ENG-2005 — Page 157

Commerce and Industry 123

organisation of the Design Education Week in June and the Business of Design Week in November.

New Strategic Framework for Innovation and Technology Development

After reviewing the state of innovation and technology development in Hong Kong and considering the feedback received during a three-month public consultation exercise in 2004, the Government announced in January 2005 the implementation of a new strategy to ensure optimal use of resources and improve the relevance of applied research and development (R&D) to the needs of the industry. Under the new strategy, the Innovation and Technology Fund will adopt a highly focused approach and will deploy substantial resources to support the establishment and operation of R&D centres in the following areas:

automotive parts and accessory systems;

information and communications technologies;

• logistics and supply chain management enabling technologies;

nanotechnology and advanced materials; and

textiles and clothing.

The five R&D centres are expected to start operating in early 2006. They will develop core competencies in their respective technology areas and become the focal points of applied R&D and technology transfer. In line with the market-driven, demand-led approach of the new strategy, the R&D centres will work closely with the industry in drawing up the direction of their R&D, defining the future path of technology development, and facilitating the commercialisation of R&D results.

Technology Cooperation with the Mainland

The Mainland and Hong Kong Science and Technology Cooperation Committee was formed in 2004 to formulate and coordinate technology cooperation and exchange programmes between Hong Kong and the Mainland. In 2005, the Cooperation Committee formed working groups to enhance cooperation in four technology areas: automotive parts and accessory systems, Chinese medicine, integrated circuit design and radio frequency identification technologies.

The ITC and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology have been running the Guangdong and Hong Kong Technology Cooperation Funding Scheme since 2004 to support applied R&D projects in technology areas of common interest. In 2005, the two sides decided to support 126 projects in six technology areas with a total funding of $360 million. The ITC also participated in the 'Planning Study on Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation in Science and Technology for 2006-2010'. Completed in September 2005, the study has recommended various measures to enhance technology cooperation among the nine Mainland provinces and the two SARS in the Pan-PRD region.