Innovation in Bricss

1
Innovation Policy in BRICS Helena M M
Lastres Office for local production and
innovation systems and regional
development International Seminar on Innovation
and Development under Globalization BRICS
Experience Trivandrum, 19-21 August 2009
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Problems of definition and innovation and
innovation system

• Lack of precision, controversy and conservatism
  in the international literature
• Ex. For about 40 years we know that
• Innovation is much more than RD. However, RD
  continues to be the most used indicator for
  measuring STI efforts internationally
• Technology change derives nor only neither mainly
  from RD and technology imports and their
  spillovers (linkages). However, these issues
  remain at the core of less developed countries
  policies
• Importance of the approach on system of
  innovation which
• focus on different sources of innovation deriving
  from interactions between firms and also with
  other economic, social and political actors that
  depend on each other to produce goods and
  services
• should not ignore the role of indigenous
  knowledge and technology (Scerri, 2009 and Liu,
  2009)

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Problems of definition and innovation and
innovation system

• 2. Predominance of very narrow approaches
• Ex. Bias towards radical innovations deriving
  from advances in the scientific frontier and
  occurring only in high-tech sectors, and often as
  a result of RD performed by big firms operating
  in DCs (correlation with patents)
• Concepts are not neutral. They derive from and
  reflect specific points of view and policy
  options
• Most innovation concepts are limited to few
  economic activities, actors and regions and are
  used in a way that only reinforces imbalances
• Innovation policies can also contribute to reduce
  regional and social inequalities and exclusion
  (Scerri, 2009 and Liu, 2009). Stress on gender
  and race inequalities and on the importance of
  addressing primary and secondary education in SA

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Problems of definition and innovation and
innovation system

• 2. Predominance of very narrow, outdated and
  rigid approaches
• Ex. Confusion between NSI and national ST system
  and between LIPSs and cluster
• As the notion of cluster automatically emphasizes
  structured and specialized agglomerations its
  use leaves aside others that may also require
  both research attention and policy support.
• The understanding and the promotion of emerging
  and less structured systems can be very important
  in all countries. Research effort and policies
  targeting industrial and technological
  development cannot ignore these cases,
  particularly in LDCs
• The role of researches in understanding and
  making explicit that some concepts can exclude by
  definition from the policy agenda entire regions
  as well as social and economic segments

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Problems of definition and innovation and
innovation system

• 3. Trend to use decontextualized concepts,
  indicators and analytical and policy models
  developed to a specific context without the
  required adaptation and to blame and punish local
  conditions not to conform to imported and
  inappropriate models
• Ex. Concepts as looking glasses. If one has a
  model of a SI in mind and looks for the same
  features, elements and dynamics in a different
  context, perhaps she/he will conclude that there
  is no SI there and will fail to perceive and
  understand local conditions
• The discussion about the creation of NSIs and the
  recognition of the specific characteristics of
  different contexts. The fragment and
  disarticulated system in SA and the alerts about
  its erosion as well the restrictions imposed by
  the macroeconomic context (Scerri, 2009)
• Context matters both in terms of understanding
  and promoting innovation

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Problems of definition and innovation and
innovation system

• History and specific territorial conditions are
  essential to explain how production and
  innovation capabilities are acquired, used and
  further developed. Analytical models, taxonomies
  and policy prescriptions that disregard these
  parameters put their usefulness seriously in
  risk (Lastres and Cassiolato, Globelics 2005)

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Problems of definition and innovation and
innovation system

• Importance of the capacity to select and use
  contextualized concepts, indicators and
  analytical and policy models
• capable of addressing the challenges and
  opportunities of each context given their
  geopolitical, institutional, scientific,
  technological, economic, financial, social,
  cultural and environmental dimensions
• that associate and articulate these dimensions
• In an inclusive way, by helping to diminish
  inequalities, instead of reinforcing them

8
Conclusions

• The concept of national and local innovation and
  production systems offers significant advantages
  and represents a relevant unit of analysis for
  BRICSs.
• Main challenges involved in this effort still
  relate to the difficulty to work with new
  concepts, and particularly those aiming at
  capturing and evaluating creation, use and
  diffusion of innovation and production
  capabilities in situations of high levels of
  inequality and informality.
• As knowledge results from interactive learning
  processes and pragmatic use has an important
  learning dimension, we expect that the analysis
  of BRICSs innovation systems will bring new
  light about both this concept and the reality of
  the five countries and