Documents of the RIAC Meetings 2015

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DOCUMENTS

2015 RIAC Annual Meeting of Ministers,

High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas

As part of the IX Americas Competitiveness Forum

Monday, November 16, 2015

Hotel Westin Camino Real, Guatemala City

www.riacnet.org

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Index

1. Draft Agenda for the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Inter-‐American

Competitiveness Network (RIAC) of Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities

and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas

2. Work Plan proposal for 2016-‐18 RIAC (presented by Mexico)

3. List of participants / RIAC Members

4. Draft agendas for RIAC activities during the IX Americas Competitiveness

Forum

a. Panel on quality infrastructure

b. Panel on good practices on subnational competitiveness

c. Meeting of High-‐Level Authorities of Competitiveness from Central

America

5. Terms of reference for the RIAC Working Group on Gender and

Competitiveness

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1. Draft Agenda: 2015 Annual Meeting of the Inter-‐American Competitiveness Network (RIAC) of Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas

Monday, November 16, 2015 Izabal and Atitlán Meeting Rooms Westin Camino Real Hotel, Guatemala City 09:00 am -‐ 09:15 am: Welcome and Opening Remarks

Acisclo Valladares, Presidential Commissioner for Competitiveness and Investment of Guatemala and Chair Pro Tempore of the Inter-‐American Competitiveness Network (RIAC) 2015

Ambassador Dr. Neil Parsan, Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Organization of American States (OAS), RIAC Technical Secretariat

Rocío Ruiz Chávez, Undersecretary of Competitiveness and Standardization, Mexico, RIAC Vice Chair

Ayleen Ovid, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago, RIAC Vice Chair

09:15 am -‐ 09:30 am: Approval of the Agenda and Consideration of New RIAC Partners

Approval of agenda

Presentation of RIAC National Heads of Delegation and support institutions Confirmation of requests received in 2015 The following institutions have requested to join the RIAC as partners:

Public sector: Production Development Corporation (CORFO), Chile

Private sector: Latin American Industrial Association (LAIA) Chamber of Commerce of Argentina Knowledge and Experience Center, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), Colombia

Academia National Center of Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), United States Universidad del Salvador (USAL), Buenos Aires, Argentina

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09:30 am -‐ 09:50 am: Activity Report by Guatemala as RIAC Chair Pro Tempore 2015

The Chair, with the support of the OAS / RIAC Technical Secretariat, will present a brief summary of the activities carried out in 2015 and inform on the progress made in the preparation of the Report “Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas 2015”.

Acisclo Valladares, Presidential Commissioner for Competitiveness and Investment of Guatemala and RIAC Chair Pro Tempore 2015

Oscar Emilio Castillo, President, Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG)

Ambassador Dr. Neil Parsan, Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Organization of American States (OAS)

Comments from Members on the Activity Report presented by Guatemala

This will be a space for dialogue so RIAC countries and support institutions may share their comments regarding the activities and actions conducted by the RIAC in 2015 with the leadership of Guatemala and the support of the OAS.

09:50 am -‐ 10:30 am: The Institutions of the Americas and the Competitiveness Experiences/Initiatives of the RIAC Member Countries and Partners

Open dialogue to exchange general opinions and visions of the institutional landscape and potential offers/needs for collaboration or technical assistance.

Space for countries to share brief comments on experiences presented for the 2015 Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas Report.

10:30 am -‐ 10:45 am: Presentation of the Draft Work Plan for the RIAC 2016-‐18 María del Rocío Ruíz Chávez, Undersecretary of Competitiveness and Standardization, Mexico

-‐ Summary of the RIAC Working Plan for the period 2016-‐18; -‐ Presentation of the central themes of the X Americas Competitiveness Forum, to be held in Mexico in May 2017

-‐ Recommendation of the RIAC Steering Committee to form a Working Group on Gender and Competitiveness (GTG).

Chair Pro Tempore 2015 Guatemala /SIECA /Government of the United States/OAS

10:45 am -‐ 11:15 am: Open space for comments from RIAC Members

Open space for comments from countries and institutions to provide comments, guidance and suggestions to support the work plan of the RIAC during 2016-‐18.

