As an emerging regional technology hub, Jordan is unique in the Arab Middle East for its entrepreneurial verve, with the potential to host a vibrant startup scene. Its greatest challenge to realizing this potential, however, lies in institutionalizing this entrepreneurial sprit into an ecosystem of innovation that touches lives throughout Jordan and reverberates beyond the tech sector alone. To this end, Jordan’s Higher Council for Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Prime Minister-led National Council on Competitiveness and Innovation, is embarking upon the creation of a National Center for Innovation (NCI) to serve as a bridge that unites Jordan’s fragmented innovation ecosystem, address skill mismatches, spur a culture of R&D, and track innovation on a national scale.
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OHK’s Managing Director Ahmed Hassan has been selected to conduct institutional mapping for the NCI that will leverage international best practices in innovation promotion, positioning the NCI as a leading innovation institution in the region. “Given Jordan’s commitment to education and competitiveness,” Mr. Hassan noted, “we believe that an institution like the NCI is long overdue, and that it is time for Jordan to join the vanguard in innovation reform.” Working on behalf of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Mr. Hassan will provide strategic advice and planning for the NCI in both the near- and long-terms, benchmarking the NCI against its peer institutions globally while refining a mandate for the Center that is uniquely Jordanian.
OHK brings to this assignment knowledge of various innovation systems and policy structures from around the world. As a global consultancy tapped into innovation networks ranging from the Bay Area to the developing world, OHK will strengthen Jordan’s innovation strategy and help build the NCI into a best-in-class organization.
