R&D labs should be brought closer to public, moved to heartlands: WP’s Daniel Goh

SINGAPORE — With the Government investing huge money in research and development (R&D), Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Daniel Goh yesterday called for greater accountability in measuring R&D success and for more to be done to bring innovation labs closer to the masses.

Not only should R&D funding for scientific research benefit Singaporeans directly, he said in Parliament yesterday, the Government should consider decentralising R&D hubs and moving them to housing estates and the heartlands.

Dr Goh noted that S$19 billion has been set aside over five years under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 plan, and another $1.5 billion is to be added to the National Research Fund in this year’s Budget. “The public needs to know exactly how much of the value is being captured for the benefit of the Singapore economy and, I must emphasise, for the benefit of Singapore society, that is, Singaporeans ourselves,” he said.

Dr Goh cited the example of Infocomm Investments Private Limited, the venture capital subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, which has been around for 20 years.

He acknowledged that return on investment (ROI) in R&D and tech start-ups are long-term by nature, but he questioned if the Government should be able to give the actual ROI beyond a few anecdotal examples.

Another issue Dr Goh raised was the need to maintain a Singaporean core in R&D, where capabilities are anchored by Singaporeans. He mentioned how an invisibility cloak was invented in 2013 by a team of six researchers led by a Zhejiang University professor, but ideally, a cloak nearing industrial application should be produced by a Singapore industry-university team led by Singaporean scientists. At the same time, the Government not only has to nurture more Singaporean innovators, but also retain non-Singaporeans who would help Singaporeans innovate.

“We must strengthen and empower the Singaporean core in R&D. Only then will they continue to create value for the nation deep into the future,” he said.

Referring to studies that show that geographical proximity does not seem to be crucial in establishing formal research links and innovativeness, Dr Goh asked if Singapore enterprises and researchers that relocated to science parks, such as the ones in Buona Vista, have become more innovative.

Newer science parks further run the risk of becoming “enclaves”, with innovation taking place separated from the rest of society, and are “mega-ivory towers” surrounding universities such as the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, he said.

“My concern is that the (new) Jurong Innovation District, by virtue of its exclusive urban design, would become a high-tech island detached from the rest of Singapore, from the heartland estates where Singaporeans and Singapore enterprises are supposed to be beneficiaries of innovation.”

Dr Goh suggested a network of smaller science parks in housing estates that not only focus on start-ups, but small and medium enterprises as well, to help spread innovation to Singapore companies.

“Most importantly, innovation will not be concentrated in two districts, but will be everywhere in Singapore... (with creativity becoming a norm) for everyone in every vocation, from the cleaner to the CEO, from the office clerk to the scientist,” he added.