FROM RESEARCH TO INNOVATION:

THE NACOSTI/IDRC UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CHAIRS PROGRAMME

Maurice Bolo (Bolo@scinnovent.org)

Ellie Osir (eosir@idrc.ca)

3rd Kenya National Science, Technology and Innovation Week, 19 – 23 May 2014

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT

• STI is key to inclusive growth, industrial competitiveness, wealth creation, and poverty reduction

• “No country on earth has developed without deploying, harnessing and utilizing STI, whether through technology transfer or homegrown solutions (Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: Science in Africa Summit, 2008).

• “We in Africa must either begin to build our scientific and technological training capabilities or remain an impoverished appendage to the global economy” (Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame)

3

KNOWLEDGE AS THE NEW MOTOR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Money Knowledge

Lin

kage

s w

ith

p

riva

te s

ect

or

Capacity to create/absorb knowledge

Capacity to share, apply and exploit knowledge

Policies and institutions that foster entrepreneurship

Intellectual property rights

Co

mm

erc

ializ

atio

n

infr

astr

uct

ure

THE CONTEXT FOR STI IS CHANGING....

….From the traditional S&T policy focus: •mainly concerned with creation of new knowledge •input indicators: R&D budget; output indicators: publications & patents

…..To an emergent ST & Innovation policy focus: •more emphasis on application and exploitation of knowledge for economic and social development •promoting STI for development requires a highly skilled labour force

......The emphasis has shifted from merely creating knowledge (research) to

applying the knowledge for economic and social development (innovation) ...

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT INNOVATION • A Complex process...

• Outcomes are unpredictable; powerful effect of interaction and feedback; dependent on institutional environment

• An adaptive process...

• Challenges shift and change over time due to changes in knowledge, tastes, preferences, regulations, investment decisions etc

• A systemic process...

• Interconnectedness of various actors; evolutionary, emergent, indeterminate, open-ended and path-dependent

• Innovation is a social art....

Linkages, partnerships and networks are key; Learning is interactive, requiring more tacit than explicit knowledge

• Innovation is key to competitiveness...... Market penetration and retention is dependent on it; Failure to innovate leads to stagnation and eventual decline

Drivers of Global Competitiveness

Global Competitiveness

Government forces

Market forces

Institutions

Infrastructure

Higher Education and Training

Innovation

Technological readiness

Labor market efficiency

Business sophistication

Financial market development

Legal and regulatory systems

Macro-economic environment

ENHANCING KENYA’S COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CHAIRS

• Improving the institutional environment to foster creativity, collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship

• Improving the research infrastructure through investment in laboratory equipment and machines

• Fostering innovation for development

ENHANCING KENYA’S COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CHAIRS

• Providing skilled and highly trained manpower into the labour market through postgraduate training

• Leveraging financial support to research from private sector and other financial institutions

• Policy recommendations to improve the macro-economic environment

BUT, WE NEED NEW THINKING…

We have to re-think our approach to STI: From linear ‘mode 1’ science …..to systemic ‘mode 2’ science

Linear, Mode 1 Science

•Reach outcomes through a series of organized steps

•Processes are stable and outcomes are predictable

•Change in inputs leads to a corresponding change in outputs

•Scientific excellence based on recognition of merit and originality by peers

•Have significant feedback loops •Outcomes are sensitive to changes in driving factors and initial conditions •Changes in inputs do not necessarily lead to corresponding changes in outputs •Non-additive interaction makes it impossible to determine performance by studying isolated parts

Systemic, Mode 2 Science

LINEAR VERSUS SYSTEMIC APPROACHES

DIMENSIONS OF A SYSTEM OF INNOVATION

Market / Demand Set price, volume, quality

Enterprises

Produce

products/services

for the market

Diffusion

Information /

knowledge

transmitters

Research &

Training:

Produce

knowledge

Infrastructure policy, legislation,

resources etc Source: modified from Arnold

and Bell, 2001

SITUATING RESEARCH WITHIN THE NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM

Basic Research

Applied Research

Business R&D

Business Development Commercialization

Pu

blic

Private

Universities

Private Sector

Public Research Institutions

Incubators

Technology Parks

Research Chairs

Other actors? Technology transfer offices

Financial institutions

AGRI-BIOTECH INNOVATION SYSTEM HEALTH SYSTEMS

PILOTING THE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CHAIRS

RE-POSITIONING STI TO RESPOND TO THE CHANGING CONTEXT

Methodological Change -Participatory problem identification and priority setting

-Participatory research

-Collective Action Planning

-Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation

RE-POSITIONING STI TO RESPOND TO THE CHANGING CONTEXT

Organizational change

From bureaucratic, non-learning organization to flexible, learning organizations

-Different outlook, methods, priorities -Different incentives and rewards -Different attitudes, habits and practices

- Different organizations structures

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RESEARCH CHAIRS

• The complexity of the problems and the wider variety of competence bases required are impossible to satisfy within a single discipline.

»This makes multi-disciplinary

teams/networks imperative.

• Research and commercialization of the products are expensive; requires sustained investment over a long period of time.

»Each Chair is allocated about US$ 1 million over 5 years

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH CHAIRS

• Coordination among groups of divergent knowledge types, habits and belief systems requires careful networking management.

»Research Chair must demonstrate prior existing network management skills

• This requires the scientists to develop other sets of soft skills – beyond their technical expertise e.g. leadership, management, networking, negotiation skills

» Prior experience in leadership, supervision and mentorship are fundamental criteria for the Research Chair