Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 10, No. 4, December 2009
Role Of
Reliable Policies In Promoting Research And Knowledge Management: The African
Context
Bwalya Kelvin Joseph, University of Botswana.
ABSTRACT:
Many countries the world
over have appreciated the role of research and Knowledge Management (KM) in their
socio-economical development. African governments, just like any others all
over the world, have a duty to incorporate into their public policies and
knowledge-related activities the UN’s Millennium Declaration as a framework
for knowledge society. This paper presents an ad hoc survey looking at
endeavours done towards establishing research as a public good in Botswana, Zambia
and Malawi.
It brings out lessons learnt on how research can or cannot contribute to
national development, and further establishes the niche of research and
effective knowledge management as a tool toward shaping a nation on the
competitive edge in the global value chain. Incorporation of the research and
knowledge management agenda into national policies is not an easy thing to do,
as a lot of challenges are evident from case studies where this has been tried.
Keywords: Socio-economic development, Knowledge management, Policy,
Research, Zambia,
Malawi, Botswana
1. Background And Introduction
There have been many definitions of research in literature. Stone (2002)
treats research as a codified, scholarly and professional mode of knowledge
production that has its prime institutional loci in universities, policy
analysis units of government departments or international organizations and
private research institutes and produced by academics, think tank experts and
development professionals. With this view, he looks at research as a stimulus
to aid affluent policymaking contrary to the view taken by this paper where it
ascertains that for research to thrive there is need to have appropriate policies
in place. Research aims to investigate, learn and produce knowledge by
gathering information, contemplation, trial, and/or synthesis (Shankland, 2000).
For example, in an international development context, that may involve action-research
or academic study ranging, as examples, from a pilot project, to a laboratory experiment,
a consultation exercise, a quantitative survey, a literature review,
participant observation or a participatory evaluation. Mchombu (2002) further opines that research
should be social development oriented especially in developing countries in
order to be a catalyst in the development process.
Further, Crewe &
Young (2002) give a balance between research and policy and how the two are
intertwined. They ascertain that research and policy defy neat
separation but can be conceptually distinguished by their goals and methods. In
its entirety, research produces knowledge (whether by, as examples,
action-research or academic study); policy aims for continuity or change of a
practice (stretching from the statements on intent to the development of policy
in practice). In this
regard, Crewe & Young supports this paper’s accession on the link
between research and policy. It is thus suffice to say that if policy aims for
continuity or change in a practice; it is likely to change the research culture
and its contribution to the body of knowledge and society at large if sound
policies are in place. Crewe & Young (2002) further looks at different
strategies for influencing policy makers and researchers have to take
account of the various bureaucratic pressures limiting and enabling them, as
well as those who commission or fund research. These factors are streamlined
along the following themes: a) the urge to simplify: due to resource shortages,
b) ‘gigantism’: the bigger the budget, the greater the status, c) inflexible
long-term project planning, and d) fierce competition for funding: discouraging
collaboration).
If sound policies favoring research are in place, it is suffice to mention
that there will be adequate knowledge sharing which will in turn transform into
tangible socio-economic development of a nation. Many authors have defined
knowledge management in different ways. Newman (1991) defined knowledge
management as a collection of processes that govern the creation,
dissemination, and utilization of knowledge in an organization. It involves the
management of explicit knowledge (i.e. knowledge that has been codified in
documents, databases, web pages, etc.), and the provision of an enabling
environment for the development, nurturing, utilization and sharing of
employees’ tacit knowledge (i.e. know-how, skills, or expertise). It is
to be mentioned that ideally, a research policy agenda should encompass new
economic institutions and cultures, new technology paradigms and the ICT
infrastructure, national and regional innovation systems – and human
capital, or the knowledge, skills and other attributes of the workforce (OECD,
1997).
