Innovation Systems for Development: Making Research and Innovation in Developing Countries Matter

The rise and expansion of organized scientific research has led individuals to become accustomed to an unceasing delivery of new scientific results and technical improvements that resolve even seemingly unsolvable problems. This timely book examines how science-based research and innovation is designed, implemented and applied in developing countries in support of development and poverty alleviation. The expert contributors trace and compare the emergence of National Innovation Systems (NIS) in four developing countries - Bolivia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Vietnam. Dedicated chapters on each country identify the main structural and organizational problems for improving the relevance and quality of research output for the productive sector, and conclude by offering suggestions on how the process of applying research outputs and innovations in support of development goals can be improved. Scholars and students of development, innovation and related subjects will find this book to be useful with its focus on national innovation systems. It will also be of interest to policy advisors, decision-makers and other practitioners involved in development issues.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1. Science, Technology and Innovation for Whom? Bo Göransson 2. The Socio-Economic Context and the Millennium Development Goals Claes Brundenius 3. Emerging Innovation Systems in Developing Countries: Bolivia, Vietnam, Tanzania and Mozambique Claes Brundenius, Carlos Aguirre-Bastos, Tran Ngoc Ca, Bitrina Diyamett and Maximiano Dgedge 4. The National Innovation System in Bolivia and its Relevance for Development Carlos Aguirre-Bastos, Javier Aliaga Lordeman, Ignacio Garrón Védia and Raúl Rubín de Célis Cedro 5. The National Innovation System in Vietnam and its Relevance for Development Tran Ngoc Ca 6. The National Innovation System in Tanzania and its Relevance for Development Bitrina Diyamett, Heric Thomas, Lanta Daniel, Justine Liberio and Carlos Aguirre-Bastos 7. The National Innovation System in Mozambique and its Relevance for Development Carlos Aguirre-Bastos, Sérgio Chicumbe, Maximiano Dgedge, and Bo Göransson 8. Making Research Matter: A Synthesis of Survey Findings Bo Göransson Index

About the Author :
Edited by Bo Göransson, Claes Brundenius, Research Policy Group, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Sweden and Carlos Aguirre-Bastos, Institute for Social and Economic Research, Catholic University of Bolivia

Review :
'This is a timely and insightful book that looks into the relationships between knowledge production and development in four developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. An important contribution of the book is to highlight the contradictions that each country faces when trying to ''close the loop'' among researchers and policy makers. For all those interested in addressing the thorny question of how can research be channeled to fit national priorities this is a book not to miss.' 'This book deals with a subject that is highly relevant today. In a world facing an increasing concentration of income and wealth, with social exclusion, it offers further and deeper analysis of cases studies showing how the process of knowledge creation and innovation in developing countries can be more conducive to the purposes of development and poverty alleviation than it is currently. It shows how to ''close the loop'' - making research more closely linked to development goals. All of the authors of this book are renowned researchers that have worked in this field for more than a decade.'