The SRA Symposium - College of Medicine

Papers
manpower is not trained, and the countries lack a framework that is necessary for implementing a
well guided S&T policy. Such a framework would be provided by a National Research and Development
Strategy, backed by a comprehensive funding system. Because of the lack of all these, there
is no innovation chain that would lead to the growth of the economies of these countries. Hence,
the foundation for an effective research and innovation management remains shaky.
For purposes of focus, the conclusion will concentrate on Botswana, which is being taken to typify
the region. There are several reasons why Botswana’s economy has not received a boost from the
nation’s three R&D institutes. The first is that institutes in that country operate as silos, in vacuum
or without an overarching framework that guides research and innovation in the way the National
Research & Development Strategy in South Africa does in that country. The existence of a Science
& Technology policy and a National Council on Science & Technology are necessary but not
sufficient conditions for research that leads to innovation. Political leadership is a crucial factor for
successful innovation. A look across the world suggests that a strong focus on Science and Technology
is associated with high level of government steering. For example, the S&T portfolio is placed
within the highest office in the land in those countries that are most successful in innovation. In
Finland, the National Advisory Council on Science & Technology is chaired by the Head of State;
in Korea, the Deputy Prime Minister has that responsibility. In the US, the Office of Science and
Technology Policy resides within the Office of the President. A national research and innovation (or
development) strategy, with clearly interlinked structures that bring together the national systems
of science and technology, and also backed by well spelt out funding mechanism, is the basic minimum
that is required for successful innovation that would lead to creation of wealth.
Botswana is still in the process of establishing a funding mechanism known as the Botswana Research
and Science & Technology Investment Agency (BRSTIA), through an Act of Parliament. It
is still early to assess its effectiveness, because it is not yet in place.
The country has decided to re-organise its S&T landscape by putting in place research councils
which will operate in a more coordinated way, in line with the direction provided in the Research,
S&T Plan. These proposed research councils are based in part on alternative providers of research
such as the Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), which is being proposed
to become a broadened National Council for Social Sciences Research, and the Botswana Technology
Centre (BOTEC), which will become the National Council for Industrial Research, after
merging with the Rural Industries Promotion Company (RIPCO).
All of this is at the planning stage; therefore it is too early to say how much value the restructuring
will add to research, especially to innovation. Experience has shown that mere restructuring and
investing in R&D may not always lead to improvements in innovation. South Korea increased its
investment and is now reaping the benefits while Sweden, which spends 4% of its GDP on R&D, is
not enjoying an economic growth that would be commensurate with that investment. For Botswana,
the available information does not seem to put enough emphasis on the linkages of an innovation
value chain. It is in this regard that one needs to introduce road mapping. This is an activity
with different but related objectives. At one level, it is about raising the population’s awareness of
the importance of science and technology. It is in the developing countries that this aspect is most
important. At another level, road mapping is about linking S&T trends to market opportunities
in the form of new products or services. And furthermore, it is also an effective communication
tool within and between organizations that form the research and innovation value chain. When
road mapping is done correctly, it becomes possible to provide, within an economy, a clear plan
for science platform development, technology acquisition, and specific new product development
projects so that the path towards commercialization emerges clearly.
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