Panel Discussion

1. Panel Discussion Abdelkader DJEFLAT The Maghtech Network Lab. CLERSE/CNRS University of Lille1- France

2. Expectations of the session • Discuss appropriate definitions of innovation in the context of Africa • Gain and share experiences on issues of innovation • Understand what innovation is in the context of improving social economic development • Learn from the current trends on innovation thinking – insights from the field that are applicable to Tanzania/ Africa. • Understanding the importance of measuring innovation activities

3. Distinct features of innovation in Africa

4. Africa : a highly heterogenous continent

5. But a trend seems to dominate

6. Appropriate definition of innovation for Africa • The capacity to satisfy the changing needs of the economy ans society for inclusive development and competitiveness in the world market

7. Is innovation low in Africa? Innovation is low using conventional indicators Yet innovation more important Informal sector Use of alternative protection (dominant family business) Mistrust of institutions Limited access to information Economic reasosns • R&D funded by companies in East Asia is 250 times more than in African countries (not including South Africa), 25 times more than in Latin America • Innovation index 3.95, North Africa and the Middle ,East: 6.14, Latin America : 5.80, South Asia : 4.23, East Asia and the Pacific : 7.43, Europe and central Asia , 8.28 and America : 9.45 (WBI) • Global Innovation Index 2011 class African in the last position with Algeria 125th position (out of 125)

8. Is innovation different in Africa Similarities differences is not always driven by R&D : include other sources of knowledge. (learning by doing, using and interacting, indigenous, experience from informal economy and R&D. is still highly dependant on foreign technology (collaboration, spillovers) instability, the inequalities and the heterogeneities Weak culture of innovation • Many AFC aimingat Semi-industrialised, and or emergent) countries (catch up) • Promotion of exports of value added • Facing world competition and quality issues as central • Limits of competition on wagelevel • Need to reducedependency on primaryproducts

9. Specific to African environment Inability of local institutions to interact, difficulty in building local knowledge through the tacit knowledge , repetitive techniques of learning through imitation rather than innovation (Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, 2004). Networks between industry and R&D tend to be absent (Wangwe, 2003). High capacity of dis-accumulate through de-learning (Djeflat, boidin 2002) lack of “an organic evolvement of a STI system Astrid Szog (2009) Rent seeking positions

10. Salient features of IS • The difficulty of Innovation systems theory for system construction (Lundvall et al., 2002) • Built ex post and not emerging from learning • Weak and fragmented • non coordinated and mostly tacit • Often supply driven and not demand driven and top down dominance

11. Different context • -Innovation for resources (mineral and non mineral resources) based economies • in a context of Rentier economies with strong vested interest in conservatism and protecting existing non innovative income generating • in a context where part of human capabilities are located outside through migration of SIC (scientific and intellectual capabilities)ie. an important diaspora. • in a context where a strong informal sector dominates and where dynamic learning occurs but also where knowledge can be destroyed: (informal or semi formal IS – linking formal to informal

12. The African Science and Technology Indicators Initiative (ASTII) • The survey found that innovation in companies is driven by clients' and customers' ideas and collaboration, as well as the acquisition of new machinery and equipment • instead of coming from the ideas of public research institutions and universities,

13. Which are the most important actors in African innovation systems? • The State a keyactor in shaping innovation through • Key ministries (a lobby withingovernment) • In Maghreb Ministry of industry and commerce (not the ministry of highereducation • The privatesector and entrepreneurs (Shumpeterian profile) • A decentralisedkeyactors : farmers and paysants, universities , Chamber of commerce, professional bodies

14. What sectors are more active in innovation activity in Tanzania/ Africa? Traditional sectors Emerging new sectors Pharmaceuticals (export and domestic competitive pressure) ICT Nanotechnology • Agro food (export requirements) • Mineral

15. Can innovation activities address and support inclusive development? • Innovative activities can reduce inequalities by stimulating growth • Give all strata of society the possibility to vreate income and self empoyment • Through enhancing informal sector activities and • Give creative women and youth to create wealth and income through knowledge

16. Appropriate types of innovation in Africa

17. What types of innovation are relevant for Tanzania considering level of development and productive structure of the economy?

19. Global Innovation outlook

20. Two types of sectors Traditional sectors New sectors: 2025 development vision Industry : fastest growing (agricultural processing, wine), diamond-, gold-, and iron mining, oil refining, wood products, salt, soda ash, cement, shoes, apparel and fertilizer productions Objective to become : a diversified and semi-industrialized economy with a modern rural sector and high productivity in agricultural production • Agricultural research (agro sector contributes more than 2/3 of GDP and accounts for almost 85% of the total exports) • Health sector • Natural resources • Industrial R&D (Small industrial sector : food processing, light consumer goods, mining (gold , natural gas)

21. What type of innovation? Upgrade and reinforce Encourage basic innovation Incremental product and process have limits All kinds of innovation are necessary : organisational, marketing and management, financial the global value chain is important as well as the accumulated experience. • Incremental innovation • Product innovation • Use of traditional and modern technology

22. Is replication and copying desirable in an African context or should Africa design its own pathway to innovation? Copying desirable Copying not desirable Specific problems and issues (agriculture, health, minerals etc. ) a rich cultural and traditional heritage which risks being marginalised No outstanding example of successful copying Africa should find its own pathway to innovation • Catch up context (windows opportunities & late comer advantage) • Emerging economies (shortcuts and leap frogging) • Global chain value strategy requires building on existing technologies (compete on global market) • Some generic technologies : ICT

