The Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) is a statistical and policy research unit located within the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). CeSTII is the leader in the field of national surveys that underpin benchmarking, planning and reporting on R&D and innovation in South Africa. We adapt best practice international methodologies for measurement of science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators, within a framework of innovation for inclusive development.
Innovation is widely recognised as a key ingredient in the growth of economies. At firm level, it is equally vital as a capability for businesses to cooperate and compete. International collaboration occurs when enterprises work together across borders with partners on joint innovation projects and is one way that businesses can optimise the innovation process on a much wider level.
Drawing on the latest available national South African innovation and R&D data, this fact sheet shows that while some South African businesses already collaborate internationally on innovation, more collaborate through local innovation partnerships, which includes R&D partnerships. As such, potential opportunities exist for more South African firms to share skills, risk, and resources by expanding joint work with international partners. Where international collaboration is not taking place, the barriers preventing it need to be understood and addressed at policy level.
Data collected through the surveys, and their historic data series, inform decision-makers on investment planning, policy-making, advocacy, and research in South Africa. Data streams also add to benchmarking and performance comparisons with our international counterparts. Please note that some indicator totals may be subject to rounding errors.
“For policymakers to develop, implement and improve policies that facilitate adoption and diffusion while mitigating the potential associated risks, they need to understand the implications involved,” write Buchana, Sithole, and Majokweni (2022) in a new HSRC Policy Brief. “The main policy issue at hand is the absence of evidence-based policy instruments intended for facilitating the diffusion and use of these advanced ICTs in the agricultural sector.”
Yasser Buchana (PhD), Senior Research Specialist, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council | ybuchana[at]hsrc.ac.za
Moses M. Sithole (PhD), Research Director, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council | msithole[at]hsrc.ac.za
Pilela Majokweni, Senior Researcher, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council | pmajokweni[at]hsrc.ac.za
“Current policy instruments to promote innovation do not consider all of the drivers of innovation investment and success, and there is a need for a mix of tools – known as policy levers – that explicitly consider the differential impact of these drivers on product versus process innovation,” argues Kahn (2022) in a new HSRC Policy Brief.
What is the purpose of the Business Innovation Survey?
The Business Innovation Survey aims to deliver an internationally comparable report on innovation activities in key sectors of the South African economy. Survey results will play a vital role in policymaking for technology, innovation, and economic development.
Why has my company been selected to participate in this round of the Survey?
Statistics South Africa has drawn a random sample of 5,500 companies from the business register in line with its agreement on official national statistics with the Department of Science and Innovation—and your business was selected. The sample consists of a variety of businesses, ranging from very small to very large firms that operate in key industrial and services sectors. Sub-sectors covered by the survey include:
financial intermediation
research and development
wholesale and retail trade
manufacturing
architectural and engineering activities
technical testing and analysis
computer and related activities
mining and quarrying, and
electricity, gas and water supply.
What will my business gain from participating in the Survey?
A source of business intelligence, the Survey’s results can be used to benchmark your company’s innovation activities against other enterprises in your sector, both nationally and internationally. An added benefit of participation is the opportunity it presents for an internal review of potential business development areas that might not otherwise be explored. The results of previous South African innovation surveys are available online.
What does South Africa gain from my company’s participation in the Survey?
National business innovation surveys provide an essential source of data for evidence-informed policymaking. In addition, the 2019-2021 survey round is being undertaken so that results are internationally comparable.
Is there someone on the Survey’s team that can communicate in my mother tongue?
The fieldwork team, based at GeoScope in Durban, are ready to deal with the questions, comments or concerns of Survey respondents. Should you need to speak to one of the research assistants in your mother tongue, they will gladly assist you in South Africa’s official national languages.
How can I complete my company’s innovation survey questionnaire?
The Survey questionnaire can be self-completed online through the RedCap platform or via telephonic interview.
How will my company’s data be managed?
Captured data is stored on secure servers at the Human Sciences Research Council premises in Pretoria, South Africa. All HSRC and GeoScope staff who work on the survey have signed strict agreements on the confidentiality of the data. Your company’s details and firm-level data will not be shared with any third party.
The definition of innovation
What are the different types of innovation the Survey measures?
The South African Business Innovation Survey recognises two types of innovation in firms:
Product innovation (including both goods and/or services)
Process innovation
This section of the FAQ provides detailed explanations and examples of each, as well as examples of what would not be considered an innovation in each category.
What makes a product or process an “innovation”?
Most people picture an invention new to the world when they think of innovation. In fact, three criteria are important in defining an innovation:
Does the product or process represent significant change or improvement?
Is the product new to the firm?
Has the product or process been made available to users or potential users?
Identifying an innovation: Three key criteria
If the change meets these criteria, it can be considered an innovation. While a given change could be an innovation for one firm, the same change may not be an innovation for another firm. In answering the Business Innovation Survey, each firm has to decide for itself whether a particular change is new to the firm, whether the product or process has significantly improved, and whether it has been made available for use.
When does an innovation belong to an enterprise?
If an enterprise has internally developed and implemented its own significant changes.
If the enterprise has significantly improved or modified its existing products, processes, services, methods or delivery processes, either by internal development or by introducing a new idea from external sources.
If an enterprise has implemented a new or significantly improved change, which may have originated elsewhere, such as the head office or a subsidiary company, another company, sector or country.
What is a firm’s “innovation expenditure”?
Innovation expenditure is the amount of expenditure committed to innovation-relevant activities, including current expenditure (personnel, for example) and capital expenditure (for example, buildings or equipment). For the 2019-2021 round of the Survey, we request that you provide:
turnover data for two years (2019, 2021), and
expenditure data for one year.
