Gauging innovation in SA’s enterprises
• Digital disruption brings with it a wave of opportunity, writes Alf James
Innovation can improve the lives of millions of people, particularly poor people, by improving the quality of goods and services, while the introduction of disruptive technologies can lower barriers for competition and expand economic opportunities, according to the World Bank 2017 South Africa Economic Update Innovation for Productivity and Inclusiveness report.
However, to effectively harness the potential for innovation in SA it is necessary to assess the state of innovation in the country’s business sector.
To this end, the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) at the Human Sciences Research Council is conducting the Business Innovation Survey 2014-2016, which will examine the innovation activities in 5,000 enterprises — from small to very large and across a range of industries.
The last nationally representative innovation survey is now 10 years old, covering the period 2005-07, so it is important to have more up-to-date information on what innovations are taking place, how they occur and what can be done to enhance innovation capacity to brief government policy and planning.
According to Dr Glenda Kruss, head of CeSTII, the centre takes its role of generating new knowledge and informing public policy in SA seriously.
“Our CEO, Crain Soudien, has challenged us to confront the difficult reality in our current conditions, where we experience negative GDP growth, find jobs without people to fill them, and a growing proportion of our people without jobs or the hope of finding formal employment.
“According to the Statistics South Africa report on poverty trends in SA (released on August 22 2017), 30.4-million South Africans were living in poverty in 2015, increasing from 27.3-million in 2011.
“Prof Soudien recently urged that ‘we cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results. We cannot continue to lament the high levels of poverty and inequality in our country, and continue to apply these same remedies’.”
Kruss says one of the most important ways in which we need to do things differently in SA is to recognise the changes that digital technology and innovation can bring to our lives and livelihoods.
In other parts of the world, business and governments seek solutions in innovative technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, simulation and additive manufacturing, big data and analytics.
In May 2017, the World Economic Forum meeting in Durban encouraged African countries to recognise that all industries are being disrupted digitally.
“Government, private sector and civil society actors, each in their own sphere and through partnerships, are urged to unlock the potential of the digital economy, ‘for citizen service delivery, customer experience and innovative solutions, for a better life for all’,” says Kruss.
“The historical constraints on development in African countries, however, mean that there is a high risk of being left even further behind, if we do not have the skills or infrastructure to support the high-speed, widely available internet connectivity required.
“This is the rapidly evolving context within which we in CeSTII undertake our research on measuring science, technology and innovation in SA,” she says.
Kruss says we need an evidence base of current and potential activity in the national system of innovation if we are to find new ways to do different things. Through the Business Innovation Survey, Kruss notes, CeSTII is interested in big policy questions such as:
How innovative are South African firms in the sectors key to our economic growth strategies?
Are these firms doing the kinds of innovation that can contribute to employment generating and inclusive economic development?
Do we have enough people with the skills to innovate, and to harness the potential of the digital economy?
What are the main barriers that firms experience that hinder more innovative activity?