Mapping, measuring and managing African national systems of innovation for policy and development: the case of the Ghana national system of innovation

The systemic approach to innovation as key to economic development, in the context of the knowledge-based economy is increasingly evident and is of strategic value in terms of industrial and development policy (Bartels et al. 2012). The national system of innovation (NSI) of a country is therefore vital for enabling increased competitiveness through accelerated economic performance (Bartels and Voss 2005) and is crucial for developing countries hoping to catch up with advanced industrialised economies (Arocena and Sutz 2000). Innovation and NSI, previously seen linearly, are now viewed with a systemic network perspective. This perspective yields improved policy craft (Balzat 2002). In order to allocate limited resources effectively and efficiently through targeted policy, to increase industrial development and competitiveness, there is the need to map, measure and thereby manage the interactions of the core actors and barriers to innovation within the NSI (Bartels et al. 2009). The approach herein encapsulates the simultaneous application of a single data acquisition survey instrument (DASI) to the four core actors in the NSI (government, medium-and high-technology industry, knowledge-based institutions, arbitrageurs).