Council Leaders, GFCC Members Attend Global Innovation Forum in South Korea

Three members of the Council’s leadership team, including President and CEO Deborah Wince-Smith, traveled to Seoul, South Korea last week to participate in the annual Global Innovation Forum. The Forum, hosted by The Korea Economic Daily, covered topics such as international competitiveness and debated strategies for enhancing productivity and innovation.

Senior Vice President Chad Evans moderated a panel on finding a new methodology for national competitiveness analysis, and outlined the importance of cooperating as much as competing with foreign markets. Bill Bates, the Council’s chief of staff, participated in a panel about the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, and each country’s strategies to enhance their global competitiveness.

Following the Forum, members of the GFCC and a variety of economists attended a private meeting where they exchanged ideas about developing next generation metrics to better define competitiveness. GFCC members Otavio Camargo, Chief of Staff, Agência Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial & Roberto Alvarez International Affairs Manager, Agência Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial; HRH Saud Prince Al Faisal, President, SAGIA- National Competitiveness Center; Abdullah Lootah, Secretary General of Emirates Competitiveness Council; Dongsung Cho, Professor, Seoul National University; Ohseok Hyun, President, Korea Development Institute; and Byoungjun Song, President, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade were in attendance.

The GFCC has set an ambitious agenda for 2011. The organization is currently working on creating a report on global best competitiveness practices, and will be sending out a call for abstracts shortly. The GFCC will also continue its work on next generation metrics and release the 2011 Global Competitiveness Principles at the 2011 Annual Meeting in Brazil in November.