1. About the Council for
Competitiveness & Innovation
Francis M. Lewis
Vice Chairman,
Council for Competitiveness and Innovation (CCI)
Wednesday 14th November, 2012

2. Defining Competitiveness &
Innovation
 Competitiveness is the set of institutions, policies
and regulations that support high levels of
productivity and drive productivity growth and
sustained increases in output.
 Innovation is a process of generating, acquiring
and applying knowledge for economically and
socially beneficial purposes. (Marcelle, 2011)

3. About the CCI
 The Council for Competitiveness & Innovation (CCI) was
established by the GoRTT in 2011 as an Advisory body to
the Ministry of Planning.
 The CCI is charged with the responsibility to significantly
improve T&T’s global competitiveness and foster innovation
as key drivers of a diversified knowledge based economy.

4. Ministerial Council
Ministry of Planning &
Sustainable Development
Council for Competitiveness
Economic Development Board
& Innovation
Executive Director
(Shared CCI & ECB)
Competitiveness &
Economic Development Research & Innovation
Business Unit Policy Unit Business Unit
Project New Business Development
Communications Research &
Management & Design & of Growth
& Events Analyst
Implementation Development Poles
Support Staff (Outsourced Expertise, Secretary, Accounts , etc)

5. T&T’s GCI Ranking in relation
to other Caribbean & Latin
American countries
120
100
80
GCI Ranking
60
40
20
0
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
T&T B'ds J'ca Chile Costa Rica Brazil

6. T&T’s GCI ranking vs innovation
driven economies
COUNTRY Per Capita Per Capita Ease of Population STAGE OF Overall
GDP Export Doing (Millions) DEVELOPMEN Competitive
(Current (USD) Business T Rank
USD)
Trinidad & Tobago $20,300./ 61 $12,700./18 68 1.32 Transition 2-3 84
Efficiency Driven
Mauritius $15,000. / 84 $1,850. /62 23 1.29 (2) 54
Chile $16,100. / 74 $4,000./ 42 39 17.4 Transition 2-3 31
Innovation driven
UAE $48,500. / 11 $37,200. /3 33 8.26 (3) 27
Innovation driven
Canada $40,300. / 22 $9,430. / 24 13 34.83 (3) 12
Innovation driven
USA $48,100. / 12 $3,375./ 46 4 313.72 (3) 5
Innovation driven
Singapore $59,900./ 5 $45,302./ 2 1 5.18 (3) 2
Innovation driven
New Zealand $27,900./48 $6,725./34 3 4.3 (3) 23
Innovation driven

7. CCI’s Work Programme 2012 - 14
1. Improve T&T’s Competitiveness Ranking by 20 points.
2. Double non-energy exports.
3. Increase RDI expenditure to 1% of GDP.
4. Raise national awareness of innovation.
5. Help existing firms become more competitive & export-ready.
6. Developing National Innovation Strategy & Policy [NIS/NIP]
(assigned in October 2012)

10. Action Plan
Objective Target Owners
• Increase economic growth 2% by 2013/14 GoRTT, Private sector
• Develop a National Innovation 3rd Quarter, Ministry of Planning and
System 2013 Sustainable Development
• Identify additional strategic sectors Q3, 2012 EDB in collaboration with
for increased investment Business Sector Associations
• Increase expenditure in R&D 1% of GDP by GoRTT
2014
• Improve ranking on the Global 20 points by CCI in collaboration with
Competitiveness Index 2014/2015 Business Sector Associations
• Increase non – energy exports 100% by 2014 All stakeholders
• Increase resources to the Public 8% of GDP by GoRTT
Sector Investment Prgm (PSIP) 2014

11. The End
Thank you for your attention!

12. Key Areas that T&T need to
address?
1. Market Size 108
2. Innovation 94
3. Goods Market Efficiency 89
4. Labour Market Efficiency 82
5. Business Sophistication 73
6. Institutions 68
7. Health and Primary Education 61
8. Higher Education and Training 61
9. Technological Readiness 53
10. Infrastructure 45
11. Financial Market Development 43
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

13. So what is the CCI doing to
achieve its deliverables?
1. A dramatic improvement in T&T’s global competitiveness rank
 Identify area for priority action based on 2012 survey
 For 2013 survey
 Continue program to sensitize and build awareness with
Private and Public sectors
 Develop a Communications Plan
 Execute the plan six (6) months prior to the survey

14. So what is the CCI doing to
achieve its deliverables?
2. The doubling of non-energy exports.
 Undertaking a survey with 100 private sector firms - manufacturing and
services sectors.
 This would assist in policy formulation in areas such as
 Innovation
 R&D
 Human capital development
 Standards and technical regulations
 Tax incentive regimes
 Ease of doing business
 Trade facilitation and promotion

15. So what is the CCI doing to
achieve its deliverables?
 Ideas can be generated
3. Building national through:
awareness of
 Creation of new
innovation
products, services, a
system designs or
 “i2i” competition processes
 Invest in the  Improvement of a new
creativity, potential product, service, business
and ingenuity of process or system
citizens to conceive
new inventions and
 New process of adding
innovative projects.
value to T&T sourced raw
material
 The local and/or export

16. So what is the CCI doing to
achieve its deliverables?
4. Making existing companies more competitive.
Education & Improved staff
Continuous
performance
Training staff training
Technological Access &
Enhanced
advanced
Readiness productivity
blueprints
Design &
develop cutting
Innovation edge products
Increased R&D
& processes
Increased
Business production of Increased
Sophistication goods & competitiveness
services

17. Benchmarking against top
performers
 Key characteristics of the top performers are:
1. High capacity for innovation
 Quality scientific research institutions
 Company spending on R&D
 University / Industry collaboration in R&D
 Utility patents granted
2. Strong work ethic
 Pay and productivity
 Reliance on professional management
3. Safe and secure environment
 Low levels of crime and theft
 Efficiency

19. What is innovation?
Renewal & enlargement of
range of products & services
New methods of
production, supply &
distribution
Changes in
Management, organizations,
working conditions
Changes in skillsets
of the work force

20. Deliverables
 Dramatic improvement of GCI ranking by at least 20 points by 2014 -
From 84 to between 50 – 60, in the next two years.
 Significant expansion of non-energy exports i.e. double exports in the
next two years.
 Increase R & D expenditure to 1% of GDP by 2014. (T & T GDP is in
2014 will be TT$225 – 245 billion or US$35 – 37 billion). This means
getting R & D spending to about TT$225 – TT$245 million in 2 years.
 Raise awareness of competitiveness and innovation.
 Develop two separate but related national policies on Competitiveness
and Innovation, by September 2012.
 Aim is to catalyze transformation of the economy and reduce
dependence on hydrocarbons, over the next 10 years.

21. Stakeholder Collaboration