Capabilities in Rural South Africa: Capabilities in Rural South - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Strengthening Innovation Strengthening Innovation Capabilities in Rural South Africa: Capabilities in Rural South Africa: catalysts for rural transformation? catalysts for rural transformation? Economic Performance Economic Performance and Development and Development

Rural Population and Poverty in Rural Population and Poverty in 4 RDM (2012) 4 RDM (2012) Rural Prov. Provincial Rural Population Poverty Rates District Population (Money-metric) Municipality Number Share Number Share Prov (%) RDM (%) (%) (%) Umzinyathi KZN 510 335 5% 425 619 83.4 % 45.3% 60% Dr Ruth S NW 460 482 13% 301 615 65.5% 43% 53.7% Mompati Chris Hani EC 800 883 12% 528 580 66% 44% 46.5% Mopani LP 1,120 287 20% 969 048 86.5 % 43% 44.3% Social science that makes a difference

Three primary RIAT objectives Three primary RIAT objectives • Develop a tool that can map out innovation actors, activities and systems in spatially marginalised contexts. • Develop an instrument or instruments that could assist actors to improve their reflective self-learning about their innovation potential and activities. • Design the instruments in such a way that they could assist with the future monitoring and evaluation of innovation activities in the RDMs. Social science that makes a difference

Phased & connected RIAT actions … Phased & connected RIAT actions … PHASE 1: TOOLBOX BASICS Basic Concepts & RurInnov Mixed Methods Tools Conceptual Frame RIS Evidence Uptake/Use Critical Knowledge workshops; ( IDP Source Data ) Seminars; Exchanges Conferences PHASE 2: SELF-LEARNING Reports; Scientific Research & Outputs Participatory Policy Briefs Evaluation, Reflect & Learn Change Agents PHASE 3: OPERATIONALISE Institutionalize Process Identify & Profile Networking & Mechanism ( Living Lab ?) Actors; Sectors; Coordination Proximity

Preparatory Steps: May to Dec 2012 Preparatory Steps: May to Dec 2012 • Early evolution of RIAT (See Phase 1 Narrative Report & Practical Methods) • Action-oriented approach to mapping rural innovation activities with an eye on enhancing localised innovative performance • Define & ground toolbox concepts in frontier literature: • innovation value chains • sub-national space-bounded innovation systems • social dynamics of innovation

Network for Rural Development Network for Rural Development through Innovation through Innovation • Share ideas with other SA & international innovation specialists- RIAT Steering Committee, Network RIS, etc. • CSIR : linking RIAT to the STEP SA project & Meraka Institute • Technology Top 100 : • building awareness of surveyed business organisation about its own technological and innovation capabilities • how the organisation would be able to catch up to this frontier

Toolbox Development and Use Toolbox Development and Use • Exploratory methods : scoping visits to the four RDMs earmarked for RIAT pilot-study • Rural innovation activities & actors hard to identify- poorly documented • Lack of complete rural enterprise roster to serve as a sampling frame • Purposive survey design and snowball sampling • Identify enterprises by a referral process (often peer referral or service provider referral)

I NNOVATION MAPPING INSTRUMENT I NNOVATION MAPPING INSTRUMENT • Overcome glaring absence of good quality and coherent data on rural innovation INTERNAL SECTORS ENVIRONMENT activities ACTORS SPATIAL CONTEXT EXTERNAL • balanced mix of closed ENVIRONMENT (quantitative) and open ‐ ended (qualitative) questions on innovation activities • Administer first version – improvements – administer TYPES OF INNOVATION INNOVATION ACTIVITIES= VALUE CHAIN P=PRODUCT A= ADOPT P=PROCESS revised version A=ADAPT O= ORGANISATION D= DIFFUSE M= MARKETING I= INVENT

