Framing the concepts that underpin discontinuous technological change The paper takes the form of a literature study on the topic of technological change, innovation and building technological capabilities. For this paper, research and content contributions were also made by Mbofholowo Tsedu (TIPS), Prof Dave Kaplan (University of Cape Town and TIPS Research Fellow), Bhavna Deonarain (TIPS) and…
Mapping the meso space that enables technological change, productivity improvement and innovation in the manufacturing sector This paper focuses on meso organisations and policies that strengthen the technological capability of the country or industry to enable change, adaptation and economic resilience.
Smart cities and smart rural areas: Digitisation is not the first priority What constitutes the "smart" element of a space or a place? We argue that “smart” does not equal digitisation. But if "smart" is not necessarily associated with digital solutions, what does it mean then?
Strengthening technological capability This article is a summary of a research paper that Mesopartner was commissioned to write for Trade and Industry Policy Strategies (TIPS) on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa. It is about strengthening technological capability in developing countries like South Africa to prepare for the changing nature of work, production and…
Identifying the meso organisations that strengthen technological capability During the past year, Mesopartner has been working with the Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) and the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) in South Africa to develop a strategy to identify and respond to discontinuous technological change (see Article 11 in this Annual Reflection, Responding to…
Responding to technological change by promoting learning and skills upgrading in the economy In Article 9 of this Annual Reflection, Strengthening technological capability, two important sub-systems at the meso level are mentioned. The two sub-systems are made up of the technological institutions that disseminate codified and tacit knowledge (through technological services) and the education…
SDGs: Requirements for a more innovative and interdisciplinary promotion approach at the local level In 2016, all 193 UN member states signed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also named “Transformation Agenda 2030”. In contrast to its forerunner, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs not only focus on providing targets for developing countries but also for industrialised…
Targeting resilience, not growth Many international donor programmes have growth and employment as their prime objectives and performance targets. Impact-level indicators usually cover the number of full-time equivalent jobs created and net-attributable income change. As these programmes are about reducing poverty and inequality, this is certainly right. Or is it?
Adaptive management Adaptive management has caused quite a buzz in development. At the same time, many practitioners, particularly those who have been around for a while, see it more as common sense than as something completely new. Mesopartner has always promoted an approach that is sensitive to the context and to stakeholder capabilities, and is able to incorporate learning over time, adapting…
LED and MSD: Differences and complementarities In recent editions of the Annual Reflection, particularly in the 2015 Annual Reflection, we discussed Local Economic Development (LED) intensively. We have also occasionally discussed Market System Development (MSD).
