living in rural, remote and marginal areas.
OBJECTIVES OF R & D IN ICT

lTo bring ICT nearer to the people
lTo facilitate ease of use of ICT devices and facilities
lTo make ICTs more affordable

lTo increase ICT penetration and diffusion in Nigeria
lTo increase local content in the manufacture and production of ICTs
lTo develop indigenous, local capacity for sustainable development and advancement of   national ICT initiatives.
lTo develop ICTs that are adapted and best suited to the local environment
lTo create employment opportunities through the expansion of local industry 
lTo develop capacity for export of ICTs

STATE OF R & D IN ICT IN NIGERIA: CONSTRAINTS
Existing national policy framework (2001 – 2005) is outdated; a new policy is in the works; available information on what is going on, who is doing what, is rather sketchy. Also, not all the local OEMs have R&D units, while there is no national institution with sole responsibility of conducting R&D in ICT. Apart from that, R&D is not well developed in institutions of higher learning, while there is possible duplication of R&D activities by different bodies.

Not only that, there is lack of coordination with different levels of government, while there is need for institutionalized relationship with local and international R&D bodies, synergy between companies involved in R&D and Users/User companies. There is also not enough investment in R&D.

OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities are quite enormous; many areas yet to  be tapped. Investment opportunities abound as well as collaboration and partnership with global bodies

WAY FORWARD
We, as a nation, need to define a new policy framework/roadmap; develop an action plan based on the roadmap; classify the R&D bodies into sectors; develop a portal containing the database of bodies involved in R&D; disseminate products/outcome of R&D; and network of R&D bodies locally.

 We also have to establish linkages between local R&D and international bodies; establish synergy between governments at different levels and the R&D bodies; develop a programme for Investment in R&D; and establish linkages between R&D companies and users. Finally we have to establish R&D centres in institutions of higher learning; establish independent regional institutions with the sole mandate of carrying out R&D in the mould of UNU/IIST; and institute exchange programmes involving local and foreign  experts as a way of facilitating knowledge and  technology transfer.