Mopani District Municipality Mopani District Municipality • Tertiary services, followed by primary extractive activities (particularly mineral mining), dominate gross value added and economic growth • sampled enterprises is that they are predominantly involved in tertiary services and primary sector economic activities (particularly agriculture instead of mining). • The evidence points towards more vigorous uptake of new ideas, practices and artefacts originally developed by other enterprises outside Mopani. • More than 60% of sampled enterprises are actively involved in knowledge sharing networks

Chris Hani District Municipality Chris Hani District Municipality • quality of life and living standards of the people living in the Chris Hani District are relatively lower than the average person living in the Eastern Cape Province • Adoption ranked as the most prevalent innovation activity across the district- most intensive/active adopters and users of inventions from outside organisations are non-profits • Non-profit adopters heavily rely on government departments as a source of innovative knowledge • Active participation in innovation networks which often classified as formal and rarely informal

Dr Ruth S Mompati District Municipality Dr Ruth S Mompati District Municipality • Sampled enterprises mainly involved in tertiary services (community and financial services) • Institutional support (policies, laws and agencies regulating and supporting innovations) viewed as an important contributor to innovation activities • Inadequate government support seen as a barrier to better innovative performance in the district • Strength learning capabilities of actors in the local innovation space, especially know-how of ST&I policies and the national system of innovation

uMzinyathi District Municipality uMzinyathi District Municipality • Substantial infrastructure backlogs impact negatively on economic development, poverty & employment • Innovating enterprises were mainly in the tertiary sector (especially community services) and the primary sector (especially agriculture and forestry) with fewer being in the secondary sector (mainly in manufacturing). • Awareness of state support for innovation, but generally also a perceived need to improve efficacy of government support and/or regulation • Adoption was found to be most prevalent (especially amongst the NPOs) • Respondents who saw themselves as part of a network saw these as formal innovation systems.

Participatory Evaluation, Reflection and Participatory Evaluation, Reflection and Learning (PERL) Workshops Learning (PERL) Workshops • PERL sessions implemented in 4 pilot-RDMs • Enable the local actors (district & local municipalities) to reflect on innovative activities- foster enhanced innovative capabilities in local governments • Identify potential high impact local innovation catalysts (two to three specific ‘case studies’ for deeper exploration of the innovations) • Outcome: effective rural innovation systems as a mechanism for achieving local economic development and improved livelihoods

PERL/SHE Process… PERL/SHE Process… • Share ‘mapped’ evidence - Evidence of innovative activities within DM • Where is the RDM now in terms of economic sectors, rural livelihoods, employment, etc? • How do you realistically see socioeconomic development of the RDM in 5 years’ time? • Where should the focus be to achieve LED, food security, job creation, etc? • Self-reflection & Horizon Exploration- SHE (group work from actors in different sectors, the outcomes of which are shared in plenary) • Consider sectors where innovative change is required or where cases of innovation were identified that appear to offer high impact opportunities if adequately and efficiently supported - HILICs • Checklist for respondents to reflect on what they have learnt from the session (this has been developed but needs further refinement)

Lessons from 4 workshops Lessons from 4 workshops • Participant profiles: Institutional background and innovation-related capabilities of workshop participants; • Opportunity to Learn from and Self-reflect on RIAT information: share findings produced by the ‘innovation mapping tool’ (mixed -methods purposeful survey) and invite feedback • Horizon Exploration- high impact local innovation catalysts [HILICs]: identify ongoing, pipeline and new initiatives with high developmental spinoffs for the district.

Conclusion- towards Phase 3? Conclusion- towards Phase 3? • Negotiating with local ‘gate - keepers’: friendly to ‘hostile’ local receptions • Fieldwork times & PERL sessions had to be changed at short notice, increasing uncertainty which impacted on logistical arrangements. • RIAT Steering Committee: from conceptual steering (academic) to governance structure concerned with toolbox application in practice (user-driven) • Future institutionalisation of RIAT: effective use of all tools in the toolbox require appropriate skills • Uptake of RIAT depends on local multi-stakeholder forums (how to nurture change agents with local buy-in?)