Date post: | 15-Nov-2014 |
Category: |
Business |
Upload: | tci-network |
View: | 325 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Differing priorities in clustering and innovation – a view from South AfricaNigel Gwynne-Evans
Cluster Development in Times of Change
5 September 2013
Differing priorities in clustering and innovation – a view from South Africa
TCI ConferenceSeptember 2013
New section heading
Broad generalisations between developing and developed economies
• Differing industrial structure (More primary sector/ industrially focused).
• Within sectors – differing challenges.
• Cluster initiatives at different phases – generally less mature.
CONCERN WITH THE USE OF “INNOVATION” AS A CONCEPT FOR DELIVERY IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT
New section heading
Cape region cluster programme key facts
• 15 clusters – Euro 60m since 2006
• 140 staff in clusters (40 Public/ 100 Cluster )
• Funding - 60% from government/ 40% outside
• 6000 member companies represented
• All 4 universities
• Average 6 staff per SPV, but range from 2 up to 35 employees.
• Not-for profit companies • Public/ Private funded • Open membership to all firms
and actors within the cluster • Representative boards (majority
industry + reps from academic & research institutions / government).
• Directors appointed on an annual basis through open-AGM process
• Directors positions are non-remunerative
• CEOs – industry specialists
Background Nature of Clusters
New section heading
Focus sectors for economic development: High multipliers
Focus sectorsFocus
sectors
• Oil, Gas and Marine
Complex
• Green Economy
• Tourism and Film
• BPO, Financial Services and
ICT
• Oil, Gas and Marine
Complex
• Green Economy
• Tourism and Film
• BPO, Financial Services and
ICT
• Agri- Aqua and food
processing
• Creative and Design-
Industries
• Clothing, Textiles & Fashion
• Metals and Engineering
• Agri- Aqua and food
processing
• Creative and Design-
Industries
• Clothing, Textiles & Fashion
• Metals and Engineering
1st leg: Key Propulsive Sectors
1st leg: Key Propulsive Sectors
2nd Leg: Employment Supporting Sectors
2nd Leg: Employment Supporting Sectors
Focused on reducing unemployment, through facilitating 400,000 new direct jobs: Further multiplier effects of 2.5
New section heading
WC Clusters - 2013
New section heading
10 functions of Cluster Initiatives
Goals of cluster
initiatives
Marketing and promotion
Skills and training
Debottlenecking
Innovation support Transformation
Productivity programmes
Networking
Understand the industry
Business development Support institutions
1
2
“SPVs provide the framework to deliver targeted programmes to firms within an industry sector”
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
New section heading
Primary product/ Industrially focused needs
• Structure of the SA cluster programme – dominated by manufacturing – primary producers
• Programmes dominated by benchmarking, upgrading programmes, investment attraction, export-development, skills.
• Service sectors focused on skills, promotion, mentorship, venture capital attraction).
New section heading
Examples of dominant functions of each sector:
• Oil and gas services: Infra-structure, skills, investment attraction
• Clothing and textiles: Lean manufacturing and benchmarking
• Agri-processing: New investment, export development and production efficiencies
• Engineering: Skills and lean manufacturing.• Clean-tech: Investment attraction, skills • Craft and design Sectors: Entrepreneurship,
market development, product development
New section heading
Dominant Functions in service sectors:
• Call-centres: Investment attraction and skills
• ICT sector: Entrepreneurship support; skills development, funding attraction.
• Bio-tech: Commercialisation
New section heading
Our experience with “Innovation” as a tool
• Innovation a very broad concept
• Difficult to determine the tools that should be applied
• Not well understood in primary/ manufacturing sectors
• Difficult to convince CEO’s/MD’s that they need to adopt innovation as a priority (need to focus on more concrete actions)
• Triple Helix / R&D considerations less critical? (Applied research & graduate development more important)
New section heading
For Africa/ Developing countries
• Be wary of driving developed economy agenda’s on early-stage cluster development
• Focus on addressing competitiveness issues and the underlying market failures confronting each sector • Firm-level upgrading & market
development • Skills development • Infra-structure and investment • Regulatory constraints
Thank you