If these data are not available to you when completing the questionnaire, please provide estimates. We also remind you that all firm-level data provided in this section of the questionnaire are kept strictly confidential and are not made public in any way.
Product innovation
What is a product innovation?
Product innovation relates to both goods and services. When a good or service is introduced to the firm and is new to that firm OR shows significant improvement with respect to the capabilities or planned uses, then the change represents a product innovation. A product innovation may include significant changes in technical specifications, components and materials, incorporated software, user experience, or other functional characteristics of the good or service.
Examples of product innovations that relate to goods and services in the industrial and services sectors
Goods
Services
Services sector
*Ticket automation for cash or pay card (e.g. parking systems) *New point of sale systems (e.g. scanner cash box) *Customised business software (e.g. anti-fraud software that profiles and tracks individual transactions) *New multimedia applications (e.g. tablet)
*New smartphone apps *New logistics services *Dial in services (e.g. goods delivery) *New or significantly improved insurance services (e.g. gap cover) *Remote software maintenance *Direct clearance with hospitals
Industrial sector
*Inclusion of eco-friendly products in product ranges *Introduction of client or loyalty cards *Changes to materials e.g. breathable textiles *New types of paper for specific printers *Improved purity of final mining product *Automated tunnel borers *Autonomous mine site infrastructure
*Online sales or direct sales to end-users *New kinds of product certification services *Combining solutions, such as technical and consulting services *Introduction of extended warrantees on new or used products *Remote software maintenance *New information technology applications for client servicing
What is NOT considered a product innovation?
Design changes that do not alter the function or technical characteristics of a good or service.
Routine upgrades, or minor changes or improvements.
Customisation for a single client that does not include significantly different attributes compared to products made for other clients.
Process innovation
What is a process innovation?
A process innovation relates to improvements in production methods, delivery methods, distribution methods, marketing methods, information systems, or organisational processes. For these process improvements to be considered innovations, they must be new to the firm OR significantly improved. These significant changes include those that relate to specific techniques, equipment and/or software that are intended to improve the quality, efficiency or flexibility of a production or supply activity or logistics, or changes that reduce environmental or safety hazards.
Examples of process innovations by sector
Services sector
*New online banking modules *Improved premium clearing systems *Electronic Data Interchange *CASE tools for customer-specific hardware *Introduction of software to identify optimal delivery routes *New or improved software or routines for purchasing, accounting or maintenance systems *A reduction in the number of management levels to create greater flexibility in decision-making *Integrated monitoring system for firm activities (e.g. production, finance, strategy or marketing) *The introduction of an organisational division to support new product development in a specific area *Bundling existing goods or services in new ways to appeal to market segments *Design of new consumer products (e.g. custom appliances)
Industrial sector
*Robotics *Digital printing processes *Automated packaging *Computerised equipment for quality control of production *Mapping by drone *Smart boreholes *Smart volts and vents *Installation of automated trucks and drill rigs
What is NOT considered a process innovation?
An increase in production or service capabilities through the addition of manufacturing or logistical systems that are similar to those already in use.
Changes in management strategy not linked to significant organisational change.
Introduction of new technology that has limited benefits or is restricted to a small division of the firm.
Routine or seasonal changes.
Minor updates in the appearance of packaging.
Advertising, unless based on the use of new media or a new advertising technique.
Thursday, 24 February 2022 – On 14 March 2022 South Africa’s official Business Innovation Survey gets underway with fieldworkers reaching out to 5 500 businesses over the next six months.
This will be the seventh time the survey takes place in South Africa, which is performed by the HSRC’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators for the Department of Science and Innovation.
Innovation is internationally recognised as a key driver of economic growth. It takes place in many businesses – big, small, micro and informal. Countries are best placed to solve wide-ranging social and economic challenges when innovative products and processes are adopted, and technological capacity is built.
Covering a three-year period, 2019 – 2021, the business innovation survey method uses international measurement tools to compare South Africa with other countries.
The survey collects information about a business’s innovations. This may include new products, new processes, as well as improvements to existing products or ways of working.
“South Africa faces considerable economic challenges, worsened by COVID-19. Measuring our capacity to innovate and thus grow our economy and increase employment is now especially relevant” says Dr Glenda Kruss, head of the CeSTII.
Business leaders will be contacted by fieldworkers from GeoScope, the HSRC’s fieldwork partner for the survey. The survey can be self-completed online or via telephonic interview.
Covering the period 2019 to 2021 the survey will collect data from the sample of enterprises drawn from the business register held by Statistics South Africa. It will include enterprises in: • mining • manufacturing • electricity, gas and water supply • services, including wholesale and retail trade • transport, storage and communication • financial intermediation • computer and related activities. • research and development • architectural and engineering activities • technical testing and analysis
“Societies that innovate, and create the conditions to nurture innovative practices, prosper and grow. South Africa has long recognised the importance of innovation and several public programmes support innovation,” says Senior Policy Analyst of the Department of Science Innovation, Kgomotso Matjila-Matlapeng.
“We thank the business sector for supporting this important research by contributing their time and insight when approached to participate. We will be guided by the results of the survey and look forward to sharing the findings.”
HSRC and partners would like to send their gratitude to the business sector for supporting this important research by contributing their time and insight when approached to participate.
The survey results will be analysed in 2022/23 and published in 2023.
Media briefing and knowledge-sharing webinar for journalists, industry association leaders, and business analysts
The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), together with the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), invite you to join this knowledge-sharing webinar to explore uses of innovation data for organisational decision-making and analysis, and for public knowledge purposes. Innovation scholars from South Africa will use practical examples to catalyse the conversation. The knowledge exchange will follow on from a media briefing with survey leaders announcing the start of fieldwork for the Business Innovation Survey 2019 – 2021.
