The Western Cape Workshop of the National Advisory Council on Innovation’s Provincial Roadshow took place place at InvestSA on 10 September 2019.
Scene-setting, Prof Crain Soudien (CEO, HSRC) and Dr Mlungisi Cele (Acting CEO: NACI)
South Africa STI Indicators 2019, Dr Petrus Letaba (NACI)
Business panel: Critical needs in the Western Cape provincial innovation system, Facilitated by Tim Harris (CEO, WESGRO)
Government panel: How government is creating a regional innovation culture, Facilitated by Dr Glenda Kruss (Executive Head, CeSTII)
*Video courtesy of the HSRC’s Impact Centre. Special thanks to Antonio Erasmus.
Why this event, now?
The 2014-2019 Western Cape Provincial Strategic Plan foregrounds innovation as one of its key economic development goals.
“It is necessary to nurture innovation as a key objective within the economic development sphere,” the Plan states.
The objective will be to develop new types of approaches, solutions, processes and materials which will have the potential to clearly identify the region as one which is conducive to creativity, innovation and design. We seek to establish a regional culture that supports and evokes industry collaboration and to scale sustainability, innovations and technology. (p.16)
As the Plan’s strategic cycle draws to a close, the launch of the National Advisory Council on Innovation’s 2019 STI Indicators report, as part of its provincial roadshows, provides an excellent opportunity for critical reflection on progress toward these goals and an opportunity to highlight plans for the new 5-year strategic cycle.
Nested within a national systems of innovation perspective, but with a clear focus on the provincial lens, the programme is designed to catalyse a reflective and formative conversation, between and across sectors, with key business and government stakeholders sharing needs, programming and strategy lessons, and ideas for the future.
About the 2019 NACI Provincial Roadshow: The NACI report assesses STI performance in terms of quality of life and wealth creation, enabled by business performance through innovation, a framework informed by the National R&D Strategy of 2002. In 2019, we invite thought leaders and decision-makers from business principally, but also government and industry associations, to consider their experiences and challenges, to highlight critical issues for measurement and policy-making going forward.
Key questions
- What does an innovative regional government look like and why is this important in the regional innovation system?
- What does a regional culture of innovation that is conducive to the needs of diverse industries and the businesses within them look like and how can a region be positioned as an innovative region?
- How is the Western Cape regional innovation system performing in terms of providing an enabling environment for innovation in order for Western Cape businesses to remain competitive and to create opportunities for job creation and economic growth?
- How does the structure of industries nationally enhance or circumscribe provincial innovation, particularly in terms of human capabilities and networks?
- Is the Western Cape geared to respond to new urgencies and global challenges, such as environmental change, and how can business innovation stakeholders play a more active role in this respect?
More info?
- Gerard Ralphs gralphs[at]hsrc.ac.za | 021 466 8000
*Image credit: Cape Town Film Studios: https://www.capetownfilmstudios.co.za
