Innovation For Inclusive Development Research Articles

Exploring functional dynamics of innovation for inclusive development: event history analysis of an ICT4D project

ABSTRACT Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) projects aim to improve the living conditions of marginalized communities. However, ICT4D interventions have high failure rates. We draw on the Technological Innovation for Inclusive Development Systems (TI4IDS) framework, which argues that ICT4D projects are embedded in a system affected by many different actors, stakeholders and institutions. We analyze this through a qualitative exploratory case study of an ICT4D project for Elderly Rural Women in Mafarafara in Limpopo, South Africa. We map a set of TI4IDS functions through event history analysis (EHA) to explore how ICT4D projects may be implemented. We draw conclusions regarding the dynamic exhibited in the projects and show how the focus shifted from the development of knowledge and guidance of search to knowledge diffusion during the uptake of the technology with a more significant focus on resource mobilization and market formulation towards the later phases.

Rethinking open government as innovation for inclusive development: Open access, data and ICT in South Africa

Open government has come to be closely associated with innovation for inclusive development (IID). These two areas of practice and research have converged around similar mechanisms aimed at achieving inclusive development outcomes including: open interaction between government, technologists and end-users in the design of policies and services; open, market-oriented approaches to delivering public services and meeting the needs of citizens; and a central role for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in policy development and innovation activities. We argue, however, that an uncritical adoption of open, ICT-oriented practices risks shifting responsibility and trust for governance and development outcomes to largely unaccountable global and national network enterprises. Taking South Africa as our primary focus, including its new White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), we note a renewed interest in adopting open government practices in relation to IID. More significant, we suggest, is the emergence of ‘grassroots’, hybrid civic-technology innovation networks at the fringes of formal open government initiatives. This article considers new questions that arise around how these grassroots movements sustain meaningful interaction with mainstream STI processes, how public officials may engage with such movements in order to meet national development outcomes, and the role of ICT in these spaces.

Supporting innovation through a multi-level platforms approach: A case study of the South African fresh fruit industry

Agricultural innovation platforms have become recognized as a key mechanism through which to stimulate innovation for inclusive development (I4ID) by serving as a space for agricultural stakeholders to engage, and to develop and diffuse agricultural innovations. This study investigates how an agricultural innovation environment is created through a multi-level platform. Through grounded theory methodology this article presents a conceptual management framework on the activities to establish and manage the functioning of agricultural multi-level innovation platforms based on the results of a systematic literature review. We then evaluate the credibility and conformability of the framework though analyzing the Fruit SA multi-level platform as a case study. The utility of this analysis for future work is to develop a more complete understanding of the functioning of multi-level platforms and their role in linking up value chain actors with the idea to support the development of such interventions in the future.

Developing an evaluation framework for university-driven technology-based, innovation for inclusive development (UTI4ID) projects

AbstractFrom the evaluation literature related to research and innovation policy, calls have long been made for improved evaluation processes especially where projects and programmes may be evaluated from a systems perspective. Drawing on the literature of innovation systems and innovation for inclusive development (I4ID) this research proposes a state-of-the-art analysis framework, which can be used to evaluate University-driven Technology-based Innovation for Inclusive Development (UTI4ID) projects. In particular, this framework draws on 16 exploratory case studies of UTI4ID that leads to the development of typologies that can be used in future UTI4ID evaluations to better guide such efforts. We thus not only show that advances in the I4ID literature provides an ideal starting point for complexity cognisant evaluations, but also contribute an end-to-end framework to support such evaluations and populate a detailed guide for future UTI4ID projects.

Rethinking open government as innovation for inclusive development: Open access, data and ICT in South Africa

Open government has come to be closely associated with innovation for inclusive development (IID). These two areas of practice and research have converged around similar mechanisms aimed at achieving inclusive development outcomes including; open interaction between government, technologists and end-users in the design of policies and services; open, market-oriented approaches to delivering public services and meeting the needs of citizens; and a central role for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in policy development and innovation activities. We argue, however, that an uncritical adoption of open, ICT-oriented practices risks shifting responsibility and trust for governance and development outcomes to largely unaccountable global and national network enterprises. Taking South Africa as our primary focus, including its new White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), we note a renewed interest in adopting open government practices in relation to IID. More significant, we suggest, is the emergence of ‘grassroots’, hybrid civic-technology innovation networks at the fringes of formal open government initiatives. This article considers new questions that arise around how these grassroots movements sustain meaningful interaction with mainstream STI processes, how public officials may engage with such movements in order to meet national development outcomes, and the role of ICT in these spaces.

Open Government and Innovation for Inclusive Development: Competing Values in Co-Creation, Brokering and Procurement

The opening of government in a number of countries has implications for innovation processes and the potential for inclusive development outcomes. After unpacking some of the key thinking around openness proffered by Karl Popper and others, we explore the adoption of open government practices in innovation by considering four important instruments: the opening of innovation and technology policy processes, co-creation and collaborative solution development by civil servants, government entities acting as innovation brokers, and public sector procurement of innovation. Through a case study of South Africa, we highlight how innovation actors prioritise particular values of openness over others. For example, in pushing for more open interaction between state and non-state actors as a more effective way of addressing social challenges, values of legality and impartiality are often minimised. This oversight leads to project failures, legitimacy crises and exploitation of relationships by powerful entities. In response, we suggest that public sector innovation programmes and platforms can more explicitly recognise different values, especially from emergent grassroots innovation networks, and thereby enable sustainable application of open government practices.

