Page 60 - ASEAN-EU Dialogue 2018: Regional and Inter-Regional Economic Cooperation: Identifying Priorities for ASEAN and the EU

(3) No effort for a giant leap: Since the R&D budget is typically small, businesses focus on
small innovation steps.

Here are a few suggestions. In the wake of Industry 4.0, there is need for developing further
mechanisms to pursue partnerships and co-operations with other stakeholders in STI. There
may be a need for an organisational restructuring for the meaningful delivery of STI agenda.
While EU is on tracks with its cutting-edge innovation agenda, ASEAN needs to step up
research and turn it into new products and services. Such innovative ecosystem would help
propel businesses (especially SMEs) to be ready to enter global markets with their disruptive
breakthroughs. For ASEAN-EU joint efforts in STI there needs to be greater appetite for risk
taking. For this, favourable regulatory environment is required. Greater government, industry
and universities collaboration (or Triple Helix) is needed to take full benefit of fundamental
and applied research conducted at the institutions. While EU has a Euro 80 billion H2020
budget with large support to ASEAN counterparts from these funds, ASEAN needs to
reciprocate with similar initiative to benefit its EU counterpart. At the moment, ASEAN is
largely a beneficiary of EU efforts.

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