2nd BRICS workshop, Rio de Janeiro, 25-27 April 2007

South Africa’s NIS in BRICS

Jo LorentzenHSRC, Cape Town

jlorentzen@hsrc.ac.za

Outline

South Africa’s NIS: fact… …and fiction People and resources in innovation

research in SA Towards a BRICS NIS agenda

5-country comparative research or integrated, horizontal programme

BRICS linkages: a first take A walk on the wild side: EU FP7

Evolution of the policy environment for the knowledge economy and the NIS

GOALS:Global competitivenessEquitable socio-economicdevelopment

POLICY:White Paper on Science and Technology (1996)

GENERICINSTRUMENTS:Innovation FundTHRIPSPII

TECHNOLOGYPLATFORMS:BiotechnologyICTNew materials

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Our understanding of BRICS NISs represents only 6-7% of knowledge of NISs worldwide.

Articles cited in ISI, 1997-2007

Subject Brazil

China

India

Russia SA BRICS

World

NIS 5 10 8 0 3 26 342

Technological learning

16 26 7 0 12 61 1,043

Innovation indicators

3 5 9 1 4 22 345

Total 24 41 24 1 19 109 1,730

Contribution by BRICS to global knowledge not commensurate with economic importance.

ISI country rankings by publication, 1996-2006

Rank Country Papers Citations Cit./pap.

13 China 422,993 1,646,673

3.89

18 Russia 286,194 1,082,164

3.78

21 India 211,063 858,539 4.07

23 Brazil 130,065 682,826 5.25

37 SA 43,012 270,738 6.29

? BRICS 1,093,327

4,540,940

4.15

1 USA 2,907,592

40,400,708

13.89

The Usual Suspects:In SA, few people with limited resources analyse

the NISInstitution Principal output

Dep. of S&T: National Advisory Council of Innovation (NACI)

Commissions research

HSRC: Education, Science and Skills Development; Knowledge Systems

Techn. learning, UILs, R&D Survey, Innovation Survey

TUT: Institute for Economic Research on Innovation

Globelics 2005, African Peer Review Mechanism, UILs

UCT-GSB: Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Investment Climate Survey, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor

UP: Institute for Technological Innovation

Country rankings

US: Centre for Research on Science & Technology

SA Knowledge Base

Pursuing BRICS-wide research as opposed to deepening national studies implies a trade-off.Trade-off hinges on two questions:1. Do we know enough about individual

countries to do anything other than ex-post comparisons?

2. Is BRICS an economic reality or merely a fashionable acronym?

Extent and depth of intra-BRICS linkages Trade and investment Movement of people S&T cooperation

Example:Internationalisation of R&D and innovation systems

DEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES

DEVELOPEDCOUNTRIES

FDI, trade, S&T agreemts, people

Knowledge

I

RC

BS

Intra-BRICS trade is important.Technological learning in low tech > catch-up in high tech.

BRICS share in world economy (2005 or most recent available)

GDP X Hi-tech X

M BRICS/M

ODI IDI

Brazil 1.8 1.1 0.3 0.7 14.9 1.9 2.8

Russia

1.0 1.7 0.4 1.2 11.2 0.9 0.9

India 1.8 1.2 0.2 1.3 10.3 .. 0.8

China 5.2 6.7 8.4 5.5 8.3 0.0 7.3

SA 0.4 0.4 .07 0.4 13.6 1.5 0.0

BRICS 10.2 11.1 9.4 9.1 9.6 4.3 11.8

The exact extent of research cooperation and intra-BRICS people movement is not clear.Share in global knowledge flows: not much happening

in BRICS?

Patents Royalties

Migration

R&D Non-res.

Res. Pubs Out In

Brazil 0.3 0.9 0.9 0.4 1.2 0.8 0.09

Russia 6.4 0.5 0.8 2.6 2.3 1.5 0.3

India 3.7 0.7 2.2 0.8 1.3 3.8 0.02

China 2.9 2.5 12.6 7.5 4.2 3.6 0.2

SA 0.6 0.2 2.4 0.8 0.3 0.7 0.05

BRICS 13.9 4.8 18.9 12.1 9.3 10.6 0.66

Hierarchy of official S&T cooperation:some BRICS, but how much mortar?

IT,health/

medicine,defence

Agri-/acquaculture,geology and mineral resources,

HRD

Space, biofuels/renewables

Standards, radio&TV, metgallurgy&steel, ocean S&T, SARAS duet, laser S&T, seismology,high-purity materials, ayurveda, telecom, antarctic cooperation, endangered species, animal health