Introduction: Can innovation address Africa’s challenges? (original) (raw)
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General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. 2016 STIAS-WAllenberg roundTAble on InnovATIon for proSperITy page 5 AbouT The AuThorS STIAS would like to acknowledge the support of vinnova, creST and SciSTIp. Sara grobbelaar is a Senior lecturer in the department of Industrial engineering at Stellenbosch university (Su). She also has part-time appointments at the department of engineering and Technology Management at the university of pretoria and the centre for research on evaluation, Science and Technology (creST), Su. prior to returning to academia Sara had a longstanding career in consulting at Monitor group, frost & Sullivan and independently. Sara has successfully completed in excess of 35 consulting engagements in the government, higher education, not-for-profi t and private sectors. clients and assignments include projects commissioned by the World bank and united nations. She has also been commissioned as an innovation systems and evaluation expert by the national Advisory council of South Africa. Sara has an Mphil in Technology policy (with distinction) from the university of cambridge. She also holds a beng (electronic) (with distinction) (university of pretoria [up]), Meng (computer) (with distinction) (up), phd in (engineering) (up) and a post graduate diploma in M&e methods (with distinction) (Su). Sara's research interests and passions are to think about, research and develop plans for inclusive development through pro-poor value chains and inclusive innovation systems for the African continent. Sara has a keen interest in research uptake and impact assessment, systems analysis, systems thinking, strategy, technology management and innovation .
2016
General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. 2016 STIAS-WAllenberg roundTAble on InnovATIon for proSperITy page 5 AbouT The AuThorS STIAS would like to acknowledge the support of vinnova, creST and SciSTIp. Sara grobbelaar is a Senior lecturer in the department of Industrial engineering at Stellenbosch university (Su). She also has part-time appointments at the department of engineering and Technology Management at the university of pretoria and the centre for research on evaluation, Science and Technology (creST), Su. prior to returning to academia Sara had a longstanding career in consulting at Monitor group, frost & Sullivan and independently. Sara has successfully completed in excess of 35 consulting engagements in the government, higher education, not-for-profi t and private sectors. clients and assignments include projects commissioned by the World bank and united nations. She has also been commissioned as an innovation systems and evaluation expert by the national Advisory council of South Africa. Sara has an Mphil in Technology policy (with distinction) from the university of cambridge. She also holds a beng (electronic) (with distinction) (university of pretoria [up]), Meng (computer) (with distinction) (up), phd in (engineering) (up) and a post graduate diploma in M&e methods (with distinction) (Su). Sara's research interests and passions are to think about, research and develop plans for inclusive development through pro-poor value chains and inclusive innovation systems for the African continent. Sara has a keen interest in research uptake and impact assessment, systems analysis, systems thinking, strategy, technology management and innovation .
Dealing with critical challenges in African innovation platforms: lessons for facilitation
Innovation platforms are increasingly used by research and development initiatives to actively engage the poor in agricultural innovation processes. These platforms are forums for action and learning, where different types of actors come together to address issues of mutual concern. However, the dynamic nature of the innovation process, and the differences in interest, capacity and power among the actors involved, pose a challenge in the facilitation of these platforms. We believe that the key to success is very much linked to the attitude, skills and capacities of the innovation broker. This paper highlights seven key issues which in our view are critical to effective platform facilitation and have not received the attention they deserve: the dynamic and evolving nature of platforms; power dynamics; gender equity; external versus internal facilitation; sustainability of the process; issues of scale; and monitoring and evaluation. These issues and implications for facilitation of innovation platforms will be discussed based on examples from the field and in relation to current theories.
