M Mangena: National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI)
workshop

27 February 2009

Dr Lennon, Chairperson of the National Advisory Council on Innovation
(NACI),
NACI Councillors,
International and local guests,
Speakers and delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen

Discussions on innovation always raise plenty of questions, beginning with
how to define a concept. The dictionary refers to innovation as something newly
introduced, or the act of introducing something new or for the first time;
which may also indicate novelty, freshness or originality.

In this sense, innovation can be compared to a spring of water emerging from
a parched landscape to stimulate and refresh life.

This may be a very attractive analogy, but is it applicable in real life?
Suppose we can locate that spring, what chances are there to turn it into a
stream, a river or a dam? Or to use its water to cultivate crops and turn the
surrounding desert into fertile fields that produce food for the people?

If so, can those well-fed people be induced to sell their excess produce to
develop their communities and societies? In the final analysis, can we use
innovation to nurture more innovation?

The concept of innovation is attractive but elusive, and a number of
possibilities exist. Innovation could involve a new way of dealing with an
intractable dilemma. It could be a product or process that cures a disease or
solves a problem.

It could be an invention that leads to further inventions. It could be all
these things put together, or something entirely different. This workshop has
two primary aims. One of them is to evaluate the effectiveness of current
policies and approaches to innovation.

It is important to determine whether our current innovation policies are
working, whether they are indeed innovative, and whether innovation actually
does improve the quality of life of South Africans, particularly the less
privileged. We need to ascertain that our efforts in the field of innovation
really contribute to the promotion of sustainable economic growth and
international competitiveness.

Very often we take it for granted that they are, but it is essential that
you confirm these assumptions through accurate scientific analyses. More
importantly, your research needs to give us a level of comfort that we are
doing what is right and appropriate for our circumstances.

The second objective of this workshop is to generate strategies to
facilitate innovations that hold potential for broad application. This
objective may be more important than the first. We need to develop ways to
encourage innovative thinking in areas where there is a clear need, and the
potential for broad application.

You know as well as I do that our country has many problems; some we share
with the rest of the world, but some of them not. These include food
insecurity, high poverty levels, a shortage of skills, security of energy
supply, climate change and its threat to our water resources, rising crime
levels, environmental degradation, the rapid spread of HIV, and recently, ways
to deal with the global economic meltdown. Innovation alone is not going to
solve all these problems, but we believe it can solve some of them, at least
partially.

The capacity to innovate enjoys strong support from our government, which
believes in the innate ability of South Africans to think and work their way
out of the predicaments they face.

To this end, my department is in the process of establishing a Technology
Innovation Agency, which will incorporate, among others, existing entities and
instruments like the Innovation Fund, Tshumisano, and the Biotechnology
Regional Innovation Centres.

The agency will work through a network of competence centres, established in
partnership with industry and public research institutions, and will focus on
market opportunities.

We are also working towards the introduction of another new entity, the
Public Benefit Foundation, which will be geared towards the transfer of
technology to communities.

There are many other serious matters to be discussed at this workshop – the
role of non-technological innovations, the commercialisation of indigenous
knowledge systems and grassroots innovations, technology conversion processes,
the part to be played by small businesses, the integration of innovation into
community policing forums, the need for systems to ensure that promising
developments are recognised and acted upon, and ways of coupling grassroots
innovations with formal scientific research and development.

Let us try to keep an open mind about all these. To some scientists, it
hardly seems an innovation to teach people building, plumbing or home nursing
skills. But to most of the people benefiting from such training programmes,
being shown how to earn a living is an innovation, and a very important one at
that.

I want to use this opportunity to thank the outgoing NACI councillors, whose
term of office ends this month, for their sterling contributions to the
national system of innovation and the country. Over the past five years, the
council has provided constructive advice on a wide variety of important issues,
ranging from the infrastructure required by the National System of Innovation,
through the utilisation of research findings, to the participation of women in
the science, engineering and technology sector.

Looking ahead, a recent international review of NACI had the following to
say:
"NACI's activities need to be expanded to include non-technological aspects of
innovation, the second economy and social issues as encompassed by the broader
definition of innovation, without compromising the importance of technological
innovations in the growth and revenue-generating sector of the economy."

As can be gauged from the theme of this workshop, the councillors have, as
always, responded positively to this challenge. Our experience so far suggests
that NACI does not necessarily have to be particularly innovative itself,
although possession of this quality always adds value. Instead, it should be
thinking in a manner not dissimilar to the roads planning agency.

As a policy-generating body, its major concerns should encompass ways of
determining the most simple and cost-effective ways of getting from a to b; and
ensuring that the most accessible roads are safer, while making it possible for
more traffic from different directions to use such roads.

Good innovations are often inspired by the human and social dynamics of a
country. So, when we conceive an innovative idea, or evaluate it, some of the
issues that must be addressed should relate to questions of personal and
national security, skills-transfer, the creation of new wealth and new
industries and jobs, and improvement of our balance of payments.

We are not the only country in the world facing problems, and we are in many
ways more fortunate than most. If we can inculcate a national culture of
innovation, I have no doubt many other things will fall into place.

The timing of this meeting comes at a very opportune moment when the country
is gearing up for a new term of government. Therefore, the outcomes of this
workshop will be of great importance to South Africa. Be at liberty to be
critical and imaginative, and try to find a spring you can turn into a Nile
River of national thinking.

Thank you for your attention. I wish you well in your deliberations.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
27 February 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)