Browsing by Author "Douglas, Tania S."

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Towards inclusive and responsible technological innovation systems
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Douglas, Tania S.; Woermann, Minka; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Innovation has gained prominence as a key ingredient to economic success. As a consequence, policy makers and researchers have paid increasing attention to the factors that enhance innovation. In addition, recent innovation policy directions globally reflect a desire for social justice. This study, focussing specifically on technological innovation, contributes to the set of tools available for gaining an understanding of the societal implications of innovation. It draws on three sperate but related innovation concepts: inclusive innovation, which refers to innovation activities that are intended to benefit the marginalised and enhance their social and economic well-being; responsible innovation, an approach that recognises and aims to moderate the hazards of technological innovation to humanity and the planet; and technological innovation systems, a framework for analysing the status and trajectory of technologies and technological fields. Inclusive innovation, responsible innovation, and technological innovation systems fulfil different roles in the assessment of technologies and their evolution. They are however potentially complementary and reciprocally beneficial . The study considers the expansion of the technological innovation systems framework with the aid of concepts derived from inclusive innovation and responsible innovation. It aims to extend the technological innovation systems formulation to strengthen a normative element that addresses benefit to society as well as the potential long-term harms of innovation. Particular consideration is given to the ethical foundations of responsible innovation and inclusive innovation. The expanded formulation presents an analytical tool for assessing technological innovation systems, particularly in developing countries, where inclusion of the marginalised as beneficiaries of, and participants in, innovation is an imperative. Such a broadening of the technological innovation systems approach provides for richer and more nuanced analyses, increasing the utility of the approach and its potential to influence innovation policy towards societal benefit, also in the long term, particularly in developing countries.