Outside of public policy uses, South Africa’s innovation data are a unique and publicly available source of intelligence for leaders of industry associations, journalists, and business analysts. (To access the data sets, go to http://curation.hsrc.ac.za/Datasets-KDCAAA.phtml. For previous survey reports, go to http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/CeSTii/reports-cestii.) Depending on the type of analysis performed, new insights into the South African business environment can be generated using innovation data. Challenging common-sense perceptions of innovation, by using national innovation data, is important to developing more robust internal or public conversations.
Join this policy forum to explore new sources of evidence to strengthen agricultural innovation in South Africa. Engage with speakers playing key roles in the sectoral system, including in industry associations, universities, businesses, government, and the media.
Why this policy forum, now
The South African White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (2019) places the modernisation and strengthening of agriculture firmly on South African’s innovation agenda. Vital to food and job security, skills enhancement, and increased competitiveness across local and global markets, the case for strengthening agricultural innovation is compelling and urgent. Agricultural actors—such as producers (smallholder to large-scale farmers, loggers, and fishers), formal agribusinesses (small, medium, and large), industry associations, financial institutions, and policy actors—face diverse challenges. These include: addressing climate change; improving production, processing and market efficiency; ensuring product and facility certification and compliance; and enhancing absorptive capacity for new and emerging technologies, including 4IR. How, then, can the innovation policy agenda be advanced to strategically enable actors to address these and future challenges, and to provide adequate and timely responses that build resilience in this sector?
The evidence provided by South Africa’s first national Agricultural Business Innovation Survey, alongside, for example, the Statistics South Africa Census of Commercial Agriculture, represent key recent empirical contributions to ongoing policy discussions. Using the available data as one of the tools, this policy forum aims to address questions in agricultural innovation from the perspectives of three sub-sectors—farming, forestry, and fisheries, including the actors impacted—and explore routes to address a series of key questions.
Key questions
Do existing science, technology and innovation (STI) policy instruments support innovation activity in South African agribusinesses as effectively as they could? Are there types of innovation that do not occur on a wide enough scale, or are ‘below the radar’, that we should promote systematically? What are the different strategies required to promote the distinctive patterns of innovation in different agricultural sub-sectors?
In different agricultural sub-sectors, do we need specific funding instruments for R&D-led innovation, technological upgrading, and organisation or non-technological innovation to transform the agricultural, food and nutrition system in a more targeted manner? How can DSI coordinate and align its policy, strategies and interventions with other stakeholders in the agricultural system of innovation, including related government departments, science councils and universities, financial institutions, and industry associations, to address the barriers and constraints?
Join survey practitioners, scholars of innovation indicators, and users of innovation data for policy making or programming to learn more about current methodological imperatives shaping innovation measurement.
Why this seminar, now
Business innovation surveys are commonly used by both state and non-state actors to understand firm dynamics and to generate evidence in support of economic and innovation policy mixes. Where business innovation surveys follow the subject-based approach (OECD, 2018), as is predominantly the case, representative information on both the scale and types of innovation at firm-level as well as the drivers of and barriers to innovation, can be produced and analysed. Recent analysis, however, points to substantial measurement error risks in firm-level innovation surveys (Cirera & Muzi, 2020; Arundel et al, 2013). With a focus on recent empirical work using World Bank (WB) Enterprise Survey data, as well as a recent WB technology adoption survey, this seminar will delve into the issue of innovation measurement error, as well as key methodological imperatives that performers of firm-level innovation surveys can consider in improving survey performance. Discussant reflections will incorporate the experiences from South African Business Innovation Surveys, performed by the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII), since the early 2000s.
Kgomotso Matjila-Matlapeng, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Science and Innovation
Michael Ehst, Senior Private Sector Specialist, World Bank
15h10 | Introduction by seminar moderator
Dr Glenda Kruss, Executive Head: Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council
15h20 | Measuring innovation using firm-level surveys: Presentation of new evidence from developing countries
Dr Xavier Cirera, Firms, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit, World Bank
Dr Silvia Muzi, Enterprise Analysis Unit, World Bank
15h50 | Experiences from two decades of South African Business Innovation Surveys, 2002-present: Reflections from practice
Dr Moses Sithole, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council
Dr Amy Kahn, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council
16h20 | Open dialogue
16h50 | Concluding remarks
Prof. Fred Gault, UNU-MERIT/Tshwane University of Technology & Chair: CeSTII Advisory Committee
We are pleased to invite you join this HSRC Seminar Series event, which is arranged with support from the South African Department of Science and Innovation and in collaboration with the World Bank.
For more information or to contact the organisers please write to gralphs[at]hsrc.ac.za.
Acknowledgement and disclaimer: This seminar is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). The views and opinions expressed therein as well as findings and statements of the seminar series do not necessarily represent the views of the DSI. Please also note that this seminar may be recorded and published on the HSRC podcast channel.
The South African manufacturing and services sectors remain squarely in the crosshairs of economic and industrial policy makers and, equally, business leaders and sector analysts. Whether to stimulate much-needed growth, as in the case of the manufacturing sector, or to adapt to widespread technological change, as in the case of services firms, the argument for a reimagined industrial strategy could not be more compelling or urgent.
In this context, innovation is centrally positioned as both a key engine of development and a catalyst for growth. However, little is known about the impacts of innovation on productivity in manufacturing and services businesses in South Africa, with studies focussing mainly on the role of R&D.
Showcasing new econometric modelling, using data from the South African Business Innovation Survey, 2014-2016, the seminar will delve into relationships between different types of technological and non-technological innovation and business productivity. Policy issues and questions for discussion with national and sector stakeholders include: what factors or firm characteristics influence the decision to innovate? What support mechanisms incentivise innovation? Is the relationship between innovation and productivity always positive?
