4. NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM
4.8 TRIPLE HELIX MODEL
4.8.10 University/Higher Education Institutions Landscape
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12 development focus areas. The novel notion of a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) (planet, people, profit), which was coined by Elkington (1994), urges organisations to include social and environmental responsibility in the economic endeavours. The TBL responsibility includes sustainable business development (SBD) principles involve Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and thinking about all of the effects, impacts and consequences of planet, people, profit from “cradle- to-grave” (Rainey, 2006:713). It can therefore be proposed that South Africa’s private enterprises should undertake innovation for development through (i) corporate social investment (CSI); (ii) broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) schemes; (iii) the green economy and more labour-absorptive production methods; (iv) social entrepreneurship as a means of advancing development goals; and (vi) philanthropists and 'philanthrocapitalism'.
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production, advancement and dissemination of knowledge (research) and the development of high- level human resources are core functions of the higher education system. Within the NSI, HEIs are important generators of new ideas and promoters of innovation (Etzkowitz et al., 2007:11). The framework underpinning the review of South Africa HEIs is illustrated in Figure 4.8.10-1. Two juxtapositions have shaped the structuring of curricula discourses in South Africa, namely: the National Qualifications Framework and traditional disciplinary discourse (Ensor, 2002:274-275).
Figure 4.8.10-1: Closed model of the interface between region and higher education institution Source: Adopted from Goddard and Chatternon (2003)
The left side of Figure 4.8.10-1 refers to the three conventionally identified roles of HEIs (teaching, research and community engagement (CE)) (Chatterton & Goddard, 2003). The right side of Figure 4.8.10-1 summarises three key dimensions to (sustainable) development, namely:
innovation, skills and cultural and community cohesion including three pillars of sustainability.
Successful development requires drawing together the three strands for the HEIs’ effective engagement. In South Africa, the Higher Education Act No. 101 (1997), amended in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and the White Paper provide the overall regulatory and policy framework for HEIs, which places overall control of the HEIS in the hands of the Council. The S27 (1) provides that the Council “must govern” the University “subject to the Act and the Institutional Statute.” According to S28 (1), the Senate is answerable to Council with respect of academic and research issues. The CHE is an independent statutory body established by the Higher Education Act (1997). Its mandate is to advise the Minister of Education on all matters of higher education so that the system
Education
Service to Community R&D
Skills
Innovation
Culture Community and
Sustainability Processes
Value added HEI management processes Value added regional management processes
HEI’s Region
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becomes characterised by equity, quality, responsiveness to economic and social development needs, and effective and efficient provision and management and also contributes to the public good. While the number of HEIs has been reduced from 36 to 23, largely by merging technikons (technical colleges or polytechnics), the higher education sector as a whole has expanded dramatically since 1994, with the number of students rising from 473 000 in 1993 to 718 00025 by 2003. However, drop-out rates appear to have been rising in line with the increasing proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the higher education system. By restructuring the HEIs system in the White Paper was aimed to:
Deliver the requisite research, the highly trained people and the knowledge to equip a developing society with the capacity to address national needs and to participate in a rapidly changing and competitive global context the South Africa Department of Education (White Paper of S&T, 1997:1.13).
At the national level, at the HEIs the main National policies impacting on HEI/regional relations include: (i) Science &Technology (S&T); (ii) territorial development; (iii) HEIs; (iv) labour market; (v) industrial policy. Figure 4.8.10-2 presents and illustrates national policies impacting on university/regional relations.
Figure 4.8.10-2: National policies impacting on university/regional relations Source: Chatterton and Goddard (2003)
University TDP
S&T
Indust.
HE
LM
Local and Regional Agencies
National policies impacting on university/regional relations Key: S&T
TDP HE LM Indust.
