DSI congratulates Dr Mmboneni Muofhe on his PhD achievement
Closing the gap between research and development (R&D) and commercialisation is a persistent challenge that motivated Dr Mmboneni Muofhe, Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Technology Innovation at the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), to research the matter further.
Dr Muofhe's investigation eventually led to him pursue a doctoral degree, which he has now successfully completed, obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy in Management of Technology and Innovation from the Da Vinci Institute.
The DDG was adamant that he wanted to do something that would be relevant and that complemented his work at the DSI, which covers R&D in space science and technology, energy security, bioeconomy and oversight of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA).
His thesis, titled "Bridging the Innovation Chasm: How South Africa can retrieve itself from the conundrum", focused on ways of bridging the chasm between R&D and commercialisation of R&D outcomes to benefit society and the economy. According to Dr Muofhe, the degree to which any science and innovation system can achieve this is a good measure of the efficiency of that system.
"The latest R&D survey puts South Africa's annual R&D spend at about R38 billion. A lazy extrapolation over 10 years would give you a total of R300 billion spent on R&D, and anybody investing this amount would like to see some form of return," he said. "My research was able to identify possible gaps from policy formulation, execution, monitoring and evaluation that we need to address.
"Most critically, the study revealed that effective science and innovation systems are those that are inclusive, highly collaborative and locally relevant. Locality in this context is not just at national but also continental and even local government level, where there are currently little or no innovation activities."
His study also notes the importance of the government taking the lead in supporting local innovations by using instruments such as special policies on local innovation procurement.
"No science and innovation system will succeed if it does not take itself seriously. So, we cannot have a system that we invest in, but when we need innovative solutions we go abroad," he explained.
Dr Muofhe's studies are already informing how business is conducted within the DSI's Technology Innovation Programme, as well as in various workplace engagements with colleagues and other stakeholders. "We have become more inclusive, consultative, engaging and impact-focused," he said.
This is in line with the Da Vinci Institute's patented Management of Technology, Innovation, People and Systems (TIPS) framework, which emphasises the importance of managing inter-relationships between technology, innovation and people in a systemic way to enhance sustainable development within an organisation. Students at the institute are required to put the TIPS framework into practice when responding to work-based challenges.
"In my many engagements with stakeholders, I learnt that you get innovative ideas where you never could have expected. For some of the problems that we are trying to solve in the boardrooms, there could be a young man out there, an old lady, a traditional leader or a villager sitting with a solution, but who cannot be reached because they are not part of the circle we operate in. This is where inclusivity comes in."
Reminiscing about the period in which he completed his studies, the DDG said the coursework and international exposure the programme offered were the most enjoyable aspects for him. "The coursework brought us into a class arrangement, and it was so interesting to see how putting an adult in a class environment immediately turns one into a naughty adolescent learner," he chuckled.
Dr Muofhe also had an opportunity to visit several commercialisation centres, offices of technology transfer and incubation centres in the United States.
It was during this period that he met Dr Mae Jemison, the principal of the 100-Year Starship (100YSS) initiative and the first black woman to travel into space. They formed a strong professional bond and friendship which saw Dr Muofhe being invited to speak at a 100YSS annual event run with NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The Department congratulates the DDG on his milestone achievement.