Date: 23 June 2021 | Time: 12h30 – 14h00 | Hosted on: Zoom
Moderator:Godfrey Mashamba, Deputy Director-General: Evaluation, Evidence and Knowledge Systems, Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME)
Discussant:Saul Levin, Director: Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS)
Presenters:
Dr Amy Kahn project manages the Business Innovation Survey at CeSTII. Her research at CeSTII has focused primarily on R&D, innovation and productivity in South African firms. She graduated with a PhD in Economics at the University of Cape Town in 2020 and has several years of experience running large scale socio-economic surveys in South Africa and East Africa.
Dr Atoko Kasongo is a statistician in CeSTII providing statistical support to all Centre projects. She has a research interest in R&D and innovation, as well as financial sector economics. She graduated with a PhD in Economics at the University of the Western Cape Town in April 2020, and has many years of experience in the academic arena working as a lecturer.
This seminar is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). The views and opinions expressed therein as well as findings and statements of the seminar series do not necessarily represent the views of the DSI. Please also note that this seminar may be recorded and published on the HSRC podcast channel.
Produced by the HSRC’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) for the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Survey delivers national data on the formal agricultural business sector’s innovation performance in the three-year reference period.
The Innovation in the South African Informal Sector Survey, 2017-2018 (IIS) was released on 30 March 2021 at a workshop jointly organised by the HSRC’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) and the HSRC’s Centre for Community-based Research (CCBR), based in Sweetwaters, KwaZulu-Natal.
This high level, evidence-led virtual discussion on innovation and innovation measurement in South Africa on 28 August 2020 will feature key speakers from government, business, universities and civil society.
The eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 has resulted in rapid pivoting across government, business and civil society, as actors adapt to the plethora of new threats, risks, and opportunities. As the outbreak deepens in South Africa, the role of innovation cannot be overstated in evidence-led planning for the country’s economic recovery. South Africa’s White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation, published in 2019, articulates a clear role of innovation in promoting sustainable and inclusive development in a changing world. It is therefore vital to interrogate the evidence we have on innovation, in order to inform the optimal policy mixes, which are fast-changing in relation to the urgencies presented by national and global, but also sectoral, COVID-19 responses.
This high-level policy forum will bring together high-level actors in a virtual setting to:
Launch the 2020 South African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators report produced by the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI)
Present the latest reviews of the National Research and Development Strategy (NRDS) and the Ten Year Innovation Plan recently conducted by NACI
Share on new data sets produced by the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators on behalf of the Department of Science and Innovation, including the Business Innovation Survey, 2014-2016, the Agricultural Business Innovation Survey, 2016-2018, and the Baseline Survey of Innovation in the Informal Economy 2018
Reflect on the role of indicators in monitoring the state of the National System of Innovation (NSI), by drawing in key perspectives from business, government, civil society and universities, and explore using evidence how South Africa’s NSI is geared towards inclusive and sustainable development
In 2020, we invite thought leaders and decision-makers from business, government, higher education, industry and civil society to consider their experiences and challenges, to highlight critical issues for measurement and policy-making going forward.
Key questions
What role can and should innovation play in South Africa’s recovery post-COVID?
What adaptations to current policy mixes should be explored, based on new evidence?
Do we have the right kinds of innovation measures appropriate to the South African context?
What have we learned about innovation from the experience of pivoting to the changes brought by COVID, across business, civil society, universities and government?
Are South African businesses innovating quickly – and strategically – enough to improve their performance in the short to medium term? The results of the South African Business Innovation Survey, 2014-2016, released earlier in July 2020 by the Department of Science and Innovation, can help to answer this question.
Public policy debate about South Africa’s economy right now has tended to focus overwhelmingly on big picture explanations and recovery plans. Missing from this debate is a micro perspective, which places the emphasis on firm-level decisions and how these decisions ultimately drive or constrain business growth.
This is a harder discussion to enter into because of the evidence barrier in firms that are not publicly traded. Usefully, South Africa’s national business innovation surveys, which have been carried out since the 1990s, collect data retrospectively from businesses across the industrial and services sectors, through surveying a random sample of formal businesses, stratified by sector and size-class.
This method ensures that survey results can be extrapolated statistically to the national population of businesses, resulting in unique and vital data for business leaders, industry lobbyists and government policy-makers, as well as for international comparison.
Most South African businesses do actually innovate
At the aggregate level, the 2014-2016 survey results paint a promising picture of an innovative formal business sector. That is, 69.9% of businesses were trying to innovate through, for example, performing research and development (R&D), training their staff, or purchasing new tech and equipment. And nearly all (96%) of these “innovation-active” businesses actually ended up with an innovation.
An innovation, as measured by the survey, refers to the introduction to market of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or the use of new or significantly improved process (methods for the production or supply of goods and services).
From this definition, which comes to us from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) statistical handbook for innovation surveys, the Oslo Manual, the focus is both on novelty (new or improved) and implementation (introduction to market or firm).
Looking back at the 2014-2016 period, businesses spent 1.97 % of the total turnover on innovation activities. Product innovations were found in 48.2% of South African businesses and process innovations in 34.6% of businesses. Marketing and organisational innovation was also reported for 41.7% and 42.0% of businesses, respectively.
Encouragingly, businesses that were trying to implement products and/or processes during the period 2014-2016 reported positive product, process and market outcomes of innovation.
For instance, improved quality of goods and services was considered by most (38.0%) of these businesses as a highly successful outcome of innovation, followed by increased revenue (31.8%), and improved profit margins (30.9%).