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11:15 am -‐ 11:35 am: Report from the RIAC Working Group of Experts on Subnational Competitiveness (GTECS)

A brief video will be shown at this time to be followed by space for dialogue, questions and comments from RIAC members on the next steps for 2016/17, including the next host countries.

Carlos Pirovano, Undersecretary of Investment of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, host of GTECS 2015

OAS, RIAC Technical Secretariat

Open floor for comments from countries and institutions that participated in the III GTECS Consideration of plans to hold the GTECS 2016-‐Special Edition in Basque Country, Spain, with the support of the Permanent Observer Mission of Spain to the OAS (June 2016) and of GTECS-‐Bogota, Colombia, in October-‐November 2016.

11:35 am -‐ 12:00 pm: Presentation of Americas Competitiveness Exchanges on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACE) held in 2015

III ACE: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, April 19 -‐ 24, 2015: Presented by Daniel Villanueva, Alternate Representative, U.S. Permanent Mission to the OAS

IV ACE: Córdoba, Argentina, October 26 – 30, 2015: Presentation


Open floor for comments from leaders from countries and institutions who participated in the III and IV ACE Announcement of the V ACE in the United States (April 2016)

12:00 pm -‐ 12:15 pm: Results of the IV Meeting of Ministers and High-‐Level Authorities of Science and Technology (IV REMCYT) held in Guatemala in March 2015

Plan of Action of Guatemala 2016-‐2020 Presented by Dr. Hugo Figueroa, Director of Innovation, SENACYT, Guatemala


12:15 pm -‐ 12:30 pm: Other matters and final considerations

Based on discussion at the meeting, the Chair will present the conclusions and commitments.

The floor will be open for members to offer their final comments. 12:30 pm: Official RIAC Picture

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2. Work Plan proposal for 2016-‐18 RIAC (presented by Mexico)

WORK PLAN PROPOSAL FOR THE RIAC 2016-‐2018

Prepared by Mexico, 2016 RIAC Chair Pro Tempore

“Structural Reforms and Entrepreneurship to Drive Competitiveness in the Americas”

Introduction

The Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas agree to plan RIAC efforts for 2015-‐2018 focusing the activities on the following goals:

1. Propose the development of RIAC’s regional collaboration agenda taking into account the framework and timeline leading to the next VIII Summit of the Americas, to be held in 2018 in Peru;

2. Propose that the Americas Competitiveness Forum and RIAC Meeting be held every 18 months/two years with the goal of achieving important results in the exchange of experiences and regional collaboration. A change from annual to biannual ACF and RIAC Meeting of High Level Authorities of Competitiveness of the Americas would follow the general recommendation to program OAS Ministerial Meetings on development every two years and to become better aligned with the Summit of the Americas process;

3. Present for consideration the celebration of the X Americas Competitiveness Forum in May 2017 in

Mexico;

4. Strengthen RIAC regional cooperation activities that have yielded favorable results for RIAC’s members and partners;

5. Foster regional dialogue on public policies and the exchange of experiences on key structural reform

issues for driving competitiveness in the Americas and creating synergies with Inter-‐American Ministerial Meetings and regional programs in Education and job training; Energy; Transparency and Competence; Investment, Trade and Integration, among others;

6. Deepen the exchange of knowledge and the accelerate the creation of strategic partnerships on

Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Americas and convene High-‐Level Authorities on Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship to meet jointly in the framework of the X Americas Competitiveness Forum in Mexico;

7. RIAC’s 10 Competitiveness Principles approved in the Consensus of Santo Domingo in 2011 as part

of the competitiveness agenda for the Americas 2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a group of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), will serve as reference and guidelines for RIAC collaboration activities;

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8. Strengthen RIAC efforts on issues of gender equity and equality through the Working Group on

Gender and Competitiveness (GTG) proposed by the RIAC Steering Committee Committee and Guatemala as the 2015 RIAC Chair.