To firmly comprehend the discussion in this paper, let’s also look at
the layman meaning of the terms ‘policy’ and ‘policy
analysis’. The theory of public policy has been around for several $decades
now as it can be traced from 1950s and the era of the early ‘think
tanks’, such as the Rand Corporation and the Brookings Institution in the
USA, and very probably to prewar writing (Smith, 1991; Weiss, 1992). Recently,
there has been so much interest from different fields in trying to understand
how policy decisions are made and the implications of the said policies on the
socio-economic field and correspondingly how the policy decisions are taken and
how these are justified empirically, intellectually and ideologically. Shankland
(2000) ascertains that policy aims for continuity or change of a practice,
including plans and their evolution when put into practice (that is, the
‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ of decisions. He further
goes on to state that ‘Public’ policy is usually led by
practitioners within organizations, rather than private policies which are negotiated
at the level of communities or households.
Although many authors have emphasized strategies on how research outputs
should be made available to the policymakers so that the research findings are
incorporated into policy, it is also important to investigate how appropriate
policies can influence development of research undertakings. Africa
in general has recognized the role of sound policies in promoting research and
development. This can be evidenced by the many commitments to provision of an
enabling environment done by the African leaders in many different contexts
such as the Cape Town Declaration on research for sustainable development in
July 2002 (Ngubane, 2002). In 2002, ministers responsible for research, science
and technology in the African, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Group of States met
in Cape Town
and devoted to address priority issues of research for sustainable development,
including the social, environmental, economic, cultural, and political aspects
in the ACP states. Out of this meeting, it was recommended that sound policies favoring
the nurturing of research on all corners of the ACP be encouraged.
Different policy interventions in different African countries are evident:
Many countries at the moment are trying to revamp their information
communications technology (ICT) infrastructure so that there can be easy and
almost costless sharing of information in this knowledge age. One initiative of
revamping the ICT infrastructure is massive investments by Africans in
deploying optical fibre networks, erecting efficient national network
backbones, liberalization of ICTs and telecommunications gateways, etc. This is the case because, for example, fibre
optic cable which provides a cheaper option than satellite is scarce in Africa. Where it is available costs are kept high by
monopolistic ownership structures whose main goals are commercial rather than
developmental (RCARENI, 2005). Another example for commitment by Africans to
promote research is that of South
Africa where the Health Research Policy
(HRP) has been developed to promote the practice and conduct of research that
contributes towards the improvement of the human health and welfare of the
South African population. The HRP attempts to create a framework and
environment for health research to contribute effectively to health
development, and for evidence to lead to policy formulation (HRPSA, 2001). The
recent past has also seen Botswana
seeing researchers and research institutions mushrooming thanks to the
initiatives that are now being put in place. Generally Botswana has
not had a well established system of funding research (Moahi, 2007). As is the case in Africa and elsewhere, many countries tend to
encourage research and development by developing national research strategies
and by providing avenues for funding. Such a system is crucial because the
presence of funding bodies tend to determine the research strategy and focus (Moahi, 2007). This being the case,
as good as it may be, there are other countries in Africa that have not shown
considered commitment towards the advancement of research in their respective
countries.
As aforementioned, many studies taken have emphasized the influence of
research on policy (Stone, 2002; Graham, 2004). However, this paper takes an
inverse approach as it looks at how appropriate policy can create an enabling
environment for research and knowledge sharing to thrive. Appropriate policies
would encompasses strategic initiatives (e.g. putting up of fibre networks for
easy and faster data transfers, appropriate research funding mechanisms,
developing a reliable human resource base, etc.) by authorities and the public
sector for the sole purpose of encouraging research and knowledge
dissemination. Fortunately, this paper
is not just about a compilation of melancholic facts, but rather seeks to
present its findings from the case studies in a unique way by presenting an
overall feel of the research and policy environments in Botswana, Zambia and
Malawi. The next section looks at the different case studies to
substantiate the role of evidence-based policies for research and knowledge
sharing development.
2. Case Studies
2.1. Botswana
Botswana’s
government has realized that for research to thrive, there is supposed to be
proper policies that support its development. Research and efficient knowledge
management and sharing paradigms are the most important cornerstones to the
survival of a country in this knowledge age. The University of Botswana (UB)
acts as the pioneer institution in forging ahead the research agenda and has
benefited greatly from the fiscal policies that the government has put in place.
