Henry Lowe invited to sit on regional think tank
RENOWNED Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe has been invited to sit on a regional think tank established to optimise the use of resources that can yield benefits for the region’s private sector.
The invitation was extended by Caribbean Export Development Agency’s Executive Director Pamela Coke Hamilton for Dr Lowe to become a member of the newly formed Regional Innovation Advisory Group, based on his “stellar accomplishments and vast experience in research and development and commercialisation of new products in the area of nutraceuticals”.
In her letter, Hamilton explained that the Caribbean Export Development Agency — the regional investment and trade promotion body — has been charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing a regional innovation strategy.
“This project is aligned to the agency’s mandate to enhance competitiveness and promote innovation among CARIFORUM’s private sector,” Hamilton said.
“The regional innovation strategy will seek to, among other things, create an action plan to guide the development of this innovation ecosystem in the CARIFORUM region and to identify those areas of collaboration,” she added.
“This project envisages the establishment of a Regional Innovation Advisory Group that will act as a think tank for matters related to innovation, tech transfer, sharing of best practices, and guiding the development of a regional innovation strategy and implementation plan,” Hamilton said.
Funding for the activity, she explained, “will be provided by the European Union under the 10th Economic Development Fund Regional Private Sector Development Programme. This funding will cover the required expertise to develop the strategy, host the necessary regional consultations and execute some aspects of the implementation plan. The latter will require the collaboration of other regional partners for its full implementation”.
The inaugural meeting of the advisory group is scheduled for Trinidad & Tobago on November 15.
Lowe, the Jamaica Observer Business Leader for 2006, has developed nutraceuticals from the Ball Moss and other Jamaican plants. He has also gained worldwide attention for his anti-cancer research.