Areas of Operation

The Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas agree to coordinate joint activities with the OAS Technical Secretariat in the following areas of work based on existing RIAC work spaces:

1. Follow-‐up the policy dialogue between Competitiveness Authorities and Councils of the Americas.

! Organize a meeting and videoconferences of the RIAC Steering Committee in 2016 and

before the X ACF in 2017; ! Organize the Annual Meeting of the Inter-‐American Competitiveness Network (RIAC) of

Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas in May 2017 in the framework of the X Americas Competitiveness Forum (X ACF);

! Represent the RIAC in other international and inter-‐American forums on issues related to Competitiveness.

! Provide technical support and contribute to strengthening the competitiveness agenda of the Americas.

! Channel inputs from the RIAC to high-‐level meetings, ministerial meetings, and the Summit of the Americas.

! Conduct any other activities that can increase the value of the network.

2. Organize the X Americas Competitiveness Forum in Mexico, in May 2017. The Chair Pro Tempore will guide the follow-‐up work based on the results and commitments undertaken during the IX ACF in Guatemala with the support of all RIAC members, support institutions, Vice Chair, and OAS Technical Secretariat.

3. Provide support for Meetings of the Working Group of Experts on Subnational Competitiveness (GTECS).

a. Special edition of GTECS in June 2016 coordinated by Orkestra-‐Institute of Competitiveness of the University of Deusto, Basque Country with the support of the Permanent Observer Mission of Spain to the OAS;

b. GTECS-‐Exchange on Competitiveness in Bogota, Colombia, October-‐November 2016, coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota;

c. 2017 and 2018 based on requests-‐invitations received in 2016.

4. Continue with the consolidation of the Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACE) and contribute to the exchanges in RIAC member countries with the goal of facilitating the cooperation and development of initiatives, public-‐private partnerships, opportunities for investment, trade, development and technology transfer and commercialization. The following Exchanges to be confirmed:

a. V ACE, United States, April 2016 ;

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b. 2017 and 2018 based on requests-‐invitations received in 2016.

Guidelines for the X Americas Competitiveness Forum

The Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas agree to coordinate joint activities with the OAS Technical Secretariat using the following work guidelines in preparation for the X Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF):

1. Promote activities and exchange of experiences among RIAC members related to the main

theme of the X ACF 2017: “Structural Reforms and Entrepreneurship to Drive Competitiveness in the Americas” in which high-‐level authorities, the private sector, academia and civil society will participate.

2. Conduct high-‐level regional forums on issues of public policy involving key structural reforms for

driving competitiveness in the Americas and creating synergies with multi-‐sector Ministerial Meetings in i) Education and skills training; ii) Energy; iii) Transparency and competition; iv) Investment, Trade and Integration; v) Innovation and entrepreneurship, among others;

3. Continue with efforts to incorporate partner institutions from the private sector, academia and civil society, including their participation in dialogues and activities of the RIAC and the Forum, as well as activities on corporate social responsibility.

4. Prepare the 2017 Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas Report, including a summary of main conclusions and recommendations from high-‐level regional forums on issues of public policy involving key structural reforms for driving competitiveness in the Americas and the results of exchanges among RIAC members on these topics with the objective of serving as inputs for the X Americas Competitiveness Forum.

5. To hold the X Americas Competitiveness Forum in May 2017 in Mexico, including the Annual Meeting of the Inter-‐American Competitiveness Network (RIAC) of Ministers, High-‐Level Authorities and Competitiveness Councils of the Americas in coordination with the V Inter-‐American Dialogue of High-‐Level Authorities Responsible for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

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3. List of participants / RIAC Members

COUNTRIES

Country/País Participants/Participantes Title/Cargo

Antigua and Barbuda

Senator Colin Lesley Anderson James

Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Industry, Sports, Culture and National Festivals

Juan Manuel Labanca

Center for Research and Developement in Mechanics, National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI)

Argentina

Carlos Pirovano

Organizer of the III GTECS in Buenos Aires Subsecretary for Investments, Governement of the City of Buenos Aires

