I want to explore this question with
you in this post and the next guest blog posts.
The world over, innovation is a hot
subject and burgeoning area of interest. And for good reason, too. Several
studies have established a direct link between innovation and economic growth.
Unfortunately, because of the Science & Technology-bias, innovation is
portrayed more from the STI perspective.
Just to make sure we are reading
from the same page on this topic, I would like to share with you this blog’s
thoughts on MULTIDISCIPLINARY INNOVATION.
What does multidisciplinary
CREATIVITY and INNOVATION mean in the naijaGRAPHITTI blog: in simple terms, the
two concepts mean creativity and innovation that cuts across various fields;
there is no bias for any area. For instance, my first direct and personal
encounter with CREATIVITY was as a writer. But overtime I have seen that
creativity can arise from anywhere in our culture and areas of socialization!
The United Kingdom’s National
Commission on Entrepreneurship drew up a definition that best fits with the
philosophy of this blog on INNOVATION and BEING INNOVATIVE which the Commission
described as follows:
“Being innovative is closely
related to being creative. Seeing possibilities, seizing opportunities,
creating new ventures, markets or products are all part and parcel of
innovation. An innovator is someone who has an idea, sees its potential, and
sets about promoting, or advocating it to a wider audience, often with profit
in mind.”
Please pardon me if I appear to
reference European points of view in terms of actual research and studies in
this area. I have as yet to access African scholarship on MULTIDISCIPLINARY
INNOVATION. The naijaGRAPHITTI field research team is still pursuing leads in
South Africa, Kenya and Ghana to see if we could fetch any original Africa
scholarship in this area.
We wish to do this to stave off any
potential claims we are merely parroting a Euro-centric view. As a matter of
fact, this debate helped drive a research nearing conclusion now about “the
Dufuna Canoe and Innovation in Indigenous Product Development in Prehistoric
Nigerian societies.” We made some interesting discoveries about innovation in
ancient Nigerian societies.
Now BRI worldwide in a blog lists
five characteristics which they imagine make countries innovative. See this
list and see if you agree, disagree or have your own set of preferences!
So what makes some countries more
innovative than others? In my view, there seems to be five characteristics that
can be found in all countries that get innovation right (that is, they
consistently apply new thinking to solve existing problems). These
characteristics are, in no particular order:
1. Strong
scientific and technical infrastructure
Innovative nations have strong
research university systems, without which it would be nearly impossible to
attract the talent needed to drive innovation. High quality scientific and
technical personnel gravitate toward places that have the resources they need
to create new inventions and technologies.
But a strong research university
system isn’t enough. That system must also exist within a cluster of related
and supporting organizations.
2.
Diversity
Much innovation happens at the edge
of cultures. When we see the word “diversity,” we typically think of race,
gender, and ethnicity. But it’s really the cognitive differences that go
hand-in-hand with our identity differences that create better business
outcomes.
Diverse groups offer different ways
of representing problems and situations, classifying and interpreting
information, coming up with solutions, and predicting results. Their collective
wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. The U.S. is a prime example of this
diversity, where people from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds
immigrate to and integrate into the population as a whole, many through the
university education system (see item #1).
3. Young people
A nation can have all the raw
materials it needs to innovate, but if the market doesn’t want what it’s
producing, there won’t be any incentive to do it. The demand side of innovation
is typically associated with young people, because let’s face it: young people
are more likely to try new things and not be encumbered with the old way of
doing things.
Young people also contribute to the
supply side of innovation. They tend to take more risks and challenge the
status quo—two traits necessary for innovation to happen. You’ll notice that
more and more people in their 20s are launching and growing startups,
especially in the information technology and software industries.
4. Intellectual
property protection
Some might argue that regulations
can actually stymie innovation by requiring businesses to jump through hoops.
But in some ways, they also facilitate it.
Let’s be honest: most of us want to
make the world a better place, but we’re in business to make a profit. No
company will devote massive amounts of resources to research and development if
anyone can simply copy its products, not to mention sell them for a fraction of
the price.
Innovative countries respect
intellectual property rights. They offer patent protection and honor contracts
(e.g., license agreements, buy-and-sell agreements) that make it possible for
innovative individuals and businesses to earn reasonable returns on their
investments.
5. Risk-taking
culture
While several countries in Asia have
already surpassed the U.S. with regard to producing the so-called “raw
materials” of innovation (e.g., high educational achievement of citizens,
number of people graduating to become engineers and scientists, speed and
penetration of broadband Internet service), they’re still not nearly as
innovative.
In her article for the Fung Global
Institute, Rachel Chan, co-founder of a Hong Kong-based organization that
empowers young people in Asia to create positive personal, economic, social,
and environmental change, noted that this lag has been attributed to Asian
countries’ “overemphasis on rote learning, obedience to authority, hierarchical
relationships, and conformity.”
Innovation takes place in a “climate
where people feel free and safe to try out new ideas,” said Chan. She then goes
on to express hope that the situation in Asia will change, because many second
or third generations of Asian business leaders—many of whom are influenced by
Western education and an organizational culture that encourages experimentation
and risk taking—are gradually taking over.
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