Introduction: Previous literature indicates that standard economic analysis is often not well suited for the evaluation of research investments, necessitating the use of other methods. This work uses a mixed methods approach to investigate the economic value relationship between academia and industry, towards a holistic understanding of how research benefits arise and can be measured to provide greater insight into the drivers of the system, its sustainability, and economic competitiveness. Methods: Each of the pillars of the National Innovation System (NIS) model, adapted to assess the economic value relationship between academia and industry, were evaluated. The first research element (government) focused on the macroeconomic and regulatory context by evaluating the federal SBIR/STTR programs through an in-depth case study. The second element focused on the education and training system (academia) by assessing how technology transfer offices at universities measure research value. The final element of the study (industry) focused on communication infrastructures by investigating the digital tools used by medical technology firms to accelerate innovation beyond organizational boundaries. The academia and industry research elements each consisted of document review and semi-structured interviews. Results: While the federal SBIR/STTR programs were found to be a significant catalyst for the academic-industry economic value relationship, especially at the most crucial proof-of-concept stage, policy discrepancies between stakeholders might affect the desired program outcomes. Consensus measures and metrics were identified for both academia and industry, which inform the product and factor market conditions that drive academic-industry innovation capacity. In many cases, challenges behind these measures were also raised, highlighting the need for sensitivity to institutional mission, culture and other conditions when applying these measures. Valuation differences were also found to exist between public and private universities in entrepreneurial engagement and economic development. Conclusions: The measurement categories across both academia and industry describe adequate, dependable resources as the overarching product market theme and a talented and interconnected workforce as the overarching factor market theme. Taken together, they lead to more effective knowledge generation and diffusion, as well as a more informed NIS model with specific and practical utility for the economic value relationship between academia and industry. / Steven Ceulemans

Text in English / In recent years, there have been tremendous advances in information technology, robotics, communication technology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, resulting in the merging of physical, digital, and biological worlds that have come to be known as the "fourth industrial revolution”. In this context, the present study engages such technology in the green economy and to tackle the techno-economic environmental impact assessments challenges associated with floating solar system applications in the agricultural sector of South Africa. In response, this exploratory study aimed to examine the development of a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based support platform for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and due-diligence analyses for future planned agricultural floating solar systems, especially with the goal to address the vast differences between the environmental impacts for land-based and water-based photovoltaic energy systems. A research gap was identified in the planning processes for implementing floating solar systems in South Africa’s agricultural sector. This inspired the development of a novel GIS-based modelling tool to assist with floating solar system type energy infrastructure planning in the renewable energy discourse. In this context, there are significant challenges and future research avenues for technical and environmental performance modelling in the new sustainable energy transformation. The present dissertation and geographical research ventured into the conceptualisation, designing and development of a software GIS-based decision support tool to assist environmental impact practitioners, project owners and landscape architects to perform environmental scoping and environmental due-diligence analysis for planned floating solar systems in the local agricultural sector. In terms of the aims and objectives of the research, this project aims at the design and development of a dedicated GIS toolset to determine the environmental feasibility around the use of floating solar systems in agricultural applications in South Africa. In this context, the research objectives of this study included the use of computational modelling and simulation techniques to theoretically determine the energy yield predictions and computing environmental impacts/offsets for future planned agricultural floating solar systems in South Africa. The toolset succeeded in determining these aspects in applications where floating solar systems would substitute Eskom grid power. The study succeeded in developing a digital GIS-based computer simulation model for floating solar systems capable of (a) predicting the anticipated energy yield, (b) calculating the environmental offsets achieved by substituting coal-fired generation by floating solar panels, (c) determining the environmental impact and land-use preservation benefits of any floating solar system, and (d) relating these metrics to water-energy-land-food (WELF) nexus parameters suitable for user project viability analysis and decision support. The research project has demonstrated how the proposed GIS toolset supports the body of geographical knowledge in the fields of Energy and Environmental Geography. The new toolset, called EIAcloudGIS, was developed to assist in solving challenges around energy and environmental sustainability analysis when planning new floating solar installations on farms in South Africa. Experiments conducted during the research showed how the geographical study in general, and the toolset in particular, succeeded in solving a real-world problem. Through the formulation and development of GIS-based computer simulation models embedded into GIS layers, this new tool practically supports the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA Act No. 107 of 1998), and in particular, associated EIA processes. The tool also simplifies and semi-automates certain aspects of environmental impact analysis processes for newly envisioned and planned floating solar installations in South Africa. / Geography / M.Sc. (Geography)