Science and Technology Territorial Development Higher Education Labour Market Industry Policy
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According to the OECD (2007b:187), the number of higher education researchers has stagnated for some years. (Paterson, Nesamvuni & Canca, 2005:15) notes:
South Africa’s scientific output has been stagnating for the past 10-15 years. Stated differently, the scientific output of public science has reached a steady state. The output is typical of a system which has reached its limits. Unless the system changes structurally, no substantial growth is likely. In fact we would predict that no amount of incentives and rewards will affect this situation in the short term.
According to Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET, 2003:4) engagements refer to a systematic relationship between HEIs and their environment characterised by mutually beneficial interactions. Engagement entails incorporating feedback into changes in research and curriculum in the institution (CHET 2003: 10). Adopting Gibbons et al. (1994) terminology compared to Mode 1, Mode 2 knowledge is rather a dialogic process and has the capacity to incorporate multiple views, which relates to researchers becoming more aware of the societal consequences of their work (‘social accountability’).
Sandman (2008:100) views engagement as the process of transferring, applying and sharing the university`s knowledge resources and expertise with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research and creative activity; enhance the curriculum, teaching and learning;
prepare educated and engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility;
contribute to public good and transformation and to enhance social, economic and ecological sustainability (Sandman, 2008:100). Therefore an academic scholarship based model of CE involves both the act of engaging, bringing the HEIs and the community/stakeholders together as partners. Social engagements at the HEIs can take place in the form of community outreach projects, volunteerism, access and enrichment programmes (mathematics, science, engineering), clinical service and development projects, networking and stakeholder exchanges, information provision, student recruitment programmes, service learning, socio-cultural and sport activities, student placement/internship, serving on internal and external academic and professional committees and organisations, community organisations as well as serving on non-academic community organisations and committees. The CE activities illustrated in Figure 4.8.10-3 can be performed by academics, students, professional and administrative staff.
Therefore, the traditional role of CE can be replaced by the realization that within the proposed knowledge economy, research commercialisation and regional and national SD will add more value to the South Africa.
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Figure 4.8.10-3: Sample community engagement at the HEIs Source: prepared for this research
The Scholarship of Engagement generally draws from many sources of distributed knowledge and is based on reciprocal partnerships that are mutually beneficial. It is shaped by multiple perspectives and expectations; is long term, both in effort and impact, often with episodic bursts of progress; requires diverse strategies and approaches; and crosses disciplinary lines (Holland, 2005;
Fitzgerald, 2010).
The concept of the “entrepreneurial university” (Wolson, 2003:117), the controversy “The Kept University” (Press & Washburn, 2000) has not been unanimously accepted. Press and Washburn (2000:2) argued that: (i) the trend towards commercial activity occurs at the expense of the educational mission of HEIs; (ii) research agendas are dictated by corporate needs rather than by the public good, and that disinterested enquiry is inhibited; (iii) academic freedom is being restricted as researchers agree to abide by confidentiality clauses which can prevent publishing or discussing research work; (iv) conflicts of interest develop, particularly where researchers and/or the university are given the opportunity to share in a sponsoring company's profits; (v) institutions are growing increasingly fragmented as special interests are asserted by different groups.
In the HEIs context, grasping the necessity and bringing the TYIP to fruition are two different matters. In the South African context, unique opportunities and challenges facing the HEIs are overlaid by the dual imperatives of reconstruction/equity and development (SA DoE, 1997:2.95;
Griesel, 2003:39). Multiple policy imperatives should be deliberately designed to steer the transformation of the South African HEIs landscape to shape the agenda of institutions and the HEIs system as a whole (Teichler, 1999:183).
Academic Programs (Any Level) Service Learning
Internships Distance Learning Research Projects
Participation Project based learning
Engagement
Through Professional /Discipline Based Service Provision Through Teaching and Learning such as short Courses
Voluntary Professional Service Production / Presentation of Materials
Through Research and Scholarship
University Community
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In the proposed knowledge economy, achieving SD through research in the NSI will depend on the depth and width of South Africa's reservoir of HCD to support both the public and private enterprises.