Innovation Policy And Governance In The African Region

Abstract

This paper undertakes a desktop examination of innovation policy and governance in Africa. The article therefore adds on to the importance of intra-African region innovation policy dialogue by exploring policy developments in the African region. The article identifies a weak and fragmented innovation system as a major challenge facing many of the African countries, exacerbated by the lack of an explicit innovation strategy. The literature indicates that Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies should not simply adopt a science-push approach to innovation, but rather focus on building an entire system of innovation. The emergence of a knowledge-based economy and globalisation such as the BRICs - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are restructuring the dynamics of innovation in developing countries. The literature has also shown that several international organisations have played significant roles in the development of Science and Technology (S&T) policies among African countries. However, the international organisations initiatives have mostly focused on the development of S&T with minimal emphasis on the role of policies and administration, which would increase learning and innovation performance in Africa. The central premise of the article is that innovation policy and governance is an essential component of the National System of Innovation in the African region.

Higher education institutions, private sector and government collaboration for innovation within the framework of the Triple Helix Model

“…The role of HEIs within the Model, comprises 'inward' (activities within the HEIs) and 'outward' (activities outside the HEIs) dimensions. The HEIs are essential contributors to the Model both inwardly and outwardly, through the production of knowledge, skills and innovations needed to drive the local, regional and national economies for sustainable development (Lall and Petrobelli 2002;Gachie and Govender, 2017a;Dziallasa and Blinda 2019). Given the limited funding and financing challenges, many African HEIs are, however, under increasing pressure to demonstrate their social and economic relevance (Lundvall 2007;Trimi and Leea 2018;UNCTAD 2018).…”

“…However, proactive measures have to be put in place to produce graduates and research that is responsive to industry needs, a factor providing additional compelling reasons for undertaking this research. Indeed, the role of HEIs in the transformation of the current South African resource-based economy into a knowledge-based one cannot be underestimated (Gachie and Govender 2017a). As such, HEIs are a powerful driver of innovation and transformation in S&T and other creative endeavours within the country, which has 23 HEIs that essentially engage in teaching, community engagement (CE) and research (Gachie and Govender 2017b).…”

The role of universities in scaling up informal entrepreneurship

“…In that case, the third actor must at least be acknowledged as an additional source of variation (Leydesdorff, 2012b). The role of the university within the model embraces ‘inward’ (activities within the university) and ‘outward’ (activities outside the university) dimensions (Gachie, 2020) through the production of knowledge, skills and innovations needed to drive local, regional and national economies for sustainable development (Dziallasa and Blinda, 2019; Gachie and Govender, 2017).…”

The role of university–industry partnership in innovative curriculum development: A case study of South African universities in the fourth industrial revolution

“…Historically, institutions of higher learning had been shaped, reconfigured, and catalyzed into new learning environments by previous industrial revolutions (Downes, 2015). With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have noted the future of jobs as requiring creativity and amalgamation of socioeconomic actors to unitedly respond to the disruption (Dattijo & Adamu, 2022;Dziallas & Blind, 2019;Gachie & Govender, 2017;Gray, 2021;Peneder, 2017;World Economic Forum, 2016).…”