Cambodia’s research and innovation landscape is still in its early stages, but recent years have brought a noticeable shift from policy ambition to system-building. National leaders increasingly frame science, technology and innovation (STI) as essential to lifting the country up the value chain. New strategies, institutions and partnerships are slowly stitching together the foundations of a functioning science economy.
Cambodia’s national STI policy and the National Research Agenda provide the strategic backbone for research investment. They prioritize missions directly tied to development needs: food security, sustainable energy, education quality, digital services and health innovation. The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (MISTI) now plays a coordinating role, aligning ministries, universities and private partners. The approach is intentionally mission-oriented—designed to focus limited resources on the country’s most pressing socio-economic challenges.
Despite these policy advances, Cambodia begins from a low baseline. Historical estimates show that R&D spending has hovered around 0.1 percent of GDP, and researcher density remains extremely low. These figures reflect the country’s limited resources, small scientific workforce and the early stage of its institutional development. Building a functioning research system will require sustained increases in both funding and human capital.
The university and research landscape is gradually expanding. The Royal University of Phnom Penh, the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, the Royal University of Agriculture and an increasingly active network of public, NGO and international partners are strengthening postgraduate training and research capabilities. International cooperation—from UNESCO to regional development agencies—has been crucial in mapping the research system, building capacity, and helping Cambodian institutions identify priorities and gaps. A nationwide STI mapping exercise completed in 2023 offered the country one of its first comprehensive evidence bases for reform.
Research outputs remain modest. Cambodia ranks low in regional innovation standings, with limited publication and patent activity and an R&D system still building foundational capacity. Yet the country does show pockets of strength: market sophistication is a relative bright spot in innovation indices, and targeted programmes in agritech, digital services and applied development research are beginning to show movement. The trajectory points upward—but from a very small base.
Industry–academia collaboration remains one of the weakest parts of the system. Most Cambodian firms are small or medium-sized and lack in-house R&D capability. The country has therefore focused on creating demand-side mechanisms—pilot grants, innovation challenge funds, incubators and targeted missions—to encourage firms to adopt or co-develop new technologies. But the “valley of death” between academic research and market application persists. Limited startup finance, early-stage risk capital and technology transfer structures make it difficult for innovations to scale.
Human capital remains the most critical constraint. Cambodia needs far more PhD-trained researchers, stronger doctoral programmes and better incentives to retain talent. The government emphasizes STEM education, scholarships and international fellowships, and senior leaders consistently underline the importance of scientific skills for long-term development. As one national leader put it: science and technology are indispensable for Cambodia’s vision of becoming a resilient, sustainable and inclusive high-income country by 2050. That focus on people—training them, retaining them, and giving them meaningful research careers—will determine the pace of progress.
Infrastructure development follows a pragmatic strategy. Large-scale facilities—high-performance computing, major national labs, clinical research platforms—are still limited, but Cambodia is concentrating resources where they matter most. Targeted investments are directed toward labs in agriculture, hydrology, health and digital services. Science parks, co-working research spaces and international partner facilities provide much of the advanced capability currently in use. This concentrated approach helps maximize impact while budgets remain modest.
Cambodia’s strengths give it a set of realistic niches to build upon. Agriculture and food systems research is directly tied to livelihoods and climate risks. The Mekong basin offers rich opportunities in hydrology and environmental science. Clean energy and rural electrification remain national priorities. There is growing relevance in digital transformation—cloud services, e-government platforms and low-resource language technologies suited for Khmer and other local languages. The National Research Agenda explicitly encourages focusing on these kinds of practical, high-impact themes.
Still, major challenges lie ahead: very low R&D spending, a small research workforce, weak coordination between ministries, limited private-sector participation in R&D, and underdeveloped mechanisms for technology transfer and commercialization. Success will require significant scaling of postgraduate education, stronger university–industry linkages, predictable funding, better data systems and incentives for private R&D investment. Building an innovation ecosystem capable of turning research into real economic and social value remains a long-term task.
Government messaging highlights an understanding of these opportunities and constraints. Senior leaders frequently emphasise that science and technology are not luxuries but essential tools for development—drivers of economic growth, effective public services and national resilience.
Cambodia is not starting from zero. It has committed institutions, a national science agenda, active universities and supportive international partners. What it needs now is sustained momentum. If the country continues to invest in people, strengthen institutions, improve measurement systems and link research to market demand, Cambodia can gradually shift from a policy-heavy, foundation-building phase to a results-driven science economy that contributes meaningfully to inclusive, resilient development.
