Sri Lanka’s Research and Development (R&D) sector saw several emerging initiatives to improve its contribution to the economy. However, experts believe that at present, the contribution of the R&D sector to the economy remains low in comparison to many other countries. Hence, stakeholders urge the need for a more synchronised, uniform approach to R&D, along with the development of necessary resources.
Sri Lanka ranks 89th out of 133 economies in the 2024 Global Innovation Index (GII), yet, the country’s gross expenditure on R&D has stood at just 0.1% of GDP. However, the 2025 Budget has allocated Rs. 1 billion for commercialisation of research and new innovations.
Govt. efforts
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Science and Technology Minister Dr. Chrishantha Abeysena elaborated on several initiatives taken by the ministry to develop Sri Lanka’s R&D sector.
“It is first important to identify R&D areas necessary for economic improvement, and this is currently being prioritised across every sector with the aim of improving both the economy and the service sector. Based on these identified areas, the ministry is also in the process of establishing expert committees and allocating funding specifically to these priority areas of national importance,” he said.
The Minister also noted that at times, even when funding was provided, the processes were not consistently sustained. Hence, the ministry is actively working on implementing an effective monitoring mechanism.
He emphasised the importance of commercialisation, stating that while each of the approximately 12 entities under the ministry already engaged in commercialisation to a certain extent, the ministry was also formulating centralised guidelines to streamline this process.
“Funds have been allocated for this purpose. The new unit established under the Presidential Secretariat – the National Initiative for R&D Commercialisation (NIRDC) – will also be involved in this effort, facilitating the process. One of the functions of the National Innovation Agency (NIA) is also commercialisation. It has taken on this streamlining process and the NIRDC is involved in the process as well,” Abeysena said.
The Minister also discussed the ‘Vidatha’ initiative, which currently remains somewhat less active. He stated that the initiative would be strengthened within this year, providing ‘Vidatha’ centre officers with more training and auditing facilities, along with more instruments being supplied to facilitate technology transfer through the initiative.
He further noted that ‘Vidatha’ would have collaborations with the Ministry of Industry and entities like the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA).
“In addition, there are several incubation centres under the ministry. Currently, they do not operate in a very organised manner and we plan on establishing them under one collaborative structure and developing them in conjunction with other relevant entities,” he said.
He noted that the ministry was actively addressing the issue of entities working in silos, collaborating with up to 10 other ministries and universities. The aim is to integrate approaches from all relevant entities, ensuring that each entity benefits from the research of others and avoids duplication of efforts. Accordingly, establishing a proper information system to support this is also currently under discussion.
Moreover, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya recently outlined the Government’s commitment to change and improve R&D funding. In other recent developments, Sri Lanka’s new national R&D policy has been finalised and is set to be implemented from 2025 with the aim of moving towards a production-based economy, driven by value-added products and services.
The Government also plans to establish a powerful centralised commission and administrative institute to govern the entire R&D system.
R&D growth critical for economic growth
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, University of Sri Jayewardenepura Information Technology Department Head and ORCID Researcher Advisory Council (ORAC) Co-Chair Prof. Lasith Gunawardena pointed out the role that research and development (R&D) must play in Sri Lanka’s path towards economic advancement.
He highlighted persistent structural challenges at the policy level, noting: “Despite the presence of R&D-related entities across several ministries, the ecosystem remains fragmented, and institutional silos and the lack of coordinated strategy continue to limit impact. While this may have been tolerable in the past, in today’s knowledge economy such fragmentation disrupts focus, slows innovation, and weakens mechanisms for data sharing.”
From a manufacturing and exports standpoint, Prof. Gunawardena noted that Sri Lanka lagged behind in the production and export of high-tech and value-added products. He added that compared to regional peers like Vietnam and Thailand, Sri Lanka’s contribution to high-value manufacturing was limited.
He further noted that these countries had actively incentivised high-tech industries and promoted regional innovation ecosystems, particularly through science parks with built-in R&D capabilities.
Referring to Thailand’s model as an example, where science and technology parks are regionally distributed and closely tied to industrial strengths, Prof. Gunawardena noted that these helped to align research infrastructure with local and national economic priorities. As these structures provided a dedicated framework for commercialising innovation, he stated that Sri Lanka must seriously consider adapting and scaling such a model.
While Sri Lanka has recently made attempts to establish regional science parks, Prof. Gunawardena emphasised the need for more urgency and scale, noting: “What we need now is a coordinated national effort to accelerate R&D investment – not just public, but critically, private sector investment. The Government must lead by creating incentives that enable long-term collaboration across academia, industry, and government.”
Addressing best practices for R&D in Sri Lanka, Prof. Gunawardena noted that higher education institutions and research institutions continued to be the main drivers of research, often mostly motivated by publication and protection of intellectual property. However, he stressed that global best practices, such as those promoted through the UNESCO-endorsed Open Science movement, must be more widely adopted within Sri Lanka.