This is further compounded by the resident research and development policies at
UB which encourage and reward excellence in research, innovation and
development, builds research capacity, generates resources, and builds
knowledge (UB Research Policy). This has seen UB researchers contributing much
to national development by making known and available most of their research
findings.
Considerable effort has been made by Botswana National Research, Science and
Technology Plan towards making good policies for research. The plan highlights
the outline of priority investment areas in research including how these
priority areas will meet Botswana’s
national goals, e.g. contribution to Vision 2016 (BNRST, 2005). The case is
also made in the literature that the difference in the income of countries is more
attributable to knowledge than to physical and human capital and that
innovation and productivity increase is more important in national
competitiveness than GDP growth. This would suggest the need for greater
investment in research and development, education and information technology
than in physical plant and equipment and the adoption of measures to prepare
the country for greater globalization and competition. To foster this shift, Botswana
can learn from other countries such as Korea, Malaysia, Finland, etc., specifically
in formulating a policy framework to provide the following incentives: a) economic
incentives and an institutional regime that provides incentives for the efficient
use of existing and new knowledge and support for entrepreneurship; b)
educated, creative and skilled people; c) a dynamic information infrastructure
particularly to get information to rural and poor communities; and d) an
effective national innovation system (BNRST, 2005).
As information communications technology (ICT) lie at the center of
knowledge dissemination and management, it is important that any country that
intends to promote research and shift towards a knowledge-based economy should
have a defined ICT infrastructure. Towards this course, Botswana has
come up with an ICT initiative and has succinctly expressed their desire for a
research sound economy in the 1996 ICT bill which is now under implementation
with the modified bill, the Maitlamo ICT bill of 2007. The 1996 ICT bill is
based on the following principles:
Ø
the establishment of an
independent regulatory body;
Ø
the modification of license issued
to incumbent telecom operators; and
Ø
the development and adoption of
standards in the quality of telecommunications services (UNECE Report, 2002).
Ø
The Maitlamo ICT bill is the most
dedicated policy initiative that the Botswana government, private partners
and the general public have made towards the enculturation of ICTs.
Within the policy framework, Botswana
has come up with policies that aim to have properly-trained workforce that will
be proper researchers and knowledge generators and managers who would help in
overcoming future challenges that the country may face. Several policies and
acts of parliament have been put in place to accelerate the development of
research institutions such as the research-oriented Botswana International
University of Science and Technology (BIUST),
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), the set-up of the
National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST), and other complementary
institutions such as the Botswana Research Science and Technology Investment
Agency (BRSTIA).
The science and technology (S&T) policy of 1998 gives priority to
strengthening telecommunications infrastructure and the use of ICTs, and
attracting women to professions and careers in the field of science and
technology. It proposes an umbrella under which S&T development in the
country can be undertaken. It is to be noted that, for Botswana’s
environment, although recently there have been large breakthroughs in
encouraging research, as of 1998, the laws governing research were over-protective.
(Mazonde, 1998). This entails that if this has not yet been done, i.e. the
relevant regulatory frameworks for research have not taken care of this, it is
important that legislation and conducive environment for research is put in
place.
Given its limited human resource
base at present, Botswana
has put in place some initiatives to have an enabling research environment in
place. It is however, worthy noting that proper regulatory frameworks and
follow-up programs have to be drawn to promote the culture of research in as
much as Botswana
would like to be considered as an upcoming knowledge-based economy.
Comparatively with other Sub-Saharan African states, Botswana’s effort towards
encouraging research and knowledge management is in focus and better than most
of these countries.
The next section continues sampling
of the research and knowledge management environment in Zambia.
2.2. Zambia
Zambia
has concentrated much on revamping agriculture sector and many policies have
been put in place to make sure this is realized. This is because, for a long
time, agriculture has been the second economic mainstay. Even as of now, although very few people will
mention the need to delve towards transcending towards a knowledge-based
economy, this is not part of policy.
