South Africans are familiar with challenge, change and innovation. After all, this is a nation that has fought decades of adversity to negotiate a peaceful transition to democracy.
Transforming a society from divisive, immoral and economically unsustainable practices into one grounded in the principles of equality, responsible and sustainable growth and transparency required remarkable creativity, foresight and risk-taking - the same qualities inherent in successful innovators.
In his 2004 State of the Nation address, President Thabo Mbeki pointed out the reality of two economies in SA. The first accommodates the economically empowered. The second refers to the millions of people who are marginalised from the mainstream economy and barely survive from day to day. Addressing this huge divide is a priority.
The complexity of the divide cannot be underestimated. The manner in which these imbalances should be addressed is through much bolder solution-generation and application - not only on the part of the state, but through the collective efforts of all social partners.
Building the kind of society that will ensure SA's long-term prosperity requires:
- The development and application of contextually relevant, innovative solutions to the big challenges of slow growth, poverty and SA's ability to compete internationally. If we believe that innovation is a survival skill for any society, particularly for one living through times of rapid change we should be earnest in our efforts to kindle innovation.
- Far greater collaboration between the public, private and community sectors is needed. Complex problems of the type facing this country will not be solved by bureaucrats in offices in Pretoria or businesspeople working in isolation. The same proudly SA spirit that culminated in the birth of our democracy in 1994 is now required to collectively address the economic and social divides we face.
- We build the qualities and skills of entrepreneurship and innovation among South Africans. The more successful we are at developing and nurturing a culture of innovation and active societal advancement, rather than one of state-aided growth, the more SA's longer-term prospects will improve.
- We must learn from countries that are most actively grappling with inequality in creative and appropriate ways. Too often we have looked to the countries of the North for solutions to our developmental problems. Developing countries such as India and Brazil present us with some of the most useful lessons on how to innovate in complex environments.
- We must dispel the notion that the people the public sector wishes to employ are risk-averse and conformist. Government wishes to develop public servants who are social innovators. Bureaucrats who unthinkingly apply regulations and fail to solve problems have no place in a rapidly changing state.
Programmes already exist to address the issues raised above. Through the Centre for Public Service Innovation, an agency within the ministry of public service & administration , public-sector innovators and their social partners are recognised for excellence in solving problems practically within government. Run in collaboration with the Age of Innovation & Sustainability a wards this year, a programme focused on rewarding innovation in the private sector, these awards seek to recognise and support what is already successful, and encourage other people to take the first steps towards innovating in their workplaces.
However, what is already being done remains far too small and isolated to be sufficient to rapidly integrate the second economy into the prosperous mainstream economy of SA. We need to scale up the number and nature of innovators, and ensure that seeking solutions to our social and economic challenges becomes a prerequisite for the ongoing process of nation-building.
