Science and technology in Morocco has significantly developed in recent years. The Moroccan government has been implementing reforms to encourage scientific research in the Kingdom. While research has yet to acquire the status of a national priority in Morocco, the country does have major assets that could transform its R&D sector into a key vehicle for development. The industry remains dominated by the public sector, with the universities employing 58% of researchers. Morocco's own evaluation of its national research system – carried out in 2003 – revealed that the country has a good supply of well-trained, high-quality human resources and that some laboratories are of very high quality. However, the greatest gap at that time lay in the link between research and innovation. The educational qualifications of Moroccan researchers have increased significantly since the early 1990s. The University of Al-Karaouine is considered the oldest continuously operating academic degree-granting university in the world.The Guinness Book Of Records, Published 1998, , P.242
National policy
Policy framework, 1999–2008 The national system of scientific and technical research in Morocco is guided by different elements, such as the pronouncements of the King, reports of special commissions, five-year plans, and the creation of a special program for the support of research. While spending on education has hitherto been relatively high (5% of GDP and 24% of government expenditures in recent years), change has been slow in coming. A royally-designated "decade of education" was kicked off in Morocco in 1999 with the publication of the National Charter for Education and Training, a road map to sector reform. As a result, literacy for men aged 15–24 has risen from 84% in 1990 to 87% in 2008, according to the World Bank, while the percentage of all students completing primary school rose from 82% to 87% over the same period.
The Moroccan government’s Five-Year Plan for 2000-2004 articulated the priority areas for research. The declared objectives of this plan were to align scientific research with socio-economic development priorities. Sectors declared as priority areas were: agriculture, fisheries, drinking water, geology, mining, energy, environment, information and telecommunications technologies, and transport. This approach highlighted the need for effective institutional coordination, which enabled different parties to work together around common priority socio-economic objectives. In 2002, 89% of the 542 researchers in a sample comprising INRA, INRH, IAV Hassan II, ENFI, and ENA were trained to the postgraduate level and 34% held doctorates.
Morocco's national innovation system is centred around the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) and the Inter-Ministerial Permanent Committee on Scientific Research and Technological Development (est. 2002), together with the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology (est. 2006). The National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) is another key player; it runs the National Support Program for Sectorial Research, for instance, which issues calls for research proposals to public institutions.
National Fund for R&D The National Fund for Scientific Research and Technological Development was adopted by law in 2001. At the time, domestic enterprises funded just 22% of domestic research spending. The government encouraged companies to contribute to the fund to support research in their sector. Moroccan telecom operators were persuaded to cede 0.25% of their turnover; today, they finance about 80% of all public research projects in telecommunications supported through this fund. The financial contribution of the business enterprise sector to domestic research spending has meanwhile risen to 30% as of 2010.
Technopolis project In 2005 the Moroccan king launched Technopolis Rabat,"Technopolis" city project launched in Morocco (Magharebia.com) with the aim of creating 12,000–15,000 high-end jobs by 2016. The first phase was completed in 2006. The science park holds separate engineering, high-tech, colleges and R&D spaces.Morocco among the top ten countries in offshoring sector (Magharebia.com) Several companies have started operating in the park, including Nemotek Technologie, EDS-HP, Cleanroom,Posts tagged: Rabat Technopolis Park - Cleanroom.net and Alcatel. In 2009 Technopolis Oujda started construction,Morocco invests US$3.2 billion in renewable energy - SciDev.Net the first phase is to be completed in 2011. The technopolis includes four main components: “CleanTech” industrial and logistical park, a services center (off-shoring and services), a commercial platform (retail park and showrooms), and a training campus. The project is expected to create 20,000 job opportunities.
At the time of the launch of Technopolis Rabat, only six African countries (Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Madagascar, Tunisia and South Africa) had initiated programs to develop technology parks as part of their strategy for sustainable development.
Policy framework, 2009–2025
Vision for education and research In 2009, the National Strategy for the Development of Scientific Research to 2025 recommended raising the secondary enrollment rate from 44% to at least 80% and the tertiary enrollment rate for 19–23 year-olds from 12% to over 50% by 2025. As of 2014, unemployment remained high, at over 9% and about 41% of the labour force lacked any qualification.