Khaalis Evanstine Rolle

Minister of State for Investments, Office of the Prime Minister

Edison Sumner

Chief Executive Officer of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer Federation

Bahamas

Shanell Moss

Office of the Prime Minister

Donville O’Neil Inniss

Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development (MIICS)

Barbados

Philmore Best

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development (MIICS)

Belize

Lejia Melanie Gideon

Acting Executive Director, BELTRAIDE

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Brazil

Marcus de Freitas Simões

Secretariat of Production Development (SDP), Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC)

Ambassador Deborah Chatsis

Canada’s Ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala

Ambassador Maryse Guilbeault

Canada’s Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador

Alan Steele

Chief Metrologist of Canada, General Manager of Measurement Science and Standards, National Research Council of Canada

Brennen Young

Deputy Director, Hemispheric Relations Division, Global Affairs Canada

Mateo Barney

Alternate Representative, Permanent Mission of Canada to the OAS

Laura Dalby

Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy to Guatemala and Belize

Nathalie Samson

Senior Trade Commissioner Canadian Embassy to the Dominican Republic

Eve Giguere

Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy to Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua

Michael Redenbach

Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy to Panama

Canada

Christine Luttmann

Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy to Guatemala and Belize

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Chile

Julián Victor Goñi Melias

Coordinador Desarrollo Competitivo de la Gerencia de Desarrollo Competitivo, Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (CORFO)

Colombia

Angélica Santodomingo Consejería Presidencial del Sistema de Competitividad e Innovación

Carlos Mora Gómez

Viceministro de Economía, Industria y Comercio

Costa Rica

Velia Govaere

Directora Ejecutiva del Consejo de Promoción de la Competitividad

Dominica

Victoria Roselyn Paul

Minister of Commerce, Enterprise and Small Business Development

El Salvador

Pedro Antonio Argumedo Investigador Senior, Estudios Económicos, Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (FUSADES)

Sandra Marina González Rodriguez

Directora de Clima de Negocios y Competitividad, Ministerio de Economía Planificación y Desarrollo (MEPyD)

República Dominicana

Tomás Guzmán Director de Innovación y Desarrollo Productivo, Ministerio de Economía Planificación y Desarrollo (MEPyD)

Grenada

Che Antony Keens-Douglas

Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Directors of the Grenada Industrial Development Corpation (GIDC)

Acisclo Valladares Urruela

Comisionado Presidencial para la Competitividad e Inversiones

Guatemala

(RIAC Chair 2015)

Jorge Méndez Herbruger Ministro de Economía

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Rodrigo Vielman Viceministro de Relaciones Exteriores

José Fernando Suriano Buezo

Director Ejecutivo del Programa Nacional de Competitividad (PRONACOM)

Oscar Emilio Castillo

Presidente, Cámara de Industria de Guatemala

Javier Zepeda

Director Ejecutivo, Cámara de Industria de Guatemala

Juan Carlos Zapata

Fundación para el Desarrollo de Guatemala (FUNDESA)

Hugo Figueroa

Director de Innovación, Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (SENACYT)

Karin De León

Directora, Invest in Guatemala

Guyana

Hans Dominic Gaskin Minister of Investment and Business

Lidabel Almendarez Gerente de Política Comercial del Consejo Hondureño de la Empresa Privada (COHEP)

Honduras

Santiago Herrera

Gerente del Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Consejo Hondureño de la Empresa Privada (COHEP)

Jamaica

Reginald Keith Nugent

Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce

María del Rocío Ruíz Chávez

Subsecretaria de Competitividad y Normatividad de la Secretaría de Economía

México

(RIAC Vice-Chair)

Javier Anaya Rojas

Secretario Técnico de la Competitividad, Secretaría de Economía

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Ignacio Elías Caparros

Representante de la Oficina de ProMéxico en Guatemala

Miguel Ángel Esbrí

Secretario Ejecutivo de Competitividad y Logística, Ministerio de la Presidencia

Sugey Serrano Ministerio de la Presidencia

Octavio de la Cruz Ministerio de la Presidencia

Lesly Salmeron Ministerio de la Presidencia

Panamá

Alexis Alberto Mateo Cano

Director Nacional de Industrias y Desarrollo Empresarial, Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias

Perú

Maria Liliana Tamayo Yoshimoto Asesora, Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas

Saint Kitts & Nevis

Dorietta Eleize Fraites Director, Investment Facilitation, St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKYPA)

Emma Hippolyte

Minister of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs

Janai Leonce

Deputy Chief Economist , Department of Finance, Economic Affairs and Social Security

Saint Lucia

Fiona Hinkson

Executive Director, National Competitiveness and Productivity Council

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Felix Alexander Lewis General Manager, Centre for Enterprise Development

Kenneth Foe-A-Man Executive Director, Competitiveness Unit Suriname (CUS)

Suriname

Amit Chandansingh Technical Staff Member, Competitiveness Unit Suriname (CUS)

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Ayleen Ovid

Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Planning and Development

Trinidad and Tobago

Kieron Swift

Business Manager, Council for Competitiveness and Innovation (CCI)

Daniel Villanueva

Alternate Representative, U.S. Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States, U.S. Department of State

Thomas Wong

Assistant Summit Coordinator, Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Stefanie Fabrico

Policy Officer, Economic Inclusion, Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State

United States

Regina Smedinghoff

Policy Advisor, Office of Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State

Uruguay

Damian Pirrocco

Asesor de la Gerencia de Política Industrial, Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Minería de Uruguay

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SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS

Institution/ Institución Participant/Participantes Title/Cargo

Inter-‐American Development Bank

Ignacio de León

Specialist, Private Sector Development, Divison of Competitiveness and Innovation

Compete Caribbean Program

Sylvia Dohnert

Executive Director, Compete Caribbean Program

United Nations Institute for Training and Research

Alfonso Quiñonez

Member of the Board of Directors, UNITAR

Secretaría de Integración Económica Centroamericana

Mauricio Ruano Competitiveness Advisor, Office of the Secretary General

University of Texas at San Antonio / Institute for Economic Development

Robert Mckinley

Associate Vice President, Institute for Economic Development

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Daniel Moska Presidente, ITESM

Amado Villarreal Director, Institute for Regional Development, ITESM

Tecnológico de Monterrey TEC

Elvira Naranjo Profesora, Instituto para el Desarrollo Regional, ITESM

Alejandro Rodríguez Zamora

Vicepresidente Ejecutivo, BCIE

Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica

Florentino Fernández Venegas

Director, Gerencia de Guatemala, BCIE

El Banco Mundial

Manolo Morales

Especialista, Sociedad Civil, Oficina del Banco Mundial en Guatemala

Economic Comision for Latin America and the Caribean

Hugo Beteta Director, Subnational Headquarters in Mexico

Instituto Vasco de Competitividad

Ibon Gil de San Vicente Deputy Director General

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Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC), Honduras

Desiree Tejada Decana de la Facultad de Ingeniería

Neil Parsan

Executive Secretary for Integral Development

Maryse Robert

Director, Department of Economic Development (DED)

Milagro Martínez

OAS Representative, National Office in Guatemala

César Parga

Chief, Section of Competitiveness, Innovation and Technology of the DED

Martha Beltrán-Martínez

Specialist, Section of Competitiveness, Innovation and Technology of the DED

Adriana Bonilla

Competitiveness Forum Coordinator, Section of Competitiveness, Innovation and Technology of the DED

Juan Carlos Montoya

Section of Competitiveness, Innovation and Technology of the DED

Organization of American States (OAS) RIAC Technical Secretariat

Aryanne Quintal

Section of Competitiveness, Innovation and Technology of the DED

SPECIAL GUESTS

Institution/ Institución Participant/Participantes Title/Cargo

University of Illinois at Urbana-‐Champaign

Kevin Franklin

Executive Director of the Institute for Computing in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (I-‐CHASS) and Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)

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RedClara

Luis Roberto Furlán Collver

Presidente, Red Avanzada Guatemalteca para la Investigación y Educación y Director del Centro de Estudios en Informática Applicada, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

