The importance of research chairs in the changing context in STI: A presentation delivered by Dr. Maurice Bolo Director, the Scinnovent Centre and Dr. Ellie Osir, senior program officer, IDRC Nairobi Office

1. 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

2. 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. 3
KNOWLEDGE AS THE NEW MOTOR IN
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Money Knowledge
Linkageswith
privatesector
Capacity to create/absorb knowledge
Capacity to share, apply and
exploit knowledge
Policies and institutions that
foster entrepreneurship
Intellectual
property rights
Commercialization
infrastructure

4. 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) ...

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. BUT, WE NEED NEW THINKING…
We have to re-think our
approach to STI:
From linear ‘mode 1’
science
…..to systemic ‘mode 2’
science

10. 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

11. 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

12. SITUATING RESEARCH WITHIN THE
NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM
Basic
Research
Applied
Research
Business
R&D
Business Development
Commercialization
PublicPrivate
Universities
Private Sector
Public Research
Institutions Incubators
Technology Parks
Research Chairs
Other actors?
Technology transfer offices
Financial institutions

13. AGRI-BIOTECH INNOVATION SYSTEM HEALTH SYSTEMS
PILOTING THE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CHAIRS

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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