SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY and INNOVATION the Challenges of Strengthening the National Innovation System of Angola
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FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF MINAS GERAIS Eurico Josué Ngunga SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION The challenges of strengthening the national innovation system of Angola Belo Horizonte 2015 Eurico Josué Ngunga SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION The challenges of strengthening the National Innovation System of Angola Thesis submitted to the Doctoral degree in Economics, Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, from the bottom of my heart I would like to thank my thesis supervisors Eduardo Mortimer and Alexandra Mallet - for their patience, encouragement, and useful time they spent working with me. Eduardo Mortimer, my principal supervisor, was an exceptional mentor, who helped me believe that everything is possible when you have a dream. His multi-skilled way of thinking the academia mindset made me a new African academic thinker. Alexandra Mallet, my co-supervisor in Canada, was also an exceptional mentor with a brilliant expertise in science, technology, and innovation, showed me a new world in doing science and living it with passion. I deeply feel fortunate to have had the opportunity working with this lovely lady at Carleton University during my one-year term in Canada. I have no words to explain my joy of meeting you in my life. Paul Dufour, a Canadian gentleman with full of joy in sharing knowledge, I owe a sincere thank you to provide me constant support since I met him in Canada. I would also like to give a special thank to Dr. David Strangway. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet such a brilliant Canadian scientist with the Angolan heart, who introduced me to the international way of doing science. To the great Professors at the Faculty of Education and Economic Sciences- CEDEPLAR of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, especially Prof. Márcia Rapini an exceptional Scholar with a brilliant expertise in science, technology and innovation, and immense academic ability. This lady taught me different ways of thinking science, technology and innovation for developing countries with huge responsibility. To Professor Túlio Chiarini, I’m pleased with his brilliant expertise in science, technology and innovation, and I sincerely thank him for the useful advises to this work. To the Institute of African Studies and Public Policy and Administration Faculty both of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, thank you very much for the warm welcome and support during my entire stay in Canada. A special thankful to my Colleagues from the Faculty of Education and colleagues from the Faculty of Economics both from UFMG, and colleagues from the Public Policies and Administration Faculty, at Carleton University Finally, I am extremely thankful to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Angola to allow me in undertaking my field research, and to the Ministry of Higher Education of Angola to grant me with a financial support during my entire Ph.D program. To my father, Frederico Ngunga a person of great fiber. who, with his noble Angolan blood, made me an unconditional brave man! To my gracious mother, Filomena Nanguevela ... one that, from her holly belly begged the blessing for my grateful existence! To my brothers and relatives in Brazil and Angola, the immeasurable wealth! Finally, to my children ... the continuity! Thank you !!! ABSTRACT Starting from the idea that a society’s whole system is the product of its norms, values, practices, and history (KUADA, 2003), I believe that the process of innovation will depend on these elements for the success of sustainable development. As pointed out by the United Nations, sustainable development does not only concern the interdependent links between environment and development, but also includes a concern for issues such as human rights, population, housing, food security and gender that are important parts of sustainable human development (www.unesco.org, accessed in 11/11/2014). These elements underscore a range of knowledge and skills that will serve as a lever for the development of a society, through its scientific and technological actions. The objective of this study was to analyze and discuss the specific challenges of strengthening a National System of Science, Technology and Innovation (NIS)1 in Angola, in order to put the country into the pathway of development, and to reduce existing asymmetries between its people. Determinants such as culture, history, the struggle for independence, civil war, educational processes and the gaps among peripheral countries and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries were crucial to answer the questions proposed for this work. For this purpose, I investigated the Angolans who participated in the drafting of the National Policy on Science, Technology, and Innovation of Angola. In this vein, following several readings from various sources related to STIP, an attempt was made to perceive and analyze the strategies around the systematization of these policies for socio-economic development, taking into account the new socio-political scenario and Angola’s aspirations for economic development in the period following the civil war that lasted 27 years. Moreover, I augmented with a survey on three institutions located across the country in order to strengthening the approach around the difficulties they have been facing in the post civil war. One of the big issues is the struggle to rebuild infrastructure destroyed during that hard moment. Several research techniques were combined: in-depth interviews with senior stakeholders from the Ministry of Science and Technology and Rectors, and an analysis of secondary sources. I also used a checklist to survey and verify statistical data. The overall findings are that Angola still does not have in its structures, capabilities to effectively monitor, and control the challenges perpetrated by the global economic market. This landscape puts the country almost always in a lower position in the field of R&D, and knowledge transfer, including trade. Thus, concluding, Angola’s national system of innovation is currently incipient and its level of unpreparedness and instability requires improvements in its institutional structures and training in order to effect socio-economic development. Keywords: innovation, innovation system, economic development, civil war, sustainable development, Angola. 1 From a general perspective, Pavitt (1984) which provides a definition about the national innovation system as a set of institutions involved in the generation, commercialization, and diffusion of new and improved processes and services products. Also, in terms of incentive structure, Innovation System plays a core role to exert an influence on the rate and direction of change that will derive from the changes in technology institutions. RESUMO Partindo da ideia de que todo o sistema de uma sociedade é o produto de suas normas, valores, práticas e história (KUADA, 2003), acredito que o processo de inovação dependerá desses elementos para o sucesso do desenvolvimento sustentável. Como apontado pelas Nações Unidas, o desenvolvimento sustentável não diz apenas respeito às ligações interdependentes entre meio ambiente e desenvolvimento, mas inclui também uma preocupação com questões como os direitos humanos, população, habitação, segurança alimentar e de gênero que são partes importantes do desenvolvimento humano sustentável (www.unesco.org, acessado em 2014/11/11). Estes elementos sublinham uma gama de conhecimentos e habilidades que servirá como uma alavanca para o desenvolvimento de uma sociedade, por meio das suas ações científicas e tecnológicas. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar e discutir os desafios específicos de fortalecer o Sistema Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (NIS) de Angola, a fim de colocar o país no caminho do desenvolvimento e reduzir as assimetrias existentes entre seus povos. Fatores determinantes, tais como a cultura, a história, a luta pela independência, a guerra civil, os processos de ensino e as lacunas entre os países periféricos e da Organização de Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Económico (OCDE) foram cruciais para responder as questões propostas neste trabalho. Para essa finalidade, foram investigados angolanos que participaram na elaboração da Política Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação de Angola. Nesse sentido, foi feita uma sequência de leituras de diversas fontes, relacionadas com PCTI, como tentativa de perceber e analisar as estratégias em torno da sistematização dessas políticas para o desenvolvimento socioeconômico, tendo em conta o novo cenário sócio-político e as aspirações de Angola para desenvolvimento econômico no período que se seguiu à guerra civil que durou 27 anos. Além disso, este trabalho foi robustecido com uma pesquisa em três instituições localizadas no país, a fim de reforçar a abordagem em torno das dificuldades que o país vem enfrentando neste momento de pós-guerra civil. Efetivamente, uma das grandes questões enquadra-se na luta para reconstruir as infraestruturas destruídas durante aquele difícil momento. Várias técnicas de pesquisa foram combinados: entrevistas em profundidade com os participantes do Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia e de Reitores, análises de documentos das instituições envolvidas e de fontes secundárias. Os resultados indicam que Angola ainda não tem capacidade de efetivamente gerir e controlar os desafios perpetrados pelo mercado econômico global. Este cenário coloca os pais quase sempre em posição inferior nas áreas de P&D e transferência de