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R&D Indicators and Firms' Innovativeness in Africa: Beyond Aggregate Data

This presentation outlines the research idea of exploring the relationship between R&D indicators and firms' innovativeness in Africa, going beyond aggregate data. It discusses the justification, objectives, methodology, and potential impacts of the research.

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R&D Indicators and Firms' Innovativeness in Africa: Beyond Aggregate Data

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  1. R&D Indicators and Firms’ Innovativeness in Africa: Going Beyond Aggregate DataAn Idea for ResearchBitrinaDiyamett

  2. Presentation outline • Introduction • Justification and objectives • Methodology (selection of countries) • Outputs and potential impacts

  3. Background • Although R&D Indicators are collected independent of innovation indicators, they are still considered a measure of how innovative a country is. • EC, Research Directorate General (2001), says a share of R&D expenditure in GDP expresses a country’s relative efforts to create new knowledge, to disseminate and to exploit the existing knowledge bases to drive economic growth in a knowledge-based economy.

  4. Background Cont.. • NEPAD’s project on Africa’s Innovation Outlook (AIO) is all about R&D indicators. • So what is the problem? After all Knowledge is generated for use. • The problem is how R&D historically came to be connected with innovation in developed countries; and Africa blindly copying what it sees today. • To a large extent the essence of R&D in developed countries is the firm itself - by establishing R&D departments and R&D to be used, initially in incremental innovation, and later radical innovations. Japan for instance ( Mani 1999 )

  5. Background Cont.. • It is only when R&D were well established in firms, they started reaching out to R&D outside firms (independent labs and universities); and to a large extent demand driven. • So in essence, capabilities and demand for R&D must starts within the firm itself. • More over (according to literature, e.g. Cohen and Levinthal;1990 and Rosenberg 1994), for a firm to be able to recognize the value of external R&D, it must itself be investing in some sort of knowledge generation. • Hypothetically therefore, linkage between public R&D organizations and industrial firms in Africa can only happen if firms themselves are investing in some sort of knowledge generation/ management, such R&D, design, testing, and quality control. • This research idea is about testing this hypothesis.

  6. Objectives • To analyze the extent to which African manufacturing is innovative, in terms of adoptive, incremental and more radical type of innovations (new to the market/country, new to the world) • To determine the proportion of firms that have R&D, design and quality control departments, and how these are related to innovativeness of firms. • To find out the relationship between a firms having the above departments and linkage with public R&D organizations • To identify factors (internal and external) that facilitate firms to have R&D, design and quality control departments.

  7. Countries to be involved • Tanzania • Ghana • South Africa • Tunisia These countries have been selected for their differing in innovation capabilities and investments in R&D. They also represent different regions.

  8. Outputs and expected impacts Outputs • While money is being put in public R&D; its potential demand from the firms is also known; and perhaps can be influenced. Expected Impacts • Changes on the way science and innovation policies are designed and implemented in Africa • Contribute to the review and adaptation of both R&D and Innovation indicators that are currently being implemented by NEPAD.

  9. Thank you for your attention And For critically thinking about this Research idea.

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