Comment 8.1
Philippe Mawoko
African Observatory for Science, Technology and Innovation, African Union Commission
There is a need to measure innovation in the informal sector to support science, technology and innovation (STI) policy development and implementation in Africa. The 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in June 2013, endorsed “Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want” as the strategic framework for an inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development of the continent for the next fifty years. The Agenda set STI as one of its pillars: science, technology and innovation shall be harnessed in order to improve the lives of Africans, whose number will reach two-and-a-half billion by the time the Agenda comes to completion.Footnote 19
As far back as the 1980s, the Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa pointed out that the informal sector was intertwined with most of the “formal” socio-economic sectors in Africa, and that it was growing to encompass the majority of the African population as the classic job market became saturated.Footnote 20 The Lagos Plan of Action called for a special attention to be given to the informal sector in order to achieve sustainable industrial development.
With innovation taking a central place in the development process, the provision of data and appropriate indicators to support policy making becomes a necessity. In this context, the newly adopted STI Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) recommends that the African economies be innovation-led.Footnote 21 Innovation could then become the answer to achieving the objectives of Agenda 2063 by addressing the common challenges that Africa faces. These include creating jobs, eradicating hunger, achieving food security, preventing and controlling diseases, improving well-being, protecting resource endowments and strengthening physical and institutional infrastructure.
By and large, there is a noticeable effort to measure innovation in the “formal” economic sectors in Africa in order to understand the role it plays in development, but the same cannot be said for innovation in the informal sector. This holds true even though this part of the economy contributes about 50 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 80 percent of its labor force.Footnote 22 Measuring innovation needs a focus on the informal economy in the African and other development-related contexts.
Exploring How Innovation Is Measured in the Informal Sector
Experience in implementing the African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators Initiative (ASTII) indicates that although the term “innovation” is widely used among stakeholders in Africa, it means different things to different people.Footnote 23 Therefore, building innovation indicators, carrying out statistical measurement related to innovation and supporting innovation policy-making will require sufficient knowledge of the subject matter and proficiency in the language of discourse. Indeed, these are challenges but also opportunities to learn more about “innovation,” especially how the knowledge acquired from current surveys can be transferred to measuring innovation in the informal and the public sectors, and how innovation in the informal sector impacts socio-economic goals.
In this chapter, Professor Charmes and his colleagues present several suggestions that could serve as building blocks as the African Observatory of Science and Technology Innovation (AOSTI) implements its program of work. AOSTI was created to serve as the continental repository of STI data and a center of related policy analysis, including the monitoring and evaluation of STI programs.
On the policy side, the Africa Union Commission and the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) have entered into an agreement for capacity development in the Design and Evaluation of Innovation Policy (DEIP) for the AU member states (see Iizuka, Mawoko and Gault Reference Iizuka, Mawoko and Gault2015). This program examines innovation policies as a feasible solution to economic and social challenges in Africa, paying particular attention to measurement and national STI policies as well as their fit with the STISA-2024. The first training session held in Kenya in October 2013 included discussion on innovation in the informal sector. The subsequent policy brief points to thematic areas which need further research in order to better understand innovation and its contribution to socio-economic goals (Iizuka, Mawoko and Gault Reference Iizuka, Mawoko and Gault2015). In the case of the informal sector, stakeholders identified the following areas for further research:
(a) Research on characteristics of innovation in the informal sector Interpretations of the term “innovation” vary, so there is a need to conduct case studies and compare definitions for statistical purposes. This will improve understanding of the different forms that innovation can occur and distinguish their different types. How might this enable measurement of innovation activities in the informal sector to inform more effective policies?
(b) Understanding the innovation dynamics between formal and informal economic activities. Formal and informal economic activities are intertwined in terms of both actors and entities. Two questions of interest arise: To what extent do these interactions help meet development goals? What effects do they have on innovation systems?
(c) Understanding how innovation takes place in the informal economy. What are the barriers to and incentives for innovation in the informal sector? How can we better measure innovation in the informal economy?
(d) Exploring the form and type of innovation in Africa’s response (capacities and capabilities) to emerging challenges identified in the STISA-24. The following challenges were identified in the context of STISA-24: low commodity yields, climate change and variability, water and land management, efforts to eradicate hunger and achieve food and nutrition security. How would measuring innovation in the informal sector and developing a comprehensive STI policy framework affect these areas and enhance policy initiatives and government interventions?
(e) Impact on job creation. There is a need to better understand measurement of innovation in the service sector. With the high penetration rate of ICTs in both formal and informal economies, the service sector is bound to grow. How can we take advantage of the contribution of the informal sector in reducing unemployment and assess the impact that such growth will have on job creation and the sustainability of these jobs?
(f) Measuring innovation in the African public sector. In order to improve domestic resource mobilization and ensure sustainability, the process capacities and capabilities of public institutions need to be strengthened in areas such as procurement, taxation and private property rights. How do we measure innovation in the African public sector?
Way Forward
The African Agenda 2063 and its STI strategy are certainly ambitious, but they are a “must have” in view of the lessons learned from the past. This chapter by Charmes et al. sets valuable research perspectives for STISA-24, putting innovation at the center of its implementation. AOSTI supports the ongoing discussion about innovation in the informal economy with the aim of making its measurement program more relevant to the African community.