Surprisingly, although this is the case, the evolution of agricultural
research and development policy in Zambia is emblematic of the quiet
crisis in African agricultural research. This potential has not been realized because
of post-independence national policies that involved a suite of state
interventions, which became unsustainable with falling copper revenues.
Elliott & Perrault (2002) give the following policy thrusts which were
supported by the Ministry of Finance agreed to revamp and uphold the
development of the agricultural sector in Zambia:
Ø
Need for liberalization of the agricultural
markets by relying on market-based prices for all crops, privatizing
agricultural parastatals, and removing trade barriers or restrictions.
Ø
Increase the role of the private
sector by privatizing companies, seeking cost recovery, or privatizing services
outright.
Ø
Diversify agricultural production
by shifting from maize to groundnuts, soybeans, tobacco, cotton, horticulture,
and floriculture.
Ø
Improve services to smallholders
through research, extension, credit, and land tenure
Ø
Improve the economic status of
women through access to credit, extension, land tenure, and other services.
Ø
Make better use of available
natural resources by accelerating land registration, increasing investment in
infrastructure, and permitting land subdivision to create a market in land.
Ø
Ensure food security by creating a
food reserve for transitory insecurity and a financial mechanism to finance
imports.
With such policy interventions, it has been seen that the agriculture sector
has been improving steadily. Despite this being the case, the sector has not
improved at such a high rate given the level of commitment from both the public
and private sector. This may partly be attributed to low penetration of ICTs in
the research circles. It is anticipated that if ICTs and other
telecommunications policies were deliberately put in place, there would be
evident knowledge distribution and sharing of experiences in the agriculture
sector. The economic mainstay in Zambia has been the mining
industry. It is anticipated that this should have engulfed the use of ICTs at
an earlier stage and consequently spill over the technology to other
socio-economic sectors. However, this has not been the case as most of the
mining business processes have been done manually.
ICTs sit at the center of the knowledge-age and countries that need to
transform to knowledge-based economies should adopt ICTs as a tool for national
competitiveness. This has to be coupled with proper ICT infrastructure and a
learned human resource base would retrieve value from the use of ICTs. The Zambia Telecommunications Act (ZTA) set
up in 1994, placed Zambia
in a leading role as an African country in the use of information and
communication technology. After the Act, the Communications Authority of Zambia
(CAZ) was created which was tasked with the role of making an implementation
follow-up to the recommendations of the ZTA, issue telecommunications service
and supplier licenses, and oversees the growth of the telecommunications
industry of Zambia.
The ICT policy was just launched in 2007 and its full-scale implementation is
yet to be seen.
With the absence of as defined ICT policy implementation and a questionable
national backbone network infrastructure the cost paid for any transfer of
information is huge. This being the case, research becomes very expensive as
access to information is subsequently expensive. Also information sharing is
not realized as such sharing of experiences will not be entertained. Zambia has some
policies promoting research particularly for the agricultural sector, with less
emphasis on other research sector potentials. Apart from the public National Center
for Scientific Research and the Zambia Association for Research and
Development, there are no vibrant institutions for research in Zambia. Even
the University of
Zambia has placed itself
as a traditional teaching university with very limited research endeavors. This
can be partly attributed to lack of policies targeted at developing the
research industry in Zambia.
2.3. Malawi
Despite massive underdevelopment, Malawi has always had sound fiscal
policies in place in support of research. Traditionally, Malawi is an agricultural country just like Zambia
discussed above. Early post independence
policies supported significant government involvement in the smallholder
agricultural sector in areas of production, extension, technology development
and marketing of agricultural produce. Subsequent post independence policies
saw the government being oriented towards poverty reduction. It was only after
independence that the country put in strategic policies to move from an
agriculture-based to knowledge economy. Although this has not been reached as
of yet, so much has been done towards the same. To encourage free thought and
participation in information generation and management, Malawi
introduced a local language, Chichewa, to be used in primary and high schools
in a bid to encourage ordinary Malawians pursue education (Chilora, 2000). This was vested upon
government’s understanding of the value of education to national
development and development of an informed human resource base.
