The production and use of indicators in science, technology and innovation policy-making in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Edgar Manyuchi ◽  
John Ouma Mugabe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Innovation Surveys ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation

PurposeA growing number of African countries are starting to produce science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators. The purpose of this paper is to provide some lessons learnt in the production and use of STI indicators in Malawi and South Africa. It is compares the two countries’ efforts to conduct Research and Development (R&D) surveys and examines whether and how STI indicators are used in policymaking processes.Design/methodology/approachThe study approach is qualitative. The research methodology encompasses a thorough review of both policy and academic literature as well as some interviews.FindingsThe study demonstrates that South Africa has a relatively developed institutional arrangement for undertaking R&D and innovation surveys and developing related STI indicators. There is evidence that efforts are being made to use STI indicators to inform policymaking in the country. On the other hand, Malawi conducted its first R&D survey under the African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators Initiative (ASTII) and has not established an institutional mechanism dedicated to producing STI indicators. There is no evidence that indicators are used in, or to inform, policymaking in the country.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of significant differences in STI policymaking histories, capacities and cultures of the two countries, it is not really useful to compare the STI production and use. Rather it is important to draw lessons from the efforts of the two countries.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the production of STI indicators should be embedded in policy processes. To be useful and effective, STI indicators production needs to be explicitly linked to policy formulation, evaluation and monitoring activities without necessarily undermining the independence of producing STI indicators.Social implicationsCreating stand-alone programmes or agencies for R&D and innovation surveys without clear articulation with policymaking needs erodes opportunities of having evidence-based STI policy regimes.Originality/valueAlthough in 2005 only South Africa and Tunisia had national programmes dedicated to the generation of R&D statistics, by the end of 2010 at least 19 African countries had experimented with conducting R&D surveys under the auspices of the ASTII of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. These countries accumulated different experiences and consequently build different kinds of institutional capacities. Through the Malawi and South Africa case studies, some important lessons for STI indicators production and use and STI policymaking can be drawn for developing countries in general and African countries in particular.

Innovation models and interdisciplinarity in science, technology and innovation policy in Costa Rica

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Diego Soto Kiewit ◽  
Bianca Vienni Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Engineering Sciences ◽  
Innovation Processes ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation

Purpose This paper aims to analyse innovation models and interdisciplinarity in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy in Costa Rica between 2015 and 2021. The core focus is to evaluate the public policy in light of the groundwork that sustains the designed and proposed actions. Design/methodology/approach The authors applied a qualitative approach to build a set of dimensions and conducted content-analysis of selected documents. The analysis encompasses all current STI public policy documents in Costa Rica, including the planning instruments of the Central Government and the National Policy on STI. Findings The main findings show that STI policy in Costa Rica is based on different innovation models, but the projects and instruments themselves show the predominance of the reductionist model. Innovation receives a residual role. In turn, interdisciplinarity is based on the concept of convergence, which limits disciplinary collaboration to the natural, physical and engineering sciences, minimising contributions from other fields of knowledge to an instrumental role in innovation processes. Practical implications The authors conclude that the interlinkage between open innovation models, the participation of diverse societal actors and the inclusion of an interdisciplinary perspective leads to inclusive and more democratic public policy, allowing more sectors and organisations to benefit from innovation processes. This would imply a greater reach and impact of the policy, conditions that translate into innovation achievements and a better return on public investment. Originality/value This paper contributes to current discussions on STI policy by studying the implications of the link among policies, innovation models and interdisciplinarity.

Creating sustainable impact from Foresight on STI Policy

foresight ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Meissner ◽  
Pavel Rudnik
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Technology Investment ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation

Purpose Foresight is frequently used to establish science and technology investment priorities and develop corresponding technology and innovation support programmes. In the light of technology and innovation policy, many individual Foresight studies are undertaken which are separate and little linked with the broader policy scope and ambition. This paper aims to look at an approach towards a consistent Foresight system which is linked closely to science, technology and innovation policy. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides an in-depth case study of the Russian Foresight system. The case study is based on desk research and extensive experience of the authors with the system. Findings Russia has developed a systematic approach towards organising Foresight which involves and serves multiple stakeholders, including government, ministries, federal and regional agencies, higher education institutions, public research institutes, state-owned companies and private businesses and a large range of associations. Under the auspicious of a dedicated commission, targeted Foresight is undertaken with clearly defined scope for each. The paper finds that the Russian system is unique in its organisational structure and in the integration of Foresight with science, technology and innovation policy measures. Originality/value The paper describes all facets of the Russian Foresight system which has not been done before. It also outlines the practical steps to further develop and leverage the system.

Innovation and technological change in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 466-488
Author(s):  
Erika Kraemer-Mbula ◽  
Rasigan Maharajh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation ◽  
Radical Transformation

This chapter explores the main achievements and remaining challenges in the governance of the South African science, technology, and innovation (STI) system. While reflecting on the inherited features from the apartheid period, it focuses on the period between the two White Papers in 1996 and 2019. The chapter discusses the main shifts in policy emphasis (intents) of these two policy/institutional developments and connects them to the STI system performance and its measurement. It shows that the drastic shift in policy orientation towards addressing social imperatives and the quantitative improvements in the STI outputs since 1994, have not materialized in a radical transformation of the economy or the social relations inherited from apartheid. The chapter argues that the assessment of the STI system needs to be expanded through an evolutionary lens in order to activate the needed systemic transformations.

Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy: Old Patterns and New Challenges

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Chaminade ◽  
Bengt-Åke Lundvall
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Market Failure ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Critical Question ◽  
Scientific Advance ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation

Scientific advance and innovation are major sources of economic growth and are crucial for making development socially and environmentally sustainable. A critical question is: Will private enterprises invest sufficiently in research technological development and innovation and, if not, to what degree and how should governments engage in the support of science, technology, and innovation? While neoclassical economists point to market failure as the main rationale for innovation policy, evolutionary economists point to the role of government in building stronger innovation systems and creating wider opportunities for innovation. Research shows that the transmission mechanisms between scientific advance and innovation are complex and indirect. There are other equally important sources of innovation including experience-based learning. Innovation is increasingly seen as a systemic process, where the feedback from users needs to be taken into account when designing public policy. Science and innovation policy may aim at accelerating knowledge production along well-established trajectories, or it may aim at giving new direction to the production and use of knowledge. It may be focused exclusively on economic growth, or it may give attention to impact on social inclusion and the natural environment. An emerging topic is to what extent national perspectives continue to be relevant in a globalizing learning economy facing multiple global complex challenges, including the issue of climate change. Scholars point to a movement toward transformative innovation policy and global knowledge sharing as a response to current challenges.

scholarly journals Flanders Ahead, Wallonia Behind (But Catching Up): Reconstructing Communities Through Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Making

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 185-198
Author(s):  
Michiel Van Oudheusden ◽  
Nathan Charlier ◽  
Pierre Delvenne
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Policy Actors ◽  
Technology And Innovation ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Science Technology And Innovation

Drawing on a documentary analysis of two socioeconomic policy programs, one Flemish (“Vlaanderen in Actie”), the other Walloon (“Marshall Plans”), and a discourse analysis of how these programs are received in one Flemish and one Francophone quality newspaper, this article illustrates how Flanders and Wallonia both seek to become top-performing knowledge-based economies (KBEs). The article discerns a number of discursive repertoires, such as “Catching up,” which policy actors draw on to legitimize or question the transformation of Flanders and Wallonia into KBEs. The “Catching up” repertoire places Flanders resolutely ahead of Wallonia in the global race toward knowledge, excellence, and growth, but suggests that Wallonia may, in due course, overtake Flanders as a top competitive region. Given the expectations and fears that “Catching up” evokes among Flemish and Walloon policy actors, the repertoire serves these actors as a flexible discursive resource to make sense of, and shape, their collective futures and their regional identities. The article’s findings underline the simultaneity of, and the interplay between, globalizing forces and particularizing tendencies, as Flanders and Wallonia develop with a global KBE in region-specific ways.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document