Cenpropyme Ingrid Figueroa

Directora Ejecutiva, Cenpromype

Universidad del Salvador en Buenos Aires

Juan Alejandro Tobias Rector

Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (OEI)

Evelyn Marlene Grajeda

Directora de la Oficina en Guatemala

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Juan Eduardo Cros Ramos

Director del Centro de conocimiento y experiencias para la Consultora Internacional PricewaterhouseCoopers

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Catalonia Trade and Investment Promotion Agency

Antoni Pujol Executive Director at ACCIÓ Panama, Catalonia Trade and Investment Promotion Agency

Mario Antonio Ruíz Ramírez

Rector

Universidad Francisco Gavidia

Luis Alonso Martinez Perdomo

Ingeniero Industrial

José Manuel Cabrera

Profesor honorífico, Campus Guanajuato

Universidad de Guanajuato

Ernesto Camarena Rector, Campus Irapuato-‐Salamanca

Gerogia Tech

Ernesto Escobar

Project Manager, Entrepreneurial Partnership

Walmart

J. Welby Leaman

Director of Latin American Government Affairs at Walmart

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Luis Alfonso Anleu

Director Regional de Operaciones para Wal-‐Mart y Gerente de país Guatemala

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

Rosa Amarilis Dubón Mazariegos

Unidad de Vinculación y Propiedad Intelectual

International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES)

Miguel Sosa

Dean, Delta Regional School of the National Technological University of Argentina and Member of the Executive Committee of IFEES

4. Draft Agendas for RIAC activities during the IX Americas Competitiveness Forum a. Panel on quality infrastructure Monday, November 16, 2015, Hotel Westin Camino Real Amatitlan Meeting Room 12:30 – 15:30

RIAC Panel: The Importance of Quality in Improving the Business Climate Organized by the Quality Infrastructure Council for the Americas (QICA) and the OAS

Quality Infrastructure (QI), through its components, Metrology, Accreditation and Standardization, is the system that guarantees that products and services in regional and international markets meet quality and safety requirements, and that these are recognized internationally. QI is vital for driving competitiveness and innovation, integrating value chains in national and international trade, and establishing the necessary conditions for protecting consumers, public health and the environment.

Governments and businesses depend on national quality infrastructure institutions (NQI) to provide these services, which offer a valuable component of trust to national and international markets.

This panel will offer an overview of national quality infrastructure, provide examples of success stories that show how NQI institutions are linked to the development of the private sector and drive national

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prosperity, and will highlight the benefits of regional collaboration for improving trust and increasing the positive impact of these important investments in QI.

Moderator: RIAC Technical Secretariat, Organization of American States

Overview of National Quality Infrastructure in the Americas

Alan Steele, Chief Metrologist, National Research Council Canada (NRC), Coordinator of the Working Group on Quality Infrastructure of the Plan of Action of Guatemala 2016-‐2020

Quality in Industry: Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneuship

Jodi Geis, Manager of the Physical Testing and Analysis Laboratory, Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC), North Carolina, United States

QI and the experience of Argentina

Juan Manuel Labanca, Economist, National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI), Argentina

b. Panel on good practices of subnational competitiveness Monday, November 16, 2015, Hotel Westin Camino Real Amatitlan Meeting Room 15:30 – 17:00

Moderator: RIAC Technical Secretariat, Organization of American States

Subnational Competitiveness in Chile: Model of Decentralized Regional Productive Development (10min.) Julián Goñi, Production Development Corporation (CORFO) of Chile Modernization of Commerce Public Records (10min.) María del Roció Ruíz Chávez, Undersecretary of Economy, Secretariat of Economy of Mexico

Social Progess and Competitivness at the Subnational Level (10min.) Victor Umaña, INCAE Business School Guatemala’s Local Competitiveness Index (10min.) Jorge Benavides, Executive Director, Private Competitiveness Council of Guatemala Competitinevess Index of Mexican States ICEM and challenges for the academia (10min.) Rossio Miranda Oliver, Monterrey Technological Institute (ITESM)

c. Meeting of High-‐Level Authorities of Competitiveness from Central America Tuesday, November 17, 2015, Hotel Westin Camino Real Amatitlan Meeting Room 14:00 – 15:00

Meeting organized in collaboration with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the OAS as RIAC Technical Secretariat.