Innovation for inclusive development among specialized universities: the case of a community-based farming scheme in FUNAAB

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an analysis of how a specialized university in its pursuit of community engagement interacts with external social partners, especially marginalized communities, taking the case of community-based farming scheme in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta to promote innovation for inclusive development. The methodological approach to the study relies on case study analysis using in-depth interviews of senior management, principal officers and students of the university, and community leaders. Purposive sampling technique was adopted. Findings revealed that the major drivers of interaction for the university are primarily a mixture of social and intellectual imperatives, while from the community's point of view, the main drivers of interaction are poverty alleviation, infrastructural development, access to knowledge, training and economic development. The study concludes that this is a case of interaction that improves the livelihoods of marginalized rural farming communities, and can thus promote inclusive development.

Systemic policy instruments for inclusive innovation systems: Case study of a maternal mHealth project in South Africa

Innovation for inclusive development refers to the development of products and services for and/or by marginalized communities with the aim of improved economic and social welfare. Innovation systems present a framework for analyzing actors, institutions, interlinkages and societal subsystems that contribute to the emergence of innovation for inclusive development. However, the innovation system framework requires a re-orientation as an analytical tool to 1) support a systematic process towards identifying barriers to inclusiveness 2) systematically define the root cause of systemic problems or barriers for innovation for inclusive development, and finally, 3) to provide a framework against which to formulate systemic policy interventions that systematically enhance the environment for innovation for inclusive development.The main contribution of this article is to deduce a systemic policy intervention framework and roadmap towards developing more inclusive innovation systems. We explore policy interventions to position innovation systems more inclusively by considering a case study of a large-scale maternal mHealth project (MomConnect) in South Africa. The article concludes that the use of a systemic policy intervention framework, as derived in this paper, may greatly enhance the design of large-scale projects and innovation systems towards improved inclusivity.

Innovation for inclusive development, public policy support and triple helix: perspectives from BRICS

This paper investigates the role of innovation in (inclusive) development – subsequently referred to as innovation for inclusive development (IID) and the links to public policy in BRICS (Brazil, Russia India, China and South Africa) countries. To achieve this aim, the authors examine the roles played by Triple Helix actors (THA), namely university, industry and government in IID activities across BRICS countries, drawing on the national systems of innovation (NSI) framework. The findings indicate that: (1) significant gaps exist in literature useful in advancing our knowledge of innovation as a mechanism for inclusive development; (2) BRICS countries focus, mostly, on innovation in the broad sense, with less attention paid to IID, the essence of this paper. One reason for this gap may lie in the inability to conceptualize and theorize innovation as a mechanism for including the wider society in socio-economic and development activities, or the lack of appreciation of the potential roles that innovation can play in development; (3) there is absence of specific public policies and policy support for IID in BRICS; and, (4) paucity of empirical evidence needed to critically analyse and explain the roles that THA in BRICS play in innovation ecosystems.

University-supported inclusive innovation platform: the case of University of Fort Hare

ABSTRACTA common question that prompts universities to reconsider their relationships and role in sustainable development in their immediate context is: How has the university over the years contributed to inclusive development of surrounding communities? Grounded in the innovation systems framework, the literature of engaged scholarship, innovation for inclusive development, and innovation platforms, the authors propose a framework for the development of a University-coordinated Inclusive Innovation Platform. The University of Fort Hare was used as a case study to reflect on what has been done and the processes and principles that have been followed during the coordination of the formation and functioning of such a platform. This paper is of interest to a wide audience as it may assist in supporting more proof-of-concept inclusive innovation projects and programmes to stimulate and support inclusive development in communities.

Why Does Innovation Matter for Inclusive Development?: Some Evidence from Contemporary Indonesia

Innovation for Inclusive Development (IID) has emerged as a growing interest, bringing together innovation studies and development research. Its basic premise is that innovation can and should play a central role in making development more inclusive. Using the secondary data of 250 initiatives reported by academia, civil society, businesses, and government in Indonesia, along with few selected case studies, this paper aspires to understand the characteristics of IID. We gather a plethora of practices across sectors and actors, geographical contexts, and development agendas. We found that at the core of IID is the attempt to widen people’s access to developmental resources, and to deepen their participation in decision-making and improving their livelihood. Arguing that different perspectives are needed when examining initiatives and their implications at different levels, the paper offers an insight into what makes the IID initiative more likely to succeed or otherwise, and calls for further research in this field.

Innovation for inclusive development in Southeast Asia: the roles of regional coordination mechanisms

In the past, studies on inclusive development involve mainly the perspective of equitable distribution of economic and societal outputs. This study, however, takes a different approach and analyses the potential roles of regional coordination mechanisms (RCMs), specifically universities and research council's networks within Southeast Asia, in disseminating the innovation-related activities for inclusive development or Innovation for Inclusive Development (IID). The literature on innovation intermediaries within the realm of innovation systems studies was used to establish the framework of the study. The findings indicate that RCMs have a huge potential role to play. However, due to a number of reasons, including lack of funding support, lack of attention and commitment to IID, weak engagement with industry and non-governmental organisations, the implementation of the IID activities was rather poor. As a whole, the study argues that current approaches are not well positioned and it is fragmented preventing the effective use of RCMs despite their potentials for IID efforts. The study attributes this to the systemic failures in the regional coordinating systems. In enhancing the role of RCMs in IID, this study recommends the promotion of IID platform, the leveraging of non-government organisations and industry as well as energising the Southeast Asia engagement in promoting IID.

Innovation for inclusive development

Conventional wisdom places the dynamics of innovation almost in the exclusive realm of firms from developed countries. However, over the past two decades economic growth in many developing countrie...