National Systems of Innovation: Implications on Science and Technology Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (original) (raw)
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The National System of Innovation (NSI), both as a concept and a tool has been for decades the right framework for analysing the situation of innovation in countries of the South and for underpinning some of the weaknesses and shortcomings. Its growing use indicates its broad acceptability worldwide, yet many African scholars and policy-makers question more and more its usefulness when working out policies as it does not seem to have resulted a real innovation take off in most countries in the South, except for some of the emerging ones. Knowledge economy (KE) paradigm seems to bring new hopes having broadened the vision and having put innovation in a more comprehensive model. Yet, many argue that it fails to figure out clearly how the innovation system works through an integrated vision of harnessing knowledge for development. Some difficulties relating to both to the concepts and policy implementation are sometimes put forward. Indeed, how does the knowledge system create the right climate for innovation in developing countries is not clear. Several questions need to be raised related to both NSI and KE models from both the conceptual and instrumental point of views, particularly those models put forward by major international institutions. What relationship exists between knowledge systems and innovation systems? how does innovation system feed into knowledge system in an African context? and finally what is the value added of a knowledge economy approach to the NSI approach? These are some of the key questions which have not been properly addressed in the litterature leaving a gap in our understanding and which this paper hopes to fill, drawing essentially from the African experience.
The systemic approach to innovation as key to economic development, in the context of the knowledge-based economy is increasingly evident and is of strategic value in terms of industrial and development policy (Bartels et al. 2012). The national system of innovation (NSI) of a country is therefore vital for enabling increased competitiveness through accelerated economic performance (Bartels and Voss 2005) and is crucial for developing countries hoping to catch up with advanced industrialised economies (Arocena and Sutz 2000). Innovation and NSI, previously seen linearly, are now viewed with a systemic network perspective. This perspective yields improved policy craft (Balzat 2002). In order to allocate limited resources effectively and efficiently through targeted policy, to increase industrial development and competitiveness, there is the need to map, measure and thereby manage the interactions of the core actors and barriers to innovation within the NSI (Bartels et al. 2009). The approach herein encapsulates the simultaneous application of a single data acquisition survey instrument (DASI) to the four core actors in the NSI (government, medium-and high-technology industry, knowledge-based institutions, arbitrageurs).
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