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Guests: Representatives from the public sector, the private sector and academia from the Central American Integration System, Colombia and Mexico. International organizations and interested countries/partners from the region.

Opening remarks:

Juan Carlos Montoya, RIAC Technical Secretariat, OAS

Amb. Dr. Neil Parsan, Executive Secretary for Integral Development, OAS

Carmen Gisela Vergara, Secretary General of SIECA

• Signing of the Cooperation Framework Agreement between the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States and the Centre for the Promotion of Micro and Small Enterprises of Central America (CENPROMYPE)

• Dialogue on Competitiveness in the Central American region and presentation of unified regional projects for the Central American region and the Mesoamerican Region

Moderator: Carmen Gisela Vergara, Secretary General of SIECA

Proposal for establishing a year of competitiveness at the regional level

5. Terms of reference for the RIAC Working Group on Gender and Competitiveness

Background

Objectives

Members

Meetings

Work Plan

Reference Documents

Background

In June 2015, the ten countries members of the RIAC Steering Committee meeting in Guatemala decided to recommend the creation of a special working group on gender and women’s entrepreneurship to the RIAC Annual Meeting to be held during the IX ACF in November 2015. The Chair Pro Tempore, Guatemala, OAS, SIECA, CIM, YABT the U.S. Department of Commerce, WEAmericas and other regional partners worked on draft recommendations and ideas to consider in the terms of reference and activities to be undertaken by this new working group focused on competitiveness and innovation from a gender equality perspective.

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Gender issues are important to competitiveness. Women constitute half of the human potential available in their economies and their ability to participate in decision-‐making, start and grow businesses, create jobs and increase productivity is vital for economic development. The existence of gender-‐related barriers that can limit the economic potential of women as workers and entrepreneurs has a negative impact on incomes, innovation, enterprise development, productivity, and competitiveness1. Countries with better environments for women also tend to be more competitive2.

In view of the generally low levels of productivity of our region, it is clear that having more and better women leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators is a win-‐win proposition for economic development. This requires concerted efforts to reduce gender-‐related constraints that limit competitiveness and to empower women by advancing gender equity and gender equality on all fronts. In particular, it is of vial importance to involve all sectors of society and to engage men and young leaders in the conversation.

The inter-‐American System has several mandates on gender, among them the Inter-‐American Program on the Promotion of Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality, adopted by the Member states in 2000, which calls for systematically integrating a gender perspective in all organs, organizations and entities of the inter-‐American System. Similarly, the Hemispheric Initiative on Gender3, approved in 2004 by the High Authorities of science and technology, promotes women’s participation and leadership in scientific and technological fields.

The 10 General Competitiveness Principles of the Americas adopted in 2011 also recognize gender equity as a fundamental element to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of our Region. To implement this principle, the 2014 Signs of Competitiveness Report included a conceptual note on Gender and Competitiveness developed as special contribution by the Inter-‐American Commission of Women (CIM) which addressed competitiveness and innovation from a gender equality perspective and a rights-‐based approach. This is a significant issue to be taken into account in order to enhance the technical and political dialogue about the impact of gender inequality on the ability of countries to successfully advance in their innovation and competitiveness agendas, both in the national and global context. Along this line, the 2014 Report featured two related country experiences, Uruguay’s Quality with Equity Model and Peru’s L’Oreal-‐UNESCO Award.

Objectives

• To contribute to gender equity and equality in the Americas and to integrate women’s economic empowerment themes into the RIAC agenda

• To promote political dialogue, the exchange of good practices and policies and programs that provide support to women entrepreneurs especially in MSMEs.