Inclusive Innovation: A Panacea to Developmental Challenges for Africa
Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 2014
Challenges hampering development in Africa abound. Constraints were imposed by the hostile international economic and political order within which Africa's economies operate; there are domestic weaknesses derived from socioeconomic and political structures and neo-liberal structural adjustment policies. Many people are still living in extreme poverty, income inequality within and among many countries have been rising; at the same time, unsustainable consumption and production patterns have resulted in huge economic and social costs and may endanger life on the continent. Gender inequality, climate change, environmental destruction, food insecurity, spread of HIV/AIDS, bad governance, poor access to basic services, such as education, health and sanitation among others are some of the critical development challenges rampant in Africa. Surmounting these development challenges will require an inclusive innovation as a panacea to deliver on the legitimate aspiration towards further economic and social progress, requiring growth and employment, and at the same time strengthening environmental protection in Africa. Inclusive innovation as a panacea to development challenges for Africa forms the nucleus of this paper. This paper is predominantly based on information derived from secondary sources. It recommends that the role of the African heads of state and government should be to facilitate, support, incentivize and leverage the strengths of all stakeholders in order to create sustainable inclusive innovative solutions with significant outreach at maximum efficiency with the least possible burden on the public resources.
Innovation Capabilities for Sustainable Development in Africa
The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics, 2014
Typescript prepared by Lesley Ellen for UNU-WIDER. UNU-WIDER gratefully acknowledges the financial contributions to the research programme from the governments of Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) was established by the United Nations University (UNU) as its first research and training centre and started work in Helsinki, Finland in 1985. The Institute undertakes applied research and policy analysis on structural changes affecting the developing and transitional economies, provides a forum for the advocacy of policies leading to robust, equitable and environmentally sustainable growth, and promotes capacity strengthening and training in the field of economic and social policy-making. Work is carried out by staff researchers and visiting scholars in Helsinki and through networks of collaborating scholars and institutions around the world.
Integrating Innovations for Sustainable Development in Africa
IJSRST, 2019
The field of innovation has been extensively researched, but less work has been done on integrated approach to innovations targeted at actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals are closely interconnected, changing one goal will result in a change in another and this has resulted on the need for holistic approach to achieving Sustainable Development (SD). No doubt there exist interrelations between the sectors and subsector addressed by the goals and targets equally. Studies have shown that sustainable development challenges require an integrated response. It is in fulfilment of the three-pillars of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 that this paper articulated a tailor-made Conceptual Integrated Innovations Model with emphasis on the role of collaborations for innovation with the view to fast-tracking the attainment of the former and latter. In the end, the Performance Indicators for an integrated innovation will be an Africa that speaks with one voice, open and aligned to eco-innovations.
Understanding innovation platform effectiveness through experiences from west and central Africa
Innovation platforms (IPs) are a way of organizing multistakeholder interactions, marshalling ideas, people and resources to address challenges and opportunities embedded in complex settings. The approach has its roots in theories of complexity, the concept of innovation systems and practices of participatory action research. IPs have been widely adopted across Africa and beyond in recent years as a "must have" tool in a range of "for development" modes of agricultural research. Our experiences with establishing and facilitating nine IPs in local settings in west and central Africa contribute to understanding factors that impact on their effectiveness. The nine IPs were variously focused on developing dairy, crop and/or meat value chains by strengthening mixed crop-livestock production systems or seed systems. Using case study methods, we identified variables that contribute to explaining the performance of these IPs in relation to six domains of change in the agricultural system and the sustainability of changes. Thematic analysis was guided by a conceptual framework which grouped variables into four categories (context, structure, conduct, and process) that interact to influence IP performance. Stronger market connections and value chains were generated through some of these IPs but the most prevalent changes overall were in farm productivity and technical knowledge of producers. The structures evolved in some IPs, akin to those of producer collectives, suggested they were filling an institutional gap locally. The effect of the IPs on deeper level institutions that influence agricultural systems and food security was modest, constraining prospects for the IPs to generate impact at scale. Impacts from the IPs on research and development organisations were uncommon but had transformative significance. Our conceptual framework did not offer optimal guidance to understanding how the many variables that contributed to performance of these IPs combined and sequenced, but the pattern of interactions was consistent with increased social capital being the prime mediator for change. Achieving greater prospects for transformational