In this paper, bioethanol and fruit processing clusters in Uganda were taken as sectoral innovation systems, and enabling conditions and barriers to their growth were analysed from a technoscientific and innovation systems perspective. Active participation of entrepreneurial university scientists in the clustering process appears to be an enabling factor. Absence of goals and incentives specifically to attract investments in the cluster areas and to drive formation of markets for cluster products is a major barrier. Adopting more inclusive innovation policies, and having in place good community engagement strategies, could help overcome the barriers and expand opportunities for clusters in low resource settings to grow and become competitive.

This study examined the dynamics, challenges and opportunities of developing innovation systems in low resource settings with a particular focus on Uganda. It applied perspectives of technoscience and concepts of innovation systems, triple helix as university-industry-government relationships, mode 2 knowledge production and situated knowledges in understanding the context, identifying key policy issues and suggesting ways to address them. A mixed methodology combining both quantitative and qualitative methods was used in the study. It involved review of key policy documents, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and meetings with scientists, business leaders in the target organizations and firms, community members as well as observations of production processes in firms. Findings underscore the need for greater interaction and learning among actors in the emerging innovation systems in Uganda and eastern Africa. An opportunity for this to happen may be the growing number of entrepreneurial initiatives at the university and some public research organizations in the country. These entrepreneurial initiatives are driven by scientists, who are enthusiastic about moving their research results and innovations to market. This makes it plausible, in low resource settings like in Uganda, to promote the university working closely with public research organizations and firms as a locus for research and innovation. However, enabling conditions, which foster interaction and learning among actors, should be put in place. First, there is need to formulate specific policies and strategies with clear goals and incentives to promote growth of particular innovation systems. Second, a clear national policy for financing research and innovation is needed, which involves on the one part core funding to universities and research organizations, and on the other, competitive grants for research and innovation. Third, business incubation services should be established and/or supported as places where entrepreneurial scientists and other persons develop and test their business ideas and models. Fourth, there is need for institutional reforms to make administrative processes less bureaucratic, more costeffective and efficient. These reforms are necessary for example in processes involving procurement and financial management, research project approvals (for ethics and safety), technology assessments, contracting and licensing and other registration services. The findings and conclusions from this study demonstrate that technoscientific perspectives and innovation systems approaches can be adapted and used as a framework for identifying and explaining conditions that promote or hamper innovation in low resource settings as well as policy options to address them.

This paper provides insight into Uganda’s evolving innovation system. The framework used to gain this insight presents science, technology and innovation as a function of financing, governance, human capital and the strength of interactions within and across the functional spheres. From the framework, it appears universities and public research organizations are playing a major role in building Uganda’s innovation system. Public research organizations should, however, collaborate more closely with universities, and be more pragmatic in technology dissemination. It seems that in Uganda the public sector will continue to play a leading role in fostering innovation in the foreseeable future as the private sector grows. A crucial element of the public sector support is to have in place stable merit-based system of science funding where competitive grants are awarded annually for research and innovation.

Research and innovation are key drivers for economic growth and competitiveness of countries. Of recent research and innovation-related initiatives have arisen in Uganda pointing to an evolving innovation system in the country and to the need to deepen understanding of the transformations taking place therein. This thesis provides evidence of this evolving innovation system in the country and makes recommendations to foster growth in it. A participatory research approach was employed using a combination of both qualitative and quantitative tools including key informant interviews and review of key policy documents, organizational reports and publications. Findings show that the role of research and innovation in driving economic growth and development was recognised in Uganda as early as the 1950s and 60s. But practical measures on how to integrate them into the national development planning process were lacking. It was not until the 1990s and 2000s that a realistic number of research and innovation initiatives started to emerge. These initiatives ranged from increased support to research, science policy development to supporting innovative business clusters. Arguably gains from these and other efforts would be enhanced, if government adopts a dual funding strategy