Thesis (M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016. / Increasingly, innovation through technology transfer is seen as a mechanism through which economic growth can be spurred. The South African National Innovation System (NIS) is built on this premise, leading to the emergence of Technology Transfer Organizations (TTOs) such as the Technology Innovation Agency’s (TIA’s) Technology Stations Programme. The Technology Stations Programme addresses, and attempts to alleviate, the slow overall decline of South African industrial sectors through innovation work for industrialization. It is not clear, however, how the TIA monitors and evaluates, and hence measures the economic and socio-economic outcomes of the Technology Stations Programme. This is because the relationship between the strategic objectives of the programme, and the performance indicators used for impact assessment is not clear. This study identifies the use of the Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) Scorecard of indicators as the framework for performance reporting at the Technology Stations Programme. The study describes the SETI framework and then evaluates it, finding that it is not well defined and lacks the properties required of a framework of indicators to make it an adequate tool for performance reporting. Other problems compromising the reporting on the Technology Stations Programme have to do with the seemingly incomplete nature of reports, occasional incoherence and seeming carelessness where there are graphic errors in the reporting. This inadequate monitoring and evaluation, and performance reporting is concerning because interview work suggests that the Technology Stations Programme is highly successful in supporting SMMEs and offering them technology related services that contribute to industrial policy through innovation work. The failure to have a SETI Scorecard of indicators that is functional enough to make these outcomes in the Technology Stations Programme visible in formal reporting is concerning as programme evaluation should make known the effects of policies. In the case of the Technology Stations Programme these effects are crucial as the technology transfer taking place in the programme is anticipated to achieve grand objectives in the way of economic value adding and industrial expansion. This necessitates the need to capture the outcomes related to these objectives, and make future decisions on the Technology Stations Programme as well as other technology transfer programmes.

A research report submitted to the Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management in Innovation Studies November 2014

The demand for improved service delivery requires new approaches and attitudes from local government. One of the ways this can be achieved is to focus on continuous improvement by driving innovation and lessons learnt from the municipalities’ past successes and failures. For local government authorities to rethink service delivery, they need to find better ways to share information assets, business processes and staff expertise with their citizens and business partners. The lack of Knowledge Management (KM) and, therefore, a low level of information and knowledge transfer in the public services have been identified as two of the main contributors to poor service delivery. The implementation of knowledge transfer process is one of the factors that will impact on the improvement of service delivery. The main purpose of this research study was to investigate how knowledge management systems can be used to improve the knowledge transfer at Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). The research study focused on knowledge transfer within the Municipality as the general area of research. The objective of this study was to produce critical success factors that would improve knowledge management systems and knowledge transfer among employees at BCMM, which would ultimately improve service delivery.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology. Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Globally, commercialization of university innovation has increased and gained in interest by universities, industry and politicians. The idea of marketing innovation produced by universities is the practice embraced in most advanced economies. However, government’s investment in R&D have not generated the anticipated return. A gap has been identified between innovation developed from publicly financed research and the failure to convert these findings into tangible outcomes. This thesis reports on an investigation of the reasons for the current low rate of commercialization of innovations at South African universities, with a view to increasing this rate. From a survey of intellectual property and technology transfer (IP&TTO) managers and interviews with individual innovators, the main contributory factors were found to be a lack of support from university management, insufficient incentives for innovators, limited access to funding opportunities, institutional bureaucratic regulations and an inefficient system of decision making with regards to intellectual property. Accordingly, the critical measures which can be modified in order to build university IP&TTO success are senior executive support for innovation and commercialization activity, a greater share of financial rewards to individual innovators and a streamlined decision making procedures concerning intellectual property assets. University, government and industry executives need to demonstrate genuine support for research and innovation development activity over the long term, allocate the necessary resources required for its success, and implement a long term strategy for intellectual property.

