During a press conference, the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) launched its National R&I Strategic Plan to cover the period 2023 – 2027 for public consultation.

The launch event served as a presentation of the draft National R&I Strategic Plan, whereby the research and innovation stakeholder community were invited to contribute with their insights to the eventual finalisation of the draft National R&I Strategic Plan. 

The draft National R&I Strategic Plan addresses several aspects of Malta’s knowledge and innovation landscape, with a focus on enhancing Malta’s potential in this regard. The most important aspects include a reformed governance system of national R&I policymaking, the further development of the local R&I ecosystem and the mainstreaming of R&I in public policy.

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research, and Innovation Keith Azzopardi Tanti emphasised how this strategy will play a vital role in embedding research and innovation within Malta’s economic vision.

“This draft strategy is a step forward towards ingraining R&I in Malta’s economic development narrative as a thriving R&I ecosystem. The government is committed towards continuing to put R&I at the heart of Malta’s future growth and prosperity through this policy document, and tangible proposals contained therein,” concluded the Parliamentary Secretary.

Executive Chairman of MCST Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando introduced the draft strategy as the outcome of several years of in-depth research, consultation and technical drafting conducted by MCST staff, in pursuit of reforming and strengthening Malta’s R&I ecosystem.

“The draft Strategic Plan that we are launching today for public consultation embraces the overarching principles of R&I governance reform and R&I mainstreaming across the public and private sectors. We firmly believe that research and innovation are not ends in themselves but represent a critical investment in our country’s future economic development, prosperity, and quality of life,” concluded Dr Pullicino Orlando.

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella referred to the importance of cooperation and cross-government synergies for ensuring the transposition of the policy document’s vision into reality. “It is clear that the government is attaching great importance to this document, and as a vital initiative for the future of Malta, we look forward to working hand in hand with all stakeholders to truly make this strategy a reality,” concluded the Permanent Secretary.

Interested parties are invited to submit their feedback onto strategy.mcst@gov.mt, with the public consultation set to close on the 31^st of January 2023.