Establishing conceptual clarity for Innovation for Inclusive Development

Nonhlanhla MkhizeIID Policy Seminar25 March 2015

Overview of Presentation

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• Policy context

• Trends

• Concepts

• Conclusion

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Thriving for inclusive development…

STI in development

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• Impacts – wealth creation and quality of life• Priorities - ‘meeting basic needs at community

level’, ‘reducing the total costs of infrastructure provision’ and ‘environmental sustainability’

• ‘urban and rural communities need to be assisted and encouraged to adopt social and technological innovations to assist them in decision-making and to enhance their ability to make informed choices’

• Strong focus on the social dynamics of innovation• Inclusion of a Poverty Reduction mission -

‘demonstration and diffusion of technologies to impact quality of life and enhanced service delivery’

Ministerial review findings..

• role of social innovation in the NSI is under-conceptualised and under-developed

- Innovation for development: pre-eminent priorities from poverty and unemployment

• state’s investment on innovation has been biased towards “big science”

• Supply-side thinking prevalent poor responses to market and social demand

• Inadequate institutionalization of science, technology and innovation measurement capacity

• Social innovation strategy5

Innovation that contributes to….

• access to basic services• reduces drudgery• indigenous knowledge

based solutions• economic inclusion unlock new opportunities enhance existing

opportunities• Skills: new and existing informal economy

considerations• Knowledge generation• New technologies

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Innovation and inclusive developmentInnovation• New or modified products services processes

Inclusive development• Development process inclusive

of all (ito participation)• Development benefits enjoyed

by all (access + quality)• Development that reduces

exclusion, poverty and inequality

SA contextGini coefficientpoverty,

unemploymentinformality in

economyyouth factor

• different types of exclusion

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Why IID?• innovation in support of

inclusion of marginalized or excluded groups and the utilization of their capacity and capabilities

participants in processbeneficiaries creators and co-

creators• resource based to

knowledge based economy

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Trends in innovation for inclusive development?

• Africa; *Asia; *Latin America; OECD

• Research eg. Globelics, UNIID-SEA, IDRC, WB, etc.

• Poor and informal economy as co-innovators

• Impact assessment*• Enabling IID

environment9

Presentation

Concepts…• Social innovation• Frugal innovation • Pro-poor innovation• Inclusive innovation

for inclusive development

• Inclusive innovation• Grassroots innovation• Base/bottom of the

pyramid innovation• Participatory innovation

development• Ghandian innovation10

• Inclusion a global priority

access and quality eg. basic services and STI activities

engagement (demand vs. supply driven

economic participation

recognition of capacity

• Informal economy• Innovation requires

appropriate capacities

Examples of social innovation definitions

• No universally agreed definition

- Social innovations are new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that meet social needs of all kinds — from working conditions and education to community development and health — that extend and strengthen civil society.

- A novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than present solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals

- Examples of social innovations include micro-finance; distance learning; etc.

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Examples of inclusive innovation definitions

• No uniform definition- Any innovation that leads to affordable access of quality goods

and services creating livelihood opportunities for the excluded population, primarily at the base of the pyramid, and on a long term sustainable basis with a significant outreach;

- Knowledge creation, acquisition, absorption and distribution efforts targeted directly at meeting the needs of the low-income;

- Refers to innovation processes that specifically address the needs of the BoP and involve the BoP not only as consumer, but also as producer, employee, and entrepreneur;

- Global collaboration focused on feeding the world, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting what matters most.

- Active inclusion of those who are excluded from the mainstream of development.

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Innovation for inclusive development*

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Grassroots

innovation

Frugal innovation

1996 White Paper on S&T• Establishing an efficient, well‐coordinated and integrated

system of technological and social innovation;• Encouraging creative and collaborative partnerships for

individual and national benefit;• Advancing knowledge as an important aspect in national

development; • Improving support to all types of innovation fundamental to

sustainable economic growth, employment creation, equity through redress and social development;

• Inclusion of formerly marginalised stakeholders in science and technology policy‐making and resource‐allocation activities; and

• Problem solving involving the multidisciplinary use of engineering, the natural, health, environmental and human and social sciences

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IID is “disruptive”….

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Siyabonga

Dankie

Enkosi

Ha khensa

Re a leboga

Ro livhuwa

Siyathokoza

Thank you

18Presentation www.dst.gov.za