The potential for private sector healthcare business in Africa has been forecasted to reach $35 billion by 2016, with South Africa being regarded as the most industrially advanced country on the continent. South Africa’s entry to modern biotechnology is fairly recent, though, with companies in the private sector still in a developmental phase, and most having limited bioproduct ranges. While considerable research has been conducted in the past to attempt to define the biotechnology environment of South Africa, as yet, a concise overview is lacking. In particular, a synopsis of the biomedical or commercial health technology environment has not been forthcoming for entrepreneurs to refer to as a ‘roadmap’. The purpose of this study was to perform a comprehensive study on the attributes that should be met for a successful, sustainable health technology venture (HTV) to be started in South Africa; while identifying the opportunities and threats that have existed in the South African market; thereby, affecting their success and sustainability to date. In this study, two phases of research were conducted. The first was a small-sampled mixed-methods (both qualitative and quantitative) study involving 21 medical devices, biogenerics, diagnostics, and contract services companies. The second was a quantitative study, involving 107 vaccines, biogenerics, therapeutics, nutraceuticals, reagents, diagnostics, medical devices, biotools, contract services and public services companies. Inferential statistical tests were conducted on the data, including Pearson’s Chi-Square, ANOVA, bivariate correlation, linear regression, logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression. From the study, the overall proportion of business sustainability for HTVs was found to be 66.7%, and at least 30% were unsustainable (or not yet at a level of sustainability). Variations were observed in the overall rate of sustainability for companies, based on their core functional classification, location, production type, size and start-up or R&D spending. By converting the observed frequencies of activity level, as an indication of sustainability, into a probability, it was possible to observe the company type that was most, and least likely to succeed in South Africa. Based on the statistical observations in this study, the HTV type most likely to succeed in South Africa, with a 63.7% probability of reaching sustainability, is a ‘vaccines’, ‘biotools’ or ‘public services’ company from Johannesburg with at least 20 employees; that has developed its goods or services internally, but manufactured externally and spent between R20 million–and–R30 million on its R&D or start-up. Conversely, least likely to succeed (3.2% probability) is a nutraceutical company from Cape Town with between six and 20 employees, that has developed and produced internally, and which has spent between R1 million–and–R10million on its start-up. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M.Sc (Life Sciences)

The potential for private sector healthcare business in Africa has been forecasted to reach $35 billion by 2016, with South Africa being regarded as the most industrially advanced country on the continent. South Africa’s entry to modern biotechnology is fairly recent, though, with companies in the private sector still in a developmental phase, and most having limited bioproduct ranges. While considerable research has been conducted in the past to attempt to define the biotechnology environment of South Africa, as yet, a concise overview is lacking. In particular, a synopsis of the biomedical or commercial health technology environment has not been forthcoming for entrepreneurs to refer to as a ‘roadmap’. The purpose of this study was to perform a comprehensive study on the attributes that should be met for a successful, sustainable health technology venture (HTV) to be started in South Africa; while identifying the opportunities and threats that have existed in the South African market; thereby, affecting their success and sustainability to date. In this study, two phases of research were conducted. The first was a small-sampled mixed-methods (both qualitative and quantitative) study involving 21 medical devices, biogenerics, diagnostics, and contract services companies. The second was a quantitative study, involving 107 vaccines, biogenerics, therapeutics, nutraceuticals, reagents, diagnostics, medical devices, biotools, contract services and public services companies. Inferential statistical tests were conducted on the data, including Pearson’s Chi-Square, ANOVA, bivariate correlation, linear regression, logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression. From the study, the overall proportion of business sustainability for HTVs was found to be 66.7%, and at least 30% were unsustainable (or not yet at a level of sustainability). Variations were observed in the overall rate of sustainability for companies, based on their core functional classification, location, production type, size and start-up or R&D spending. By converting the observed frequencies of activity level, as an indication of sustainability, into a probability, it was possible to observe the company type that was most, and least likely to succeed in South Africa. Based on the statistical observations in this study, the HTV type most likely to succeed in South Africa, with a 63.7% probability of reaching sustainability, is a ‘vaccines’, ‘biotools’ or ‘public services’ company from Johannesburg with at least 20 employees; that has developed its goods or services internally, but manufactured externally and spent between R20 million–and–R30 million on its R&D or start-up. Conversely, least likely to succeed (3.2% probability) is a nutraceutical company from Cape Town with between six and 20 employees, that has developed and produced internally, and which has spent between R1 million–and–R10million on its start-up. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. Sc. (Life Sciences)