This project introduces an effective National Innovation System that fosters low-carbon and climate resilient economic development in Mozambique through endogenous innovation.
It is funded by the European Union through the Innovative Climate Solutions (ICS) Programme.
Background:
Mozambique regularly experiences extreme weather events such as flooding, drought and cyclones. Natural disasters have repeatedly displaced tens of thousands of people. In facing the impact of climate change, innovation is seen as a relevant tool with a double benefit: To respond to the adverse effects of climate change, and to generate sustainable economic growth.
As a structured approach to fostering innovation is required, the concept of national innovation systems (NIS) has been introduced and widely adopted at a global level. The concept is defined as a “network of institutions in the public and private sectors, civil society, NGOs, innovators and researchers whose activities and interactions initiate, import, modify and diffuse new technologies”. At the core of the concept is the understanding that innovation, technical and economic progress are the result of a complex set of relationships among actors producing, distributing and applying various kinds of knowledge.
In 2003, the first Science and Technology (S&T) Policy was approved. The S&T Policy established the policies for building a national Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) system. In 2006, three years after the approval of the S&T Policy, the Government of Mozambique (GoM) approved Mozambique's Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (ECTIM), the general objective of which was "to establish a favourable framework, including strategic objectives and programmes, which will allow Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to be harnessed, thereby increasing its contribution to poverty reduction, economic growth and the social well-being of Mozambique's citizens".
In 2013, ECTIM had a mid-term evaluation in which it was found that the R&D system was expanding slowly and the results of technology and innovation in the country were low. In 2020-2021, UNESCO carried out a review of the Research and Innovation (R&I) landscape in the country and concluded that the 2003 Policy and the 2006 Strategy were outdated. This review showed that although the policy and strategy had, to a certain extent, led to the expansion of the R&D system, they were largely framed around a linear approach to innovation and were not contributing adequately to the transformation of the economy. Furthermore, the National Research Fund (FNI) that has been implemented since 2009. However, lacked funds to cover the innovation sector in order to absorb the increased number of innovators.
For that purpose, the S&T Policy and ECTIM are currently being revised. One of the six strategic pillars of the draft resolution is the “Strengthening the Innovation Ecosystem” (Pillar 3). Mozambique requires a structured national innovation system to effectively foster innovation for a low-carbon and climate resilient economic development. This technical assistance aims to develop a framework and roadmap for the introduction of a national innovation system by including key stakeholders in the development process and creating platforms for continuous engagement.
CTCN Support
While the science and technology components have made strides in being adopted, the innovation component has not been as fortunate in Mozambique. The review process of the current national policy and its strategy is in its final phase and will give more focus on innovation. To guide the enhancement of innovation capacities and outcomes for sustainable and low-carbon economic development in the country, a National Innovation System will need to be developed in a structured and strategic manner.
The innovation space currently faces several problems and barriers that are related to a lack of stakeholder coordination, governance and regulations, funding and investment, technology and infrastructure, as well as access to capacity building and support.
Therefore, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education has requested this CTCN technical assistance to support the development of a framework and roadmap for a national innovation system to foster low-carbon and climate resilient economic development. In addition to the development of the NIS framework and roadmap, innovation support mechanisms will be reviewed and strengthened and an effective communication and engagement plan will be proposed.
Expected Outcome
The outcome of this technical assistance is an enhanced endogenous capacity for innovation through effective innovation policies, institutional innovation support and an enhancement of the innovation capacities across relevant stakeholders. Over time, this should lead to an improvement of key innovation performance indicators, both qualitative and quantitative. These will be classified as input indicators and output indicators. Input indicators include funding (private and public sector R&D, venture capital, etc.) and human resources (professional education, higher education graduates, PhD, etc.). Output indicators include knowledge products (publications, patents, royalties, etc.), economic performance factors (per main economic sector, GDP growth, exports/imports of (high-technology) products), number of new SMEs/start-ups, innovation performance and performance with respect to “quality of life” indicators.
Following the implementation of this technical assistance, the NIS Framework, Roadmap and Communication Plan will be executed, and the revitalization of the Maluana Science and Technology Park, and introduction of innovation support centres in universities will be operationalized. The contribution over time will be an enhanced capacity for endogenous innovation for climate change mitigation and adaptation which will eventually contribute to the low-carbon and climate resilient economic development of Mozambique. This contribution will be continuously monitored through the performance indicators (including GHG emissions, GDP contribution, people impacted, etc.) defined within the NIS Policy Framework.
The result of this assessment should bring forth a set of indicators which will inform the overall updated STI policy and strategy, in particular the planned National STI Observatory.
