The report provides for the first time a comprehensive review and evaluation of the National Innovation System (NIS) of Uzbekistan and its components and capacity; identifies areas in which the country has a strong position and weak links and areas for further improvement.

The structure and main elements of the NIS, government regulation, key conditions for innovation development - human capacity, ICT infrastructure, security and protection of intellectual property, business environment - are evaluated. The report also covers issues of funding and support mechanisms, as well as the impact of innovation. The assessment is done by using a set of indicators that are widely used in international practice, and based on the assessment the relative position of Uzbekistan in comparison with several other countries is presented. In preparation of the report the results of earlier studies and surveys were examined, interviews and consultations with representatives of research institutes and the private sector were held.

In particular, the report recognizes the efforts undertaken during 2006-2010, to improve the coordination of science and technology development, financing of innovation activity, intensifying links between science and industry, implementation of state programs of economic modernization, and the Program of localization of production. As a result of these efforts, the high-tech production, as a percentage of GDP, rose from 3.5% in 2000 to 6.8% in 2009. At the same time, the report points at a number of issues requiring immediate attention. Among them is the absence of a comprehensive innovation policy, formalized in the form of a government policy document for the medium and long term. To this end, the report provides initial conceptual recommendations, goals and objectives for the strategy of innovation development in Uzbekistan.

The preliminary main findings of the assessment and recommendations for each component were discussed during the round table on May 31, 2011 at the Institute of Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research, by representatives of 15 ministries and agencies. Comments and recommendations received during the discussions were considered during the preparation of the final version of the report.

The report is of interest not only for specialists in the field of innovation development, but also for a wide range of readers - scholars and researchers, educators, journalists, managers, and others, who would like to familiarize themselves with the current state of the National Innovation System of Uzbekistan.

Electronic version of the report is available on the website of the SIPTT Project at www.inno.uz, as well as at the website of UNDP in Uzbekistan at: www.undp.uz.

The “Support to Innovation Policy and Technology Transfer” Project (SIPTT Project) is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Uzbekistan and the Government of Uzbekistan directed at strengthening the capacities of the central government and relevant authorities to develop, implement and monitor innovation policies. SIPTT Project performs its activities in three main directions: support to the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of the Programme of Innovation Development, capacity building, and increasing the commercialization rate of innovations. The implementing partner agency from Uzbekistan is the Institute of Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research under the Cabinet Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.