23. Measuring innovative activities

24. Do current existing indicators fully capture innovations taking place in Africa? • The dominant position of the Oslo manual in defining indicators to insure comparability at regional and international level • But Bogota manual shows the need to take into account the specific characteristics of innovation systems and firms (Largely unknown processes of innovation and technical change at firm level, unstructured IS , Embodied technology, minor incremental changes , importance of organisational change, • The UNU-Merit study

25. Implications • Current indicators do not capture all the innovation taking place • indicators explaining ‘systemic failure’ • Technological learning pattern seems different • innovation systems of late-comer countries are fundamentally different from those of developed ones • Difficult to conduct Innovation surveys • Late-comers are “most sucessful” (East Asia) and “less successful” (Africa)

26. What is the relationship between Science & Technology indicators, and Innovation indicators • Normally close relationship • In African countries De-linking between the two • Rising performances regarding research results et dismal innovation performances • Need to create innovation links through : innovation hubs, incubators, clusters, technopoles

27. Building capabilities for innovation

28. Should focus be on research capacities or innovation capabilities? • Both as certain sectors require research capacities: outlined earlier • But current problem is major innovation deficit through dismal share of exports oh high technology products • At firm level : both R&D and incremental technical changes are needed

29. What inhibits the absorption and adaptation of technologies in Africa? • Lack of endogenous capabilities: the human element at the centre • Lack or weak policies and strategies with regards to adaptation and absorption • In some countries with rent surpluses : easy access to final goods and services • Competitive imported goods through infromal channels

30. What is the role of higher education and research in adoptive and incremental type of innovation? • Higher education current role in incremental innovation is very weak if not absent • Coule contribute through developing more spirit of innovation, desire for change & entrepreneurship including • Innovative thinking be integrated to school system? • Need toreview syllabuses to integrate : new course on the management of innovation • Establish stronger and more permanent links with the productive sector (4% of SMEs have formal relations in NACs)

31. What is the right balance between theoretical education and vocational training in emerging economies • Vocational training has suffered from neglect for many years • Need to put stronger emphasis both at secondary level and in hgher education : the experience of professional masters in France • Theoretical education is also a key in the new knowledge economy: higher scores in innovation are alos correlated with high scores in maths, Physics (TIMMS, Pisa etc.)were Africa is lagging

32. How to analyze and stimulate the demand for knowledge in emerging economies? • Demand for knowledge is linked to a host of factors • Stimuleate demand for high knowledge contents goods and services • Enhance innovation in Marketing and management • Promote innovation drive in family businesses

33. Introduction • Two decades of attempts to put up ,innovation policies gave very little results. • Investiment in R&D is only part of the story (doubled in some cases) • Some policies aimes to integrate many actors (state , entreprises, training sphere) • Some situations indicate true involvement of key actors • Only limited number of success stories

34. Questions • Birth crisis and not growth crisis (Catch up) • Life cycle of NSI blocked at initial stage • Question : How to get out of this situation? How to get innovation take off the ground in African countries?

35. Part I Empirical evidence for innovation take off difficulties

36. Table 1: State of R&D in the world (2001) Source: Lall and Pietrobelli (2003) ; Note: NA : Not Available

37. R&D as a percentage of GDP in Algeria ( période 2006 – 2010)

39. Weak irregular and uncertain R&D result.

40. absorptive capacity weak • Defined as a • complementary necessity to knowledge creation in relation to technologies acquired abroad(Mowery and Oxley, 1997; Kim, 1997), • as a prerequisite to the learning process at the firm level, which necessitates notable intangible investments (Cohen and Levinthal, 1989), and • as capacity to create new knowledge and to search and select the most appropriate technology (Narula, 2004).

41. Difficult absorption by the research and innovation system

42. Registration in scientific disciplines in decline: market absorption of graduates

43. Slow take off of NSI • incomplete, unstructured , poor in linkages(NARULA, 2004, DJEFLAT, 2004), • deficient in interractions between main componants (CASADELLA 2006) • Missing capabilities (JOHNSON, EDQUIST, & LUNDVALL, 2003). • non existant (AROCENA & SUTZ, 2003)

45. NSI in France

46. Characteristics of Innovation systems in the stage of take off C

47. Characteristics of NSI prior to innovation take off. • R&D activities are not clearly defined and formally articulated within enterprise strategies (Arocena and Sutz, 1999; 2002). • vulnerable and unstable macroeconomic environment (Cassiolato and Lastres, 1999) • relational, normative and built ex post (Arocena and Sutz, 1999; 2002) • national system of inertia(Hobday 1995; Hobday et al, 2004).

48. Specific to African environment • Inability of local institutions to interact, difficulty in building local knowledge through the tacit knowledge , repetitive techniques of learning through imitation rather than innovation (Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, 2004). • Networks between industry and R&D tend to be absent (Wangwe, 2003). • High capacity of dis-accumulate through de-learning (Djeflat, boidin 2002) • Rent seeking positions

49. Part III What should an NSI for take off (pre-catch-up) and to build it?

50. Conditions to be fulfilled more appropriate the take off stage Capable of exercising a relatively strong push for an effective demand for R&D products and services to emerge; could move the whole apparatus from take off to catch up at a latter period and make it sustainable.