Prof. Moshe Sidi
I was recently appointed as the director of the Samuel Neaman Institute for National Policy (SNI) that serves as a think-tank platform for decision making at the national level in Israel. The Institute fulfills the vision of its founder, Samuel (Sam) Neaman, gathering experts in various fields that require informed decisions for discussion and analysis of issues on the public agenda and formulating recommendations for national policy. The researchers leading the studies conducted at the Institute are highly experienced experts in their field and provide a broad overview of issues in the short and long-term that require decision making and national guidance.
Research at the Samuel Neaman Institute is integrative, while exploiting effectively the freedom in choosing research topics and leveraging capabilities, multidimensional expertise, and the information databases accumulated over the years as a result of conducting hundreds of infrastructure studies. In addition, SNI initiates many seminars, expert workshops, and lectures to discuss the issues with which it deals, as well as building and operating many data centers.
The Samuel Neaman Institute covers a wide range of topics, including national policy research in the field of science and technology, which include indicators for innovation in Israel and international comparisons, R&D output in Israel, innovation in different sectors, learning infrastructure, human resources training, and human capital development in various fields in Israel, the promotion of R&D and innovation in the periphery, Israel's external relations in R&D at the national and institutional level, academic ties between Israel and the US, a look at the future of Israel's universities and their research status, and more.
In the field of environmental protection, the researchers dealt with the issue of recording GHG emissions in Israel, global assessments of emissions from offshore drilling facilities, and the preparation of a basic calculation for collecting business waste fees.
The Center for Industrial Excellence dealt with the issues of formulating a metropolitan plan for the north, a master plan for the establishment of an industrial park in Shfar'am, innovative research on the possibility of exploiting insects for human benefit, formulating national policy for advanced production, investigating the success and failure factors of leading companies in Israel, and the integration of the Arab population in industry and the economy.
In the field of energy, the Institute held several expert forums on topics such as: "Energy Efficiency in Israel", "Energy Security in Israel", and "Steps for Implementation after the Approval of the Gas Outline in Israel".
The Project of "Ramzor North" continued to provide a computerized infrastructure for high-level mathematics teachers, an evaluation of the Technion's excellence program was conducted, and a report was compiled on models for a budget for international graduate students at the Technion.
The real estate policy in Israel and housing prices have also been addressed and the Institute's involvement on this subject is gaining momentum.
I am confident that these various studies and others will form an important foundation for formulating national policies on many issues in Israel, and that this will constitute the Samuel Neaman Institute’s contribution to making informed choices at the national level.
I thank those who work with us and wish all of us success in the future.
I would also like to thank Prof. Omri Rand for leading the Neaman Institute very successfully during the last five years.