Innovation and development: an arena for multiple actors and multiple narratives

At UCL STEaPP we study innovation and development from a particular empirical and conceptual standpoint. We believe that whether one is confronting a food security, water and sanitation, health, education, environment, energy, transport or infrastructure challenge, the nature of each challenge – from the causes thereof, what sustains it, to how it can be resolved – necessitates that a multipronged policy and practice response be put in place. Yet it happens, intentionally or not, that instead of focusing on the problem and enhancing synergistic capabilities in response to the challenge, actors often find themselves competing for recognition of who is doing the most in dealing with the challenge. These competitive tendencies can be subtle or full-on, but in either case, it is important that these are explored and understood, so that stakeholder energies can be harnessed towards addressing the societal challenges at hand.

In one of our recent MPA in Development, Technology and Innovation Policy classes, students held a debate between four sets of stakeholders – government, private, education and non-profit sectors. They each had a brief to argue that they played the most important role in stimulating and sustaining innovations, and to make suggestions on what other actors should do to up their own game. The vivid and animated debate that ensued was quite revealing in a number or areas, including, but not limited to how working together, instead of competing, would be good for coordination in resource allocation and use; synergies in measuring, enhancing and appreciating impact of innovations; encouraging a broader range of innovative practice; shared accountability; and convergence on necessary policy adjustments needed to enhance the role and relevance of innovations and technologies. None of this, and broader lessons for academic, policy and practice linkages, could have been captured better than was done by one of the debate adjudicators, Dr Henrietta Blackmore, from Save the Children.

Read the full blog here