“Open science promotes transparency, reproducibility, and trust in research by using tools like persistent identifiers and shared data standards. Globally, these practices are becoming foundational to how research supports innovation, but in Sri Lanka, we are yet to properly embed them within our research infrastructure,” he noted.
The recently established NIRDC consists of various stakeholders, including scientists, administrators, economists, and industrialists, as well as legal and many other subject experts. It functions as a Government initiative to rapidly commercialise completed or near-completed R&D projects done in Sri Lanka and to provide gap-filling funding for near-completed R&D projects while helping investors to match completed R&D projects.
Prof. Gunawardena commended recent Government efforts including the launch of the NIRDC, describing it as an important step towards bridging the gap between research and real-world impact.
“The NIRDC shows a forward-thinking approach to aligning Sri Lanka’s innovation potential with economic priorities. With sustained support and strategic investment, initiatives like this can transform our research ecosystem into a strong driver of national development,” he said.
Prof. Gunawardena also emphasised that R&D was not merely an academic pursuit but a key element of modern economic strategy as well. Hence, investing in science, technology, and innovation can create exponential value for the economy. Accordingly, a strong and coherent R&D strategy is essential for Sri Lanka to compete and succeed in the global knowledge economy.
Uniformity in data sharing as crucial
Commenting on the data-sharing aspect crucial for R&D growth, Julius & Creasy Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Law Consultant and LIRNEasia Research Fellow Ashwini Natesan noted that R&D within Sri Lanka required a clearer framework on classification and sharing of data for research purposes, as this was fundamental for its development.
According to Natesan, existing policies therefore need to be implemented effectively and strong approaches should be adopted to manage data governance. She observed that as many organisations possessed valuable, shareable data, these should be made accessible to researchers in a central data repository, which would substantially benefit the R&D sector.
While she noted that some initiatives in this direction did exist (for example data.gov.lk), consistent updating and overall cohesiveness were lacking. In some cases, the existence of data within certain entities that can be used for research is not disseminated to others.
Regarding sharing of data for research, Natesan observed that several laws and policies were in place including research-related exemptions for personal data, with some still awaiting full implementation. She highlighted the importance of a thorough understanding of these components.
“Uniformity in data sharing practices will help the R&D sector grow substantially. It is currently performed at an institutional level, and uniformity at the national policy level is required. Hence, a specific focus on R&D would be greatly beneficial and would significantly strengthen the sector,” she said.
She also observed that funding also remained a substantial concern in R&D at all levels, highlighting the current administration’s recognised need for the commercialisation of R&D as an essential approach for progress.
Bridging the gap between academic and commercial
The GII assesses a country’s innovation capabilities based on factors like institutions, human capital, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.
According to GII ranking, Sri Lanka’s strengths in the GII include its performance in infrastructure (66th), knowledge and technology outputs (79th), creative outputs (84th), and business sophistication (87th). However, the country faces challenges in human capital and research (110th), market sophistication (109th), and institutions (101st).
In this light, commenting on why Sri Lanka’s R&D lagged in contributing to the economy, Technologically Re-Awakening Culture of Excellence (TRACE) Senior Vice President and Director Board Chair Dr. Sankalpa Gamwarige noted that most R&D initiatives within the country currently operated in a disconnected manner, with many research efforts purely adopting an academic and theoretical orientation. He observed that this approach placed insufficient emphasis on commercialisation.
“However, in many developed countries, the entire research ecosystem functions cohesively with effective connectivity, integrating industries so that research outcomes can be translated into economic portfolios. Except for a few exceptional scenarios, even much of the university research focuses mainly on academic publications, with a noticeable lack of connection to commercialisation. As a result, many entities continue to operate in silos, perpetuating this cycle,” he said.
He explained that this lack of commercial success indicated a lack of sustainability, thereby failing to contribute effectively to the national economy. He further noted that customer-centric or people-centric research, on the other hand, began by identifying people’s problems, which then led to innovations and involved further research, effectively working backward from the problem itself. This approach increased the likelihood of making R&D immediately impactful, he added.
Unfortunately, according to Dr. Gamwarige, many local R&D initiatives had not seen the entire cycle through and a bridge connecting them with entrepreneurs or the wider commercial ecosystem was missing, despite many attempts by universities to encourage such a connection.
The TRACE Senior Vice President also highlighted the need to address concerns related to those engaging with customers, emphasising the need to change the mindsets of both parties. He noted that until this psychological gap was bridged, R&D could not be adequately developed to meet economic requirements. He further observed that while certain instances demonstrated interest from both parties, this engagement remained very low compared to many other countries.
“Even the media mostly promotes developments that often lack practical value or scientific backing. Many individuals lack the understanding of how to share and expand their work. Hence, this absence of a ‘share and expand’ concept among inventors represents another significant issue,” he pointed out.
