For developing countries, transforming the national innovation landscape involving the industry, academia and government (triple helix model) requires addressing three critical components of the ecosystem: the body, mind, and spirit.
The Body by embracing technology integration to enable transdisciplinary innovation. This is through combining multiple technologies and innovations into the body of existing technologies to evolve them beyond traditional boundaries, fostering synergies across disciplines.
The Mind by shifting the mindset of researchers to prioritize real-world impact over solely publishing papers. Researchers should aim to create meaningful contributions to industry and society.
The Spirit by cultivating a collaborative spirit between industry and academia to drive joint research initiatives, leveraging shared expertise and resources.
To address these components, three tailored solutions have been designed:
Chimeric Innovation (CI) – The next phase of open innovation model that emphasizes technology grafting. By combining compatible technologies (rootstock and scions approach), this solution fosters transdisciplinary innovation. It leverages the high percentage of researchers within institutions of higher learning often found in developing countries to create transformative solutions.
Innovation Readiness Level (IRL) – A framework designed to shape the mindset of researchers, helping them navigate the complexities of innovation development. IRL equips researchers with tools to maximize the potential for impactful and successful innovations/spinoffs.
Dynamic Requirement System (DRS) – A mechanism to strengthen collaboration between industry and academia through matching fund approach supported by the government. This solution aims to foster the formation of industry consortia and the execution of roll-up strategy to encourage Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries to join forces and pool resources, enabling them to achieve greater collective success.
These solutions are not confined to the national ecosystem; with minimal adaptation, they can be scaled to the regional level and eventually extended globally through multilateral collaboration. Collectively, they aim to “transmute” the innovation ecosystem in developing countries, driving sustainable growth, fostering meaningful collaboration, and delivering impactful progress on a broader scale.
Collectively, I term this approach the ‘Magnum Opus Strategy‘, inspired by the concept of alchemy—transforming an ecosystem of modest value into one of significantly greater worth, much like turning lead into gold.
Leave a Reply