Presidents as Agents of Innovation

By FSG On September 24, 2008 · In Innovation

Author: Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project

African governments are increasingly recognising the importance of innovation in development. But little will be achieved unless government structures are aligned with long-term technological and economic goals.

The urgency to do so was recently illustrated by the decision of Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika to merge the ministries of education with science and technology. But more importantly, he also placed the ministry in the president’s office and appointed himself the minister.

With this move, it is expected that educational and technological objectives will be integrated into the rest of the sectors of the economy and not limited to sectoral functions. President wa Mutharika is following the lead of other countries such as Rwanda where science and innovation is coordinated by the presidency.

In fact, countries such as the United States and Singapore do not have sectoral ministries or departments of science and technology. They consider these functions to be central to the functioning of all organs of government. Similar reforms are underway in many countries. Thailand, for example, has proposed a new law that will make the science minister also the chief scientific advisor to the prime minister.

Effective economic management is associated with the development of the appropriate institutional infrastructure, which includes legal systems and arrangements such as those needed to protect property rights, safeguard human rights, enforce contracts, uphold order, and shield the people from government abuse.

Bringing innovation to the centre of Africa’s economic renewal will require more than just political commitment: it will need positive executive leadership. This challenge requires “champions” who in this case will be heads of state spearheading economic growth efforts.

Effective leadership in these areas will depend on how well political leaders are informed about the role of engineering in sustainable development. Advice on science and innovation needs to be part of the routines of policymaking. An appropriate institutional framework needs to be created for this to happen.

Advisory structures differ across countries. In many countries, science advisers report to the president or prime minister, and national scientific and engineering academies provide political leaders with advice. Whatever structure is adopted, the advisory functions should be supported by some statutory, legislative, or jurisdictional mandate to advise the highest levels of government.

They should have their own operating budget, including funding for policy research.

The adviser should have access to good and credible scientific or technical information from the government, national academies, and international networks. The advisory processes should be both accountable to the public and able to gauge public opinion about science and innovation.

Successful implementation of science and innovation policy requires civil servants to have policy analysis capacity. Providing civil servants with training in technology management is crucial. Training diplomats and negotiators in policy aspects of engineering can also increase their capacity to handle technological issues in international forums.

Most issues of science and innovation now cross lines of national sovereignty. Science and engineering have already become a truly global activity, characterised by collaboration among various nations. International networks created by science and engineering diplomacy offer excellent opportunities for exchanging lessons from past development experiences. Participation in international networks can also help build the domestic credibility of academies and science advisory institutions.

Building competence in science and innovation policy will require investment in specialised courses of study and degree programmes on the subject. This could be accomplished by graduate schools of science and innovation policy that can then cooperate with similar programmes in other countries.

Every new crop of leaders should attend specially designed leadership training courses before taking office. Dedicated “schools of governance” or their equivalent are needed on a large scale to focus on this important task.

But victory will remain elusive unless the efforts are accompanied by deeper institutional reforms that involve aligning economic and technological goals with the structure of government. This task involves spending political capital, a resource that only presidents can allocate.

Prof. Juma teaches at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government where he directs the Science, Technology and Globalization Project. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of London and foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences.