Innovation policy key to Vision 2030

Pave Mutambura

It is heartening that the Second Republic is not only convinced, but also totally committed to growing a vibrant national innovation ecosystem.

President Mnangagwa has been the mainstay and change champion for the Second Republic’s innovation-driven Government, industry and academia partnership matrix, which has resulted in a now-maturing Zimbabwe national innovation ecosystem.

This is an ecosystem of entrepreneurship, innovation and venture development relationships to achieve Vision 2030.

With the second edition of the annual Presidential Innovation Fair having been held last month, President Mnangagwa has crafted a definitive innovation legacy for generations to come.

In addition to this, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, through her Angel of Hope Foundation, has been pragmatic in her national engagements, rolling out scores of innovation hubs at all levels across the length and breadth of the country.

Innovation policies are usually guided by broad-based visions in acts such as technological self-reliance, nurturing and retaining critical human capital and increasing the number of full-time researchers.

There is need for the establishment of a Zimbabwe national research foundation, which will operate as the highest body providing strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in all human endeavours.

It is also vital to establish a Zimbabwe innovation policy institute.

This should be complemented by the establishment of a national innovation, entrepreneurship and venture development observatory that will act as a central repository for all kinds of data related to and generated from the national innovation ecosystem.

As such, the ecosystem will accommodate a comprehensive, open and centralised database platform for all financial schemes, programmes, grants and incentives.

Also, the establishment of a comprehensive Zimbabwe open science, technology, engineering and medicine framework will provide access to scientific data.

The creation of a dedicated portal that will provide access to the output of publicly funded research will be done through either a newly established Zimbabwean science and technology archive of research or any other existing vehicle for the same purpose.

Additionally, all final versions of manuscripts supported through public funding will be deposited with an institutional or central repository.

This policy will provide various pathways for the Government to engage in negotiations with journal publishers for a “one nation, one subscription” policy whereby, in return for one centrally negotiated payment, all individuals in Zimbabwe will have access to articles in the publication.

There is also need for development of strategies to improve science and technology innovation education, thus making it inclusive at all levels and more connected with the economy and society.

This will be achieved through skill building, training and infrastructure development.

Engaged universities will be promoted to interdisciplinary research capacity level to address community needs.

To expand the financial landscape of the national innovation ecosystem, each Government department, public sector enterprise and even the private sector should set up an innovation ecosystem unit with a minimum budget to pursue innovation activities.

Each province will earmark a percentage of the State allocation for innovation-related activities under a separate budget head.

Foreign companies can collaborate with domestic entities on projects aligned to national needs and priorities.

Innovation investments should be enhanced by boosting fiscal incentives and enhancing support to industry, especially small and medium enterprises, for purposes of pursuing research through support schemes.

Hybrid funding models with enhanced participation from public and private sectors will be created through the advanced missions in the innovative research ecosystem initiative.

To ensure systematic governance of the expanded science, technology and innovation financing landscape, there will be need to set up an innovation development bank to facilitate a corpus fund for direct long-term investments in strategic areas.

There will be need to amend the general financial regulations for large-scale mission-mode programmes and projects of national importance and to facilitate ease of doing research.

The Zimbabwe innovation policy should be clear on its mechanics of fostering science and technology-enabled entrepreneurship and improving participation of the grassroots in the research and innovation ecosystem.

The establishment of institutional architectures that integrate Zimbabwe’s traditional knowledge systems and grassroots innovations is a must.

Salient collaborations between grassroots innovators and scientists will have to be facilitated through joint research projects, fellowships and scholarships.

Grassroots innovators should also be supported for registration with the Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office and other relevant bodies.

To achieve Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, a two-way approach of indigenous development of technology and technology indigenisation will have to be adopted in alignment with national priorities.

There is need to constitute a strategic technology board that will ultimately link different strategic departments.

An inclusive culture will have to be facilitated through equal opportunities for women, along with candidates from remote areas, marginalised communities and differently abled individuals.

In order to improve the quality of science teaching, engagements between science communication and science pedagogy will also be thoroughly facilitated.

Engagement with the diaspora will have to be intensified by attracting the best and relevant talent back home through fellowships, internships and research opportunities.

A strong innovation collaboration framework to strengthen existing channels and create new ones for enhanced interconnectedness among all relevant stakeholders at both domestic and global levels will need to be created.

The innovation policy should outline the institutional mechanism for innovation policy governance, along with the implementation strategy and roadmap.

To serve all the aspects of innovation policy governance and to provide the knowledge support to institutionalised governance mechanisms, a Zimbabwe innovation policy institute will have to be established.

Implementation framework

The implementation strategy will be devised through a robust institutional mechanism.

The implementing agencies will be guided by this mechanism in landscape analysis, institutional mapping and identification of stakeholders and resources.

Coordinated actions across a range of actors with a proactive leadership and a culture of collaboration across the innovation landscape will have to be fostered.

Once the roadmap for the implementation is developed, the implementing agencies will focus on capacity-building.

The Zimbabwe innovation policy institute will provide knowledge support to different innovation departments and agencies.

The innovation policy and programme milestones to be achieved will be set at the outset by the implementing agency with the guidance of the Zimbabwe innovation policy institute.

From the beginning of implementation and throughout the process, systemic communication to share the information and feedback on the process will be ensured.

Monitoring, evaluation and feedback framework

The creation of digital platforms for monitoring, impact assessment, accounting and other analyses of innovation initiatives will be very important.

A working feedback mechanism needs to be established.

It is of paramount importance that baseline and mid-term reviews be conducted and a transparent reporting mechanism be put in place.

 The writer is an innovation, entrepreneurship and venture development evangelist. She can be contacted on: [email protected]