Addressing patent-related concerns, Dr. Gamwarige noted that while many believed commercialisation lagged due to issues regarding Intellectual Property (IP) protection, this was not entirely accurate. He highlighted the greater need to address how a product could maintain sustainability in the market.
“As a public-private partnership, TRACE works towards fostering this innovation culture within the country. We are dedicated to cultivating an innovative mindset and promoting sustainable entrepreneurship, working to connect Government research and collaborating closely with entities such as NEDA, NIA, and the Ministry of Science and Technology,” he noted.
Dr. Gamwarige also stated that while Sri Lanka had established several apex bodies for R&D from an academic standpoint, the practical implementation of many initiatives remained insufficient. He emphasised the importance of integrating Government research institutions, especially given that these were often under the purview of different ministries.
Therefore, resetting and restructuring are essential. He emphasised that resetting should be conducted with careful consideration of the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and technology transfer, facilitated by NIA, alongside entrepreneurship development, handled by NEDA, which should be actively supported and function collectively.
According to Dr. Gamwarige, the notion that the country must conduct all its own R&D is a common misconception, as plenty of already well-functioning technologies exist externally. It was, he explained, often a matter of recreating these technologies, contextualising them to the country’s specific needs, and facilitating technology transfer. He suggested this should be the initial step for R&D institutions to begin making a significant impact on the economy.
“For R&D to grow, it is necessary to fully grasp the concept of innovation and promote a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity. Establishing the proper structure and a supportive culture for innovation naturally brings forth R&D and invention. Also, a consistent policy must be established that remains unchanged across different political administrations. This approach should be inclusive, requiring all stakeholders to wholeheartedly work towards this shared objective,” he added.
Addressing the lack of investment
Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, 3H Innovations Co-Founder and Director and TRACE Executive Director Heminda Jayaweera highlighted the essential triple helix model that R&D must follow in Sri Lanka.
“R&D must involve the golden triangle, which is the Government, industry, and academia. From the Government’s perspective, Sri Lanka’s R&D budget, as a percentage of GDP, remains as low as 0.1%, positioning it among the lowest in the world. Many developed countries, in contrast, dedicate much higher percentages. For instance, Israel’s R&D expenditure is around 6% of its national GDP,” he pointed out.
Commenting on the academic front, Jayaweera noted that the primary focus of universities lay in graduating students, while aspects such as R&D garnered much less attention comparatively and were not conducted in the most effective manner.
Addressing industries, he observed that the main revenue-generating and dollar-earning industries largely lacked a high-tech and R&D focus, with many primarily producing simple products, except for a few well-established companies.
“As a percentage of Sri Lanka’s total exports, high-tech exports remain marginal, not even amounting to 2%. However, in developed countries like Singapore, high-tech product exports account for over 40% of their total. When exporting high-tech products, both the profit margins and the value created are significantly high. This ultimately leads to a greater inflow of export dollars,” he said.
Accordingly, he noted that the more focus was placed on the science and technology front, the more issues could be effectively resolved. For instance, while the economic crisis in 2022 had several contributing factors, a primary reason was the country’s persistent balance of payments issues. He stated that Sri Lanka had not achieved a full recovery phase yet, adding that this particular issue could only be addressed through the development and export of high-tech products.
Therefore, according to Jayaweera, the problem exists within all three segments of the triple helix model and the reasons for the lack of adequate funding in each segment are multifaceted.
“In academia, a primary issue is the weakness in technology transfer practices and R&D commercialisation, despite significant efforts having been made in this regard. Policy-related challenges and trust concerns also contribute to this.
“From the Government’s perspective, there is insufficient recognition given to the value of R&D and the critical need for its funding, particularly given that R&D represents a long-term investment. At times, even the funding provided has not yielded the expected results.
“Meanwhile, industries lack a proper incentive scheme for advanced R&D and innovation-based entities. Sri Lanka lacks joint models to address these concerns, whereas all other countries that have successful R&D adopt such models,” he said.
Jayaweera also highlighted policy inconsistency and broader policy issues, which he noted caused a lack of impetus for change. At the same time, he observed that industries themselves had remained somewhat complacent.
For instance, he pointed out that the Government had not reduced the tax burden for companies involved in building electric vehicles in Sri Lanka. In fact, these companies are taxed more heavily than importers of other vehicles.
Discussing potential ways for improving the situation, Jayaweera emphasised the need to resolve issues such as the high cost of developing R&D or the prevalence of red tape in Customs and regulations. While certain large-scale industry bodies have successfully lobbied to address these issues, many others lack the capacity to do so.
He also emphasised the importance of providing incentives to an appropriate extent, ensuring a level playing field, or even offering additional benefits to industries that focus on development in these crucial areas.