In May 2009, Morocco's prime minister, Abbas El Fassi, announced greater support for science during a meeting at the National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research. The aim was to give universities greater financial autonomy from the government to make them more responsive to research needs and better able to forge links with the private sector, in the hope that this would nurture a culture of entrepreneurship in academia. He announced that investment in science and technology would rise from US$620,000 in 2008 to US$8.5 million (69 million Moroccan dirhams) in 2009, in order to finance the refurbishment and construction of laboratories, training courses for researchers in financial management, a scholarship program for postgraduate research and incentive measures for companies prepared to finance research, such as giving them access to scientific results that they could then use to develop new products.Morocco to boost investment in science - SciDev.Net
The same year, the Moroccan government signed DH12.6bn (€1.1bn) in new agreements to improve the quality of its universities, as part of the National Education Emergency Support Program 2009–2012. This extra investment came as the number of students enrolled in science and engineering fields was expected to double by 2012, along with the number of those passing the baccalaureate exam after secondary school. The project ranged from hiring additional lecturers and raising teaching credentials to expanding general infrastructure. The government fixed the target of accrediting 92% of its universities as research institutions by 2012, compared to 69% in 2008.
On 20 May 2015, less than a year after its inception, the Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research presented a report to the king offering a Vision for Education in Morocco 2015–2030. The report advocated making education egalitarian and, thus, accessible to the greatest number. Since improving the quality of education goes hand in hand with promoting research and development, the report also recommended developing an integrated national innovation system which would be financed by gradually increasing the share of GDP devoted to research and development ‘to 1% in the short term, 1.5% by 2025 and 2% by 2030’.
Moroccan Innovation Strategy The Moroccan Innovation Strategy was launched at the country's first National Innovation Summit in June 2009 by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment and the Digital Economy. It has three main goals: to develop domestic demand for innovation; foster public–private linkages; and introduce innovative funding mechanisms, including Intilak for innovative start-ups and Tatwir for industrial enterprises or consortia. Morocco managed to navigate the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis relatively well, with average growth of over 4% between 2008 and 2013. However, the export business was affected by the slowdown in the European economy since 2008, as Europe is the main destination for Moroccan exports. The Moroccan economy is diversifying but remains focused on low value-added products, representing about 70% of manufactured goods and 80% of exports. There are also signs of waning competitiveness in some areas. In recent years, Morocco has conceded market shares for clothing and shoes in the face of tough international competition from Asia, in particular, but managed to expand its market share for fertilizers, passenger vehicles and equipment for the distribution of electricity.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is supporting research in advanced technologies and the development of innovative cities in Fez, Rabat and Marrakesh. The Moroccan Innovation Strategy fixed the target of producing 1,000 Moroccan patents and creating 200 innovative start-ups by 2014. In parallel, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and New Technologies (as it has since become) created a Moroccan Club of Innovation in 2011 in partnership with the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property. The goal was to create a network of players in innovation, including researchers, entrepreneurs, students and academics, to help them develop innovative projects.
The government is encouraging citizen engagement in innovation on the part of public institutions. One example is the Moroccan Phosphate Office (Office chérifien des phosphates), which has invested in a project to develop a smart city, King Mohammed VI Green City, around Mohammed VI University located between Casablanca and Marrakesh, at a cost of DH 4.7 billion (circa US$479 million).
Status of policy implementation in 2020 Morocco’s National Strategy for the Development of Scientific Research: towards 2025 (2009), its innovation strategy Maroc Innovation (2009) and its Vision for Education, 2015–2030 have striven to improve co-ordination among the key players of the national innovation system while diversifying support for research.
Accomplishments, as of 2020, include:
the creation of the Innov Invest Fund in 2018 to support business incubators, via a World Bank loan (MAD 500 million, c. US$57 million); the creation of 26 collaborative platforms since the inception of the National Program for University–Industry Interface in 2004; and an increase in publication intensity overall and for cross-cutting strategic technologies since 2012.
The lack of private investment in research and the ageing research workforce remain challenges for the national innovation system.Govt of Morocco (2020) Examen national volontaire de la mise en oeuvre des Objectifs de d veloppement durable. Government of Morocco: Rabat.
University–business partnerships