Frédéric Richard

Name: Frédéric Richard

Title: Director

Affiliation: United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

Country: Austria

“The (UNIDO) ranking is a tool to countries to start assessing their performance, to start comparing themselves with other countries, which they consider to be in the same range of development as they are. It is a policy tool.”

“One thing that is very important in the concept of globalization. In global production systems, different functions (e.g., design, production, marketing) are allocated to different parts of the world according to the level of comparative advantage of the regions. Globalization is not equally distributed; and this has tremendous influence on the conditions and the process of industrialization of the developing countries: their ability to enter, and to upgrade their position in those global production systems."

"Innovation is not finding new products for the world, it is continuously improving your products, your process or entering into more complex segments of activities or into more high tech industries.”

“If you stand still, the gap of competition will increase and the only possibility for a country which is not innovating, is to compete through lower wages, through lower standards. To innovate means to develop capabilities means to improve your ability to design, to manufacture, to market."

For further information on advice or consulting, please contact Dr. Clint Ackerman.