• To enhance awareness and understanding about the contribution of women to economic development and competitiveness in the Region and the specific needs of women entrepreneurs, including those from historically marginalized populations, in regards to access to capital, markets and mentoring, training, leadership and networking opportunities, among others.

1 World Bank. Elena Bardasi, C. Mark Blackden, Juan Carlos Guzman, Gender, Entrepreneurship, and Competitiveness in Africa, http://www.publicprivatedialogue.org/workshop%202008/Gender_Entrepreneurship_Competitiveness%20in%20Africa.pdf

2 IDB Multilateral Investment Fund .The Economist Intelligence Unit. Women’s Entrepreneurial Venture Scope, http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getDocument.aspx?DOCNUM=37894500 3 Plan of Action of Lima: “Recommendations for integrating a Gender Perspective in Science and Technology Policies and Programs in the Americas” http://portal.oas.org/Portals/7/Ciencia_Tecnologia/documentos/Plan of Action of Lima.pdf

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• To promote the importance of gender diversity, gender equity and equality and gender mainstreaming at all levels of society in both the public and private sectors through the competitiveness authorities and councils.

• To collaborate with international, regional and specialized organizations on research and initiatives to improve women’s abilities as entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders. These organizations include, among others, the World Bank, the Inter-‐American Development Bank (IDB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Inter-‐American Commission of Women (CIM), UNWomen, the UNESCO Regional Chair on Women, Science and Technology, USAID, and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).

Members

The Working Group will be inclusive and multidisciplinary. It will be comprised by men and women members of the RIAC from both public and private sectors and from different countries. Representatives of regional and international organizations, women’s organizations, inter-‐American institutions and other stakeholders will also be invited to participate. RIAC members will aim to help further the policy dialogue on women and the economy.

Meetings

The Group will meet by videoconference at least once per quarter and in person during the Annual RIAC Meeting.

Work Plan 2015-‐2016

• Identify specific issues to be addressed by the Working Group as well as strategic partners for collaboration.

• Prepare a contribution for the Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas Report. • In collaboration with the United States Department of State through the WEAmericas Initiative,

promote networking, mentoring and business development opportunities with RIAC members and during RIAC events.

• In coordination with Mexico, as Chair Pro tempore of RIAC 2016, incorporate a focus on women’s economic empowerment in the context of the X Americas Competitiveness Forum to be held in Mexico.

• In collaboration with the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-‐American Commission of Women (CIM), promote the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights in the RIAC agenda.

Sources

Inter-‐American Commission of Women (CIM), Gender Equality for Innovation and Competitiveness 2014 Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas Report. . http://riacnet.org/2014-‐signs-‐report/ct_82/en/

World Bank (2014). Gender at Work. A Companion to the World Development Report on Jobs. Washington, DC. http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Event/Gender/GenderAtWork_web2.pdf

IDB Multilateral Investment Fund .The Economist Intelligence Unit. Women’s Entrepreneurial Venture Scope, http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getDocument.aspx?DOCNUM=37894500

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IDB Multilateral Investment Fund, The ten top things to know about women and economic empowerment in Latin America and the Caribbean. http://www.fomin.org/en-‐us/home/projects/womensempowerment/womenandeconomicempowermentinlatinamericaan.aspx

World Bank. Bardasi, Elena; Blackden, C. Mark y Guzmán, Juan Carlos (2006); Gender, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Africa. http://www.publicprivatedialogue.org/workshop%202008/Gender_Entrepreneurship_Competitiveness%20in%20Africa.pdf

World Economic Forum WEF, Global Competitiveness Report 2013-‐14. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-‐14.pdf

Council for the Americas. The Social Inclusion Index 2015 http://www.americasquarterly.org/charticles/social-‐inclusion-‐index-‐2015/social_inclusion_index_2015-‐english.pdf

World Bank. Women, Business and the Law 2016 http://wbl.worldbank.org/~/media/WBG/WBL/Documents/Reports/2016/Women-‐Business-‐and-‐the-‐Law-‐2016.pdf

The World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report. http://reports.weforum.org/global-‐gender-‐gap-‐report-‐2014/

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