In Malawi,
there have been many interventions done to put in place policies that favor
research and the development of knowledge management paradigms. One such
initiative was the action of the Executive Board of the African Capacity
Building Foundation (ACBF) which, in 2007, approved a Grant of US$ 1.5 million,
to support the Malawi Macroeconomic Policy Research and Analysis Project (MPRAP).
The goal of the project was to strengthen public policy research and analysis
in Malawi. The specific objectives of the project were
to build Malawi’s
national capacity in public policy research and analysis to support policy
makers and other stakeholders, build the capacities of other national research
institutions in Malawi
and provide technical support and advisory services to non-state actors in
policy research and analysis, and so forth (MPRAP, 2008). Another initiative is the National Malaria
Control Program (NMCP) which functions under the Directorate of Preventive
Health Services in the Ministry of Health. The NMCP sets the policies that
encourage research and sharing of experiences in malaria research in Malawi. The
NMCP also enhances institutional capacity for high-quality multidisciplinary
health-related research by housing support units for research training in
medical, nursing and other health-related institutions, aims to establish national
small grants schemes for applied and basic health research and delves to
strengthen laboratory infrastructure and training in national institutions.
There is also the National Research Council of Malawi (NRCM),
which was created by presidential decree in 1974, and acts as a national apex body in the Office
of the President and Cabinet responsible for the promotion and coordination of
research in Malawi.
Within its advisory role, NRCM is responsible for research policy matters at a
national level. NRCM provides the general framework for the conduct of research
in the nation. NRCM, in consultation with other stakeholders, develops national
regulations, guidelines, procedures and measures for health-related research in
Malawi.
Sectoral ministries and institutions are encouraged to develop their own
sector-specific research guidelines and policies to work in tandem with
NRCM’s umbrella regulations, guidelines and policies.
The Government of the Republic of Malawi has recognized and accepted the importance and
role of ICT, in Malawi’s
socio-economic development. This recognition is seen in removal of import duty
on computer sets in Government’s establishment of Television Malawi
(TVM); development and implementation of the Malawi Communications Policy;
enactment of the Malawi Communications Act in 1998; development of Science and
Technology policy; enactment of Science and Technology Act on 4 August 2003;
the upgrade of analogue telecommunications to digital telecommunications
equipment through Malawi Telecommunications Limited; liberalization of the
telecommunications sector which has enabled proliferation of electronic
financial services, and private
broadcasting services. Furthermore, the conviction is demonstrated through
Government’s prioritization of ICT activities in the Malawi Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper, and in the corresponding Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF), and in establishing the Malawi Communications Regulatory
Authority (MACRA), (MICT 2003).
In 2002, Malawi
started developing a new ICT Policy with the assistance of the ECA/UNDP (MICT,
2003). This was the extension of the idea initially outlined in the Integrated
Socio-Economic and ICT Policy and Plan Development Framework for Malawi vested
in the vision 2020 National Perspective Study document – Volume 1,
Science and Technology Policy.
Other policies to develop a competent human resource base and to promote
sharing of research outputs or any other developmental information included the
Education Management Information System (EMIS) and Policy (funded by USAID);
the Sustainable Development Networking Program (SDNP) whose aim was to provide connectivity
in the form
of E-mail and Internet Services; the ICT Policy
Framework for Malawi which was the United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (UNECA) and UNDP initiative to come up with a
framework, which a
policy document can
be based on; and the Government Wide Area Network
(GWAN) which is a government network for
ministries and all government departments and agencies.
It is worth noting that not much has been done to set up legal frameworks
supporting the proliferation of research endeavors in Malawi;
however, the institutional framework is solid considering the level of development.
3. Implications
As countries strive towards placing themselves as knowledge-based countries
so that they can be effectively competent in this digital age, it is important
that research and efficient knowledge management paradigms are put in place. The
key to this shift is not only about building sophisticated research
infrastructure or not only about building national capacity for biotechnology
and information technology but the effective use of this knowledge across different
socio-economic hierarchies generally getting this knowledge particularly to ordinary
citizens such as mothers, farmers, workers, enterprises and government in order
to improve their productivity and service delivery. It is also about creating
an effective national innovation system with the necessary local R&D
capacity to tap into global knowledge, creating and adapting new knowledge and
disseminating it in such a way that it can be used by individuals and
communities (BNRST, 2005). Within this context, it is also important to note
that the method and degree of ‘knowledge utilization’ is shaped by
a host of factors that are peculiar to leadership styles, institutional architecture
and political culture of a country or policy domain (Stone, 2002)’. For
research and efficient knowledge management to thrive, it is important policies
be put in places that favor the creation of such an environment, which we aptly
call an enabling environment.
4. Conclusions
This paper has looked at three
countries in Southern Africa, Botswana,
Zambia and Malawi, and
their efforts toward commercialization of research and a culture of efficient
knowledge management as a public good. It succinctly gives the insights of endeavors
done by these countries in encouraging and coordination of research. The paper
brings out lessons learnt on
how research can or cannot contribute to national development, and further
establishes the niche of research and effective knowledge management being a
tool towards shaping a nation on the competitive edge in the global value
chains. The paper emphasises that whilst a lot has been done in putting in
place legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks and policies favouring the
proliferation of research in these countries, a lot more has to be done.
Specifically, the countries surveyed should come up with strategic initiatives
to follow-up on some policies that have been put in place to encourage
research. This will give a more accurate picture of what impact certain
policies in place are making for achieving the desired purpose. Specifically,
for a country like Botswana which has a dedicated commitment towards setting
itself as a knowledge economy, some of the research initiatives are slowly
transcending into contribution to national development i.e. GDP. Thus, it is
appropriate to state that research is such an important tool for national
development because it makes sense in all social economic setups.
It is worth noting that the three countries survey in this paper may not be
representative enough to arrive at a conclusive stance of how Africa
has put in place proper policies and regulatory frameworks to allow an enabling
environment for the development of research. It is thus desired that a wider scan
be done in future to ascertain the exact initiatives that have been done
towards putting in place sound policies for encouraging research and knowledge
management. It is desired that a broader-based literature review and case
studies be done in order to ascertain the real status of incorporation of
research into the development agenda of African countries. This broader-based
scan will unearth the truth about how appropriate policies may aid the
development of a research culture in Africa.
In this regard, any future endeavors to improve the role of sound policies
in the development of research in Africa
should be streamlined according to the following principles:
Ø
Putting appropriate ICT
infrastructure to promote exchange of ideas and reduce the cost of information
management and dissemination.
Ø
There should be established
follow-up mechanisms to the research policies so that it is ascertained that
the policy serve for the desired purposes.
Ø
There should be put in place legal,
institutional and regulatory frameworks.
Ø
Educational campaigns should be
made on a wider scale to make sure that everyone understands and buys in to the
importance of research in any socio-economic setups.
Ø
The private sector should be
actively involved in setting up the national ICT backbone infrastructure as the
government investments and subsidies alone cannot be enough to sustain this
development.
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About the Author:
Bwalya Kelvin Joseph is currently a lecturer and Researcher at the University of Botswana. He holds a Bachelors of
Science and Technology in Electrical Engineering (Moscow Power
Engineering Tech.
University) and a Masters
in Computer Science (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). He is
also currently pursuing PhD in Information Systems (Univ. of Johannesburg).
He started his carrier in 2003 as a Research Assistant at Samsung’s Image
and Video Systems lab in Daejon,
South Korea. In
2005, he was Researcher in the same lab. During this time, he wrote and
presented several research papers at international fora. In 2007, he joined the
University of Zambia where he worked for a year as a
lecturer – Information Systems. He is also currently, Team Leader at the
Tertiary Education Council of Botswana; Email: Kelvin.Bwalya@mopipi.ub.bw