Improved health and safety (27.0%) and reduction in environmental impacts (23.3%) were also rated by these businesses as highly important, compared to financial and quality outcomes.
By contrast, entering new export markets or increased export market share was reported as a highly important outcome by only 7.5% of these product and/or process innovators.
Execution of innovation could be faster
A deeper dive into the data, however, points to some issues that should concern leaders from business, industry associations and government.
Key among these issues is that 80.5% of business turnover in 2016 (down from 85% in the 2005-2007 results), was generated from products that were marginally modified or unchanged, with the balance of turnover generated from products new to the market (10.8%), new to the business (7.0%), or new to the world (1.8%).
Put differently, at the end of a three-year period, only about 20% of total sales were brought about by new or improved goods or services (innovations), and less than 2.0% were accounted for by products considered by respondents as first-of-its-kind in the world.
Commentators may argue that businesses may just have been benefiting from innovations carried out prior to the survey reference period, or that innovation – especially R&D-led innovation – takes time to “bear fruit”.
These are both legitimate explanations, though would bring little comfort to businesses facing down uncertainty brought about by global dynamics and “exogenous shocks”, like the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indeed, in the current era of rapid change, driven to a large extent by technological advancement, the pace of innovation in some sectors can result in dramatic consequences for businesses and entire industries. There are countless examples of disruptive or radical innovations that demonstrate this.
For example, it took Uber’s founders just five years from 2009 to launch ride-hailing services in all the major global capitals, including the South African service in 2013, resulting in what, by 2019, was a business with assets in excess of $30-billion.
In this context, the company innovated relentlessly, introducing Uber Eats in 2014 and a plethora of market-specific services, like auto rickshaw rides on UberAuto in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Equally, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced massive layoffs by Uber, about 14% of its workforce, and closed 45 offices, in a bid to keep the company afloat.
And yet, in this extremely challenging business context, the launch of Uber Cash in South Africa in June 2020, represents just one example of how the company is using innovation to pivot towards new business growth opportunities.
Strategy is key
In the context of the current global Covid-19 pandemic, which is fundamentally changing how businesses operate, South African businesses may need to change how they innovate in order to survive this “new normal”.
Working more collaboratively, for example, could be one strategy. The 2014-2016 survey results show that less than 10% of innovative businesses partnered with government research institutes (8%), universities (6.8%), or private research institutions (4.9%) to develop their innovations during 2014-2016. Indeed, leveraging synergies between formal knowledge producers, such as universities, and businesses through co-creation of innovations is an area of focus for the South African SME fund.
Additionally, reflection on the type of innovation activities in which to invest, against the survey’s data disaggregated by sector could inform firm-level strategy development processes.
It’s worth pointing out that innovation surveys also assess the constraints faced by businesses in deciding whether or not to innovate.
In 2014-2016, for example, financial barriers such as a lack of funds, or a lack of credit, coupled with market barriers, such as markets dominated by established businesses, impacted on innovation decision-making.
Much less significant, in this regard, were institutional factors such as legislation, regulation, standards and taxation, or lack of skills.
It is knowledge of these barriers, and other indicators delivered by a national innovation survey, that provides a critical starting point for businesses and government to consider how to support innovation within the formal business sector.
Within the context of the country’s economic recovery, leaders across the political, corporate and small business landscape would do well to consider this data, as well as the analysis thereof, as part of their decision-making toolboxes. DM/BM
Dr Moses Sithole, a mathematician and statistician, is Research Director at the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators at South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council. Dr Yasser Buchana is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators at the Human Sciences Research Council. Gerard Ralphs is Policy Analyst and Programme Manager at the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators at the Human Sciences Research Council.
The ‘one good thing’ caused by COVID-19, according to a recent Harvard Business School publication by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso, is that it has catalysed innovation. This is apparent in South Africa too, where businesses are introducing changes to mitigate the risks of the pandemic. They are adjusting their practices and strategies, introducing new technologies, products and designs, and determining how they can use digital and automated technologies.
But will they last?
The country’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, with the Department of Science and Technology and Statistics South Africa, has released the latest national business innovation survey. The survey helps to answer critical questions facing business leaders, industry groups and government policy-makers. The data can help the country’s understanding of the innovation taking place in businesses, so that more firms can be encouraged to innovate. The survey covered the period 2014 -2016.
How innovative are South African firms and what types of innovation have they implemented?
The survey found that innovation was pervasive across all sectors, but particularly in engineering and technology, manufacturing and trade. A high percentage – nearly 70% – of South African businesses were innovation-active. This meant that they had taken some scientific, technological, organisational, financial or commercial steps towards implementing an innovation. The proportion of innovation-active businesses compares favourably with trends in OECD countries.
But, to respond to current challenges, it is critical to understand what kinds of innovation firms are able to implement, and whether the kinds of benefits that result from them can contribute to business strategies and to inclusive and sustainable growth.
What types of innovation have firms implemented?
Innovation surveys typically measure four types of innovation. These are product, process, organisational and marketing.
The survey found that there were distinct patterns of these types of innovation in different economic sectors.
For example, mining and utilities businesses reflected low levels of innovation. For its part, manufacturing had the largest proportion of businesses with product innovation (59.8%) and marketing innovation (43.4%).
Process innovation was most prominent in logistics businesses (61.7%). More finance (52.0%) and manufacturing (49.1%) businesses reported organisational innovations than businesses in any other sector.
Each type of innovation requires specific forms of support.
Businesses most typically invested in innovation activities that helped them to prepare for technological and organisational change. They did this by training their workforces and investing in new information technology capabilities (Figure 1).
For both the industrial and services sectors, the biggest-ticket item of innovation spend was the acquisition of machinery and equipment.
Figure 1.
