ENG-2004 — Page 168

134 Commerce and Industry

Hong Kong Design Centre

Pioneered by four leading local design professional bodies and with funding support from the Government and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) was established in September 2002 as a multi- disciplinary organisation dedicated to the promotion of the design industry and its competitiveness in the region as a service industry. Under the DesignSmart Initiative, the HKDC will work with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation to operate a one-stop shop for a variety of activities and facilities, including professional education and training; design-related exhibitions, seminars and workshops; a design-related resource centre; events for networking among design professionals and user industries; and an incubation programme.

Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology

In January 2004, the Government established the Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology to coordinate the formulation and implementation of innovation and technology policy and to ensure greater synergy among different elements of the innovation and technology programme. Chaired by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, the Steering Committee comprises 12 representatives from relevant government bureaux, academia, industry as well as innovation and technology organisations.

New Strategic Framework for Innovation and Technology Development

To improve the relevance of applied research and development (R&D) to the needs of the industry and to ensure optimal use of resources, the Government plans to adopt a new strategic framework for innovation and technology development. The new strategy emphasises five elements, i.e. focus, market relevance, industry participation, leverage on the Mainland, and better coordination among different elements of the innovation and technology programme. The key initiatives of the new strategy are:

To identify technology focus areas where Hong Kong has competitive edges and has the potential for meeting market needs; and

To set up R&D centres to drive and coordinate applied R&D efforts, facilitate technology transfer to the relevant industries and promote commercialisation of R&D results in the selected areas.

On June 30, 2004, the Government issued a consultation paper on the new strategy for a two-month public consultation and most of the submissions received were supportive of the direction and initiatives of the new strategy. Taking into account the feedback received, the Government plans to set up R&D centres under four technology areas: automotive parts and accessory systems, logistics and supply chain management enabling technologies, textiles and clothing, and nanotechnology and advanced materials. In addition, ASTRI will subsume R&D under five technology areas: communications technologies, consumer electronics, integrated circuit design, opto-electronics, and Chinese medicine, as part of its development plan. The Government will invite proposals to host the R&D centres in early 2005, with the aim to set up the R&D centres in the second half of 2005.