Innovation fast forward
McLean Sibanda, CEO of the Pretoria-based The Innovation Hub, is adamant about two things: firstly, that innovation should extend beyond the environs of research institutions. And, secondly, that business leadership should be viewed as a significant driver of innovation.
Sibanda emphasised this during a keynote address that he gave at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) Research & Innovation Day. Sibanda’s conviction precisely echoes UNISA’s own philosophy regarding knowledge production: that research and innovation should be an integral aspect of local knowledge production, and that their output should have a direct impact on South African society.
UNISA has as many as 141 researchers rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and prominent visibility within leading publications. The SBL itself boasts three NRF rated researchers out of the 30 permanent academic staff members, with three applications awaiting response from the NRF. UNISA continues to grow its research capability by situating research and innovation as a core business area. Significantly, the institution forges strong linkages with business leaders via the SBL, to form a robust connection between academic innovation and the private sector.
What is innovation?
Sibanda invited consideration of what the term ‘innovation’ really means. Contrary to what the person in the street might think, research and development (R&D) by itself is not innovation. Neither does invention signify innovation, as there is a definite distinction between the two. Sibanda urged us to think of invention as the process wherein money is ‘put in to get knowledge out’. He said, ‘To turn that invention into an innovation, it is necessary to adapt the knowledge or process to develop a new application that will enable the extraction of additional, unexploited value. Added to this, someone must be prepared to pay for the new application. And in order to do so, that new application must be successfully taken to market where the value can be exchanged for financial remuneration.’
As CEO of The Innovation Hub, Sibanda drives the institution’s mandate, which is to contribute to ramping up Gauteng’s economy by creating jobs and reducing poverty through innovation. The particular focus area for the next five years is for The Innovation Hub to adopt a more corporate approach that actively develops The Innovation Hub as a brand, and takes into account its target audience. This is part of the acknowledgement that while The Innovation Hub fosters innovation, it should simultaneously strengthen the multi-helix aspect of innovation. The multi-helix concept refers to a new way of approaching the innovation mix: whereas previous methodologies required the collaboration of a triple helix, in the form of university-industry-government interaction, the multi-helix proposes a far more inclusive collaboration that calls on a variety of different actors, such as civil society and entrepreneurs.
Into this mix, it is imperative to have a supporting infrastructure to facilitate multi-stakeholder connections. This includes the establishment of co-creation spaces, incubators and opportunities for stakeholders to share skills and insights and to promote the cross-pollination of ideas.
Additionally, The Innovation Hub has launched an initiative called the Open Innovation Solution Exchange that seeks to match business with innovators. Sibanda said, ‘The exchange came out of the question of how to source local innovation for business. Perhaps surprisingly, innovation tends to stem from SMMEs and so we need to connect these entities with large corporate players.’
Leadership matters
And this brings Sibanda to the issue of leadership. Leadership, he said, matters. Leadership has a definite impact on moving innovation forward; not only from identifying a market need but by contributing to the development of policy and legal mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of innovation. Sibanda explained further: ‘I like to compare a business leader to the conductor of a symphony orchestra. Watching them, you will see that they never make a sound: they do not play a musical instrument; they do not talk. Their role is to guide, coax and nurture the musicians, who under their leadership create a variety of sounds and harmonies. So it is the business leader’s role to nurture an innovative environment and encourage innovative capacity.’
Sibanda said that additionally his message to business leaders is to embrace risk. Innovation, he said, is a risky business. The default position is to expect a certain level of failure, which in some industries can be incredibly high. He cited pharmaceutical companies that develop drugs to the point where they go to trial, and are then cancelled due to unforeseen side effects. The level of research and development to get to this point is vast and costly. Sibanda said, ‘We are a risk-averse society which can have an impact on our ability to explore our innovative potential. Leaders should be there to encourage innovation, and to provide incentives.’
But this is not just a feel-good message to South African businesses to tap into their innovative creativity and potential. The face of Africa continues to change and this continent’s population has a very different profile to that of Europe, the USA and Japan in particular as the majority of our population is characterised by the youth. In South Africa, 49.6% of today’s population is under the age of 25. Sibanda urged us to fast-forward to an Africa 40 years from now: ‘If we do not create opportunities for our youth today, we face a bleak future. I refer not only to job creation, but to developing opportunities for our youth to enable them to create their own businesses. If we do not invest time, money and energy to find immediate innovation solutions now, our country will be faced with an aged population that cannot support itself.’
McLean Sibanda’s presentation entitled, ‘How open are South African business leaders to innovation?’ can be viewed at the following url: http://www.unisa.ac.za/