A substantial number of innovation-active businesses reported the use or development of advanced new technologies. These included computerised design and engineering, material handling, supply chain and logistics technologies, business intelligence technologies, and green technologies (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
These innovation capabilities suggest that there is a foundation for promoting more innovation that can lead to more positive economic outcomes.
The benefits
Innovation was less likely to have an immediate impact on turnover, and was far more likely to be incremental than radical.
Innovations with high degrees of novelty, such as new to the market or to the world products, did not have a strong effect on the turnover of the businesses that reported product innovations. So, just over 80% of their turnover was generated by goods and services that were unchanged or marginally modified. This was in contrast to a product that was new to the market (10.8%), new to the business (7.0%), or new to the world (1.8%).
Quality improvement was the top-rated innovation outcome for innovation-active businesses. Improved quality of goods and services was considered by 38.0% of product and process innovators as a highly successful outcome of innovation. This was followed by increased revenue (31.8%) and improved profit margins (30.9%).
Similarly, for nearly 50% of organisational innovators, improved quality was the main innovation outcome.
Entering new export markets – or increased export market share – as a highly successful innovation outcome was reported by only 7.5% of product and process innovators.
Innovation-active businesses also accessed national and global markets more than their counterparts with no activity. This included markets in the rest of Africa, Europe and Asia. Businesses with innovation activity were more likely to have sold their goods and services on national markets (58.1%), when compared to non-innovation-active businesses (37.7%).
Firms that were not innovation active were more restricted in their reach. They accessed selected provincial markets (57.4%) more than any other market.
The challenge is to grow the scale and range of types of innovation, to ensure that such outcomes and benefits are more widespread across more sectors and businesses.
Solutions
Businesses’ perceptions of the barriers to innovation were grouped into four sets of factors. (See Figure 3.) These provide critical insights into potential spaces for intervention.
The most significant barriers relate to market factors. These include market dominance of established firms, too much competition, and uncertain demand. For non-innovation-active businesses, the most widely reported barrier was a lack of demand for innovation.
To address these barriers requires stimulation of new and expanded markets. In the South African case this requires structural economic reforms. There are a number of steps government can take. It can, for example, ensure that regulatory conditions are more conducive for creating new businesses. It can also improve the transport and communication infrastructure.
Government also has an important role in stimulating demand in the context of the economic, social and health challenges of COVID 19.
Cost factors were also significant. These ranged from the costs of innovation being too high, to lack of funds for innovation within the business or from external sources such as government or private equity.
The vast majority of innovation-active businesses relied on their own funds to innovate (77.0%). Only 1.7% relied on government as a source of funds.
This points to the fact that public sector funding can be targeted more effectively to stimulate innovation. Examples include the new Sovereign Innovation Fund proposed in the 2020 budget or the R&D tax incentive.
But it’s equally important to create conditions that make private equity funding more attractive.
Knowledge factors were not as significant. Nevertheless, strengthening the link between innovation and skills development strategies would be valuable.
Institutional factors, such as legislation, regulatory and intellectual property rights frameworks, and infrastructure were not perceived as significant barriers.
Figure 3.
Way forward
In local, national and global contexts, rapidly advancing digital technologies and their applications have opened up the space for innovations as yet unimagined in products, processes, marketing and organisation.
The evidence from the business innovation survey is an invaluable opportunity to reflect on where South Africa’s innovation strengths and challenges lie. It also opens the door to interrogate how existing policies and funding mechanisms can be used more effectively to facilitate business innovation in the country.
8 July 2020 – South African Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande, today released the results of the 2014-2016 Business Innovation Survey.
Produced by the HSRC’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) for the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Survey delivers national data on the formal business sector’s innovation performance in the three-year reference period.
“In our current COVID-19 context, these results help us to reflect on the distinctive nature of innovation in South Africa, and point toward spaces for policy intervention so that we can encourage more firms in all economic sectors to innovate,” says Executive Head of CeSTII, Dr Glenda Kruss.
“To respond to the current economic, ecological and health challenges, we need to understand what kinds of innovation firms are able to implement, and whether the kinds of benefits that result from these forms of innovation can contribute to firms’ business strategies and to inclusive and sustainable growth.”
Alongside the annual R&D Survey, the HSRC has performed national innovation surveys since CeSTII was established in the early 2000s.
“South African innovation surveys follow the widely adopted OECD Oslo Manual methodology to enable international comparisons, and are conducted using a random sample of businesses stratified by size-class and across across the industrial and services sectors,” according to Dr Moses Sithole, CeSTII Research Director and the Survey’s technical lead.
“Data is then weighted to reflect innovation performance across the national population of businesses in those sectors, allowing for a unique snapshot of innovation performance in the formal economy.”
Adds Kruss: “The survey provides critical data on the kinds of barriers that prevent more firms from innovating, whether relating to cost, market, knowledge or institutional factors.”
“We tend to promote ‘islands of excellence’, the small number of firms that innovate at the technology frontier in ways that are new to the world. Most firms however, utilize incremental innovations that marginally modify their existing products and processes, or that are new to the firm and local market. So, it is essential to design policy support mechanisms that can mitigate the constraints on these incremental forms of innovation more widely across the business sector.”
Watch media briefing
South African Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande, addresses media on on 8 July 2020 on measures implemented by the National System of Innovation and Higher Education in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.
“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?
Nigeria and South Africa are Africa’s largest economies, with a combined GDP that rivals those of all other African nations together. However, GDP growth rates in both countries have stalled in recent years, and major societal ills persist. As middle-income economies that have made a transition from primary industry to services-based growth, Nigeria and South Africa’s innovation performance should concern policy-makers.
As the manufacturing sector comparison illustrates, while firms in both countries use technology acquisition as the key innovation strategy to improve the quantity and quality of their value propositions, Nigerian and South African firms face critical financial and other barriers to innovation.
The services sector comparison illustrates that while services firms in both countries use training and technology acquisition as key innovation strategies to improve the quantity and quality of their value propositions, Nigerian and South African firms face critical financial and other barriers to innovation.
Behind the numbers
These fact sheets represent a joint product of the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) at South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council and Nigeria’s National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM).
They were produced during a research visit to South Africa by NACETEM’s Dr Abiodun Egbetokun in May 2019, which was sponsored by the InterAcademy Partnership.
Both CeSTII and NACETEM are responsible for the production of science, technology and innovation indicators. Data is drawn from the South African Business Innovation Survey (2008) and from the Nigerian Business Innovation Survey (2010).
Both surveys were conducted using the OECD’s Oslo Manual, allowing for international comparability of data. GDP data was sourced from Statistics South Africa and Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics.
About CeSTII and NACETEM
CeSTII is a policy research institute of the Human Sciences Research Council, which performs national studies on R&D and innovation on behalf of the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Learn more
Contact Dr Glenda Kruss | gkruss[at]hsrc.ac.za
NACETEM is an agency of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Science and Technology that provides critical knowledge support in the area of STI management for sustainable development. Learn more
Contact Prof. Okechukwu Ukwuoma | dg.ceo[at]nacetem.gov.ng
The Human Sciences Research Council undertakes national science, technology and innovation surveys, in terms of the Statistics Act (No. 6 of 1999). In May 2019, we rolled out fieldwork in the first ever SA Agricultural Business Innovation Survey, covering 2016 – 2018 and including farming, forestry and fisheries.
Between May and August, our research team will collect data from nearly 1,700 agricultural companies, from small to large businesses.
Watch ‘The Future of Farming’ (The Daily Conversation, by Bryce Plank and Robin West, Wall Street Journal), for a perspective on agricultural innovations shaping the future of farming.
The story of SA’s innovation surveys
Effective policy-making requires high quality evidence. The Department of Science and Technology (now merged with the Department of Higher Education and Training), as a partner within the national statistics system, is mandated to oversee the collection of statistics on science, technology and innovation. Since 2002, CeSTII has performed business innovation surveys for the Department.
Watch Dr Glenda Kruss, director of the SA Agricultural Business Innovation Survey 2016 – 2018, talk about why innovations surveys are performed in South Africa.
What is the purpose of the Agricultural Business Innovation Survey?
Commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology, and performed by the Human Sciences Research Council, the Agricultural Business Innovation Survey aims to deliver an internationally comparable report on innovation activities in South African agriculture, including farming, forestry and fisheries. Survey results will play a vital role in policymaking for technology, innovation, and economic development.
Why has my company been selected to participate in this round of the Survey?
Statistics South Africa has drawn a random sample of 1,690 agricultural firms from the business register in line with its agreement on official national statistics with the Department of Science and Technology—and your firm was selected. The sample consists of a variety of businesses, ranging from very small to very large firms that operate in agricultural sub-sectors. Sub-sectors covered by the survey include: agriculture (crops, wineries, livestock and poultry), forestry, and fisheries.
What will my business gain from participating in the Survey?
A source of business intelligence, the Survey’s results can be used to benchmark your company’s innovation activities against other agricultural firms in your sector, both nationally and internationally. An added benefit of participation is the opportunity it presents for an internal review of potential business development areas that might not otherwise be explored. The results of previous South African innovation surveys are available online
(http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/cestii/latest-results).
Will my company’s participation contribute to a national perspective on innovation in South Africa?
National business innovation surveys provide an essential source of data for evidence-informed policymaking towards increased inclusive economic growth and competitiveness. This is the first time South Africa will measure innovation in agricultural enterprises, filling an important gap.
Is there someone on the Survey’s team that can communicate in my mother tongue?
Our research assistants are ready to deal with the questions, comments or concerns of Survey respondents. Should you need to speak to one of the research assistants in your mother tongue, they will gladly assist you in South Africa’s official national languages.
I would prefer to print out the completed questionnaire and return it via post. How can I do that?
Should you wish to submit your survey response via the postal services, please notify one of our research assistants, who will dispatch a questionnaire
and business reply envelope to your physical address, which you can use to return your questionnaire to us. Alternatively, please send your questionnaire to:
Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators
Human Sciences Research Council
Agricultural Business Innovation Survey 2016 – 2018
PO Box 15200
Vlaeberg
8018
I would prefer to complete the questionnaire electronically. How can I do that?
The Survey questionnaire is available to be completed and submitted online, as well as via an Adobe Acrobat form that you can save and email to us. The online tool allows respondents to save progress and return later using a ‘Return Code’, which will be automatically issued to you when you save. Should you have any problems submitting your firm’s response to the survey, please contact innovation@hsrc.ac.za.
How will my company’s data be managed?
Questionnaires are stored in secure rooms and captured data is stored on secure servers at the Human Sciences Research Council premises in Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa. All staff who work on the survey have signed strict agreements on the confidentiality of the data. Your company’s details and firm-level data will not be shared with any third party.
What are the different types of innovation the Survey measures?
The South African Agricultural Business Innovation Survey recognises four types of innovation in firms: 1. Product innovation (including both goods and/or services); 2. Process innovation; 3. Organisational innovation; 4. Marketing innovation. This section of the FAQ provides detailed explanations and examples of each, as well as examples of what would not be considered an innovation in each category.
What makes a product or business activity an “innovation”?
Most people picture an invention new to the world when they think of innovation. In fact, two criteria are important in defining an innovation: 1. Does the product or activity represent significant change or improvement? AND/OR 2. Is the activity or product new to the firm? If the change meets either or both of these criteria, it can be considered an innovation. While a given change could be an innovation for one firm, the same change may not be an innovation for another firm. In answering the Agricultural Business Innovation Survey, each firm has to decide for itself whether a particular change is new to the firm and/or whether the product, process or service has significantly improved.
When does an innovation belong to an enterprise?
If an enterprise has internally developed and implemented its own significant changes.
If the enterprise has significantly improved or modified its existing products, processes, services, methods or delivery processes, either by internal development or by introducing a new idea from external sources.
If an enterprise has implemented a new or significantly improved change, which may have originated elsewhere, such as the head office or a subsidiary company, another company, sector or country.
What is a product innovation?
Product innovation relates to both goods and services. When a good or service is introduced to the firm and is new to that firm OR shows significant improvement with respect to the capabilities or planned uses, then the change represents a product innovation. A product innovation may include significant changes in technical specifications, components and materials, incorporated software, user experience, or other functional characteristics of the good or service.
Examples of product innovations that relate to goods and services in the agricultural sector
GOODS
Customised business software (e.g. farm management software)
Inclusion of eco-friendly products in product ranges
Automated harvesters
New wood, furniture or paper varieties
New wine blends
Drought-resistant seeds
Products with enhanced shelf-life
Bio-energy or bio-fuels
SERVICES
Customised business software (e.g. farm management software)
Inclusion of eco-friendly products in product ranges
Automated harvesters
New wood, furniture or paper varieties
New wine blends
Drought-resistant seeds
Products with enhanced shelf-life
Bio-energy or bio-fuels
What is NOT considered a product innovation?
Design changes that do not alter the function or technical characteristics of a good
or service.
Routine upgrades, or minor changes or improvements.
Customisation for a single client that does not include significantly different attributes compared to products made for other clients.
What is a process innovation?
A process innovation relates to improvements in production methods, delivery methods or distribution methods. For these process improvements to be considered innovations, they must be new to the firm OR significantly improved. These significant changes include those that relate to specific techniques, equipment and/or software, changes that are intended to improve the quality, efficiency or flexibility of a production or supply activity or logistics, or changes that reduce environmental or safety hazards.
Examples of process innovations by sector
Predictive data analytics
Introduction of software to identify optimal farming practices (e.g. smart irrigation)
New or improved software or routines for purchasing, accounting or maintenance systems
Robotics and sensors
Vertical farming, Micro farming, hydroponics
Automated packaging
Computerised equipment for quality control of production
Mapping by drone
Smart boreholes
Installation of automated trucks and drill rigs
Radio Frequency Identity Tags
What is NOT considered a process innovation?
An increase in production or service capabilities through the addition of manufacturing or logistical systems that are similar to those already in use.
What is an organisational innovation?
An organisational innovation is intended to significantly improve the firm’s innovative capacity or performance characteristics. This can encompass significant changes in workplace organisation, business practices or external relations implemented in the firm.
Examples of organisational innovations
A reduction in the number of management levels to create greater flexibility in decision-making.
Integrated monitoring system for firm activities (e.g. production, finance, strategy or marketing).
The introduction of an organisational division to support new product development in a specific area.
What is NOT considered an organisational innovation?
Changes in management strategy not linked to significant organisational change.
Introduction of new technology that has limited benefits or is restricted to a small division of the firm.
What is a marketing innovation?
The implementation of a significant change in sales and marketing methods would qualify as marketing innovation. “Significant” would include improved product appearance and packaging that is intended to increase product appeal and/or consumer awareness.
Examples of marketing innovation
Bundling existing goods or services in new ways to appeal to market segments
What is NOT considered a marketing innovation?
Routine or seasonal changes.
Minor updates in the appearance of packaging.
Advertising, unless based on the use of new media or a new advertising technique.
The Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) and the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) are pleased to invite participation in an innovation data hackathon taking place from 11-13 September 2018.
“By working in new and creative ways with user communities such as firms, policy makers, media houses, and researchers, this effort represents a significant opportunity for CeSTII to widen participation in and deepen knowledge of the country’s innovation data, which is vital to a more innovative South Africa,” says CeSTII director, Dr Glenda Kruss.
Join a hackathon team, or join the audience
There are limited spaces for individuals to join a multidisciplinary hackathon team of six people per team, and to take part in a facilitated process including a technical briefing, hands-on team mentorship by experts, and a final pitch and judge session.
“NACI will incorporate the inputs from the multidisciplinary teams that are participating at this hackathon event to improve the user experiences of the NSTIIP and also for its upscaling,” says Dr Petrus Letaba, the NSTIIP’s project manager.
But there is also an option for interested parties to join the hackathon audience as ‘critical friends’.
“We know that businesses, industry associations, government policymakers, research institutions and the media all have a stake in a strong national innovation dataset,” says hackathon lead facilitator, Dr Pieter Van Heyningen.
“So we are also looking for a strong cohort of people from these groups to help us guide the teams, either as active mentors or as part of our hackathon audience for the opening and closing sessions.”
Says Van Heyningen: “This hackathon is in fact a rare chance for researchers, innovation managers, journalists, creatives, and web developers from diverse sectoral backgrounds, working in a fully catered for space, to rapidly expand their networks and collaboration capacities, while making innovation data work better for the user groups that need it most.”
Hackathon contacts
For more information or if you have questions, write to:
Gerard Ralphs, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human Sciences Research Council gralphs[at]hsrc.ac.za, 021 466 8000
Dr Petrus Letaba, National Advisory Council on Innovation, petrus.letaba[at]dst.gov.za
Dr Pieter Van Heyningen, SustNet, pieter@sustnet.com
