Missing link

I am in the Caribbean at a conference (yes, I do lead a tough life ... see last posting). One of the presenters, Brian Copeland from the University of the West Indies proposed a pyramid model for knowledge transfer in support of economic development. He suggested that some countries (including Trinidad & Tobago) have most of the levels in place. Down at the bottom is trade and manufacturing, then comes product development. Up at the top is science and R&D. The missing level is product and process creativity and innovation. Without this link, the pyramid does not function.

As someone who recently designed and built an M.Sc course in Productivity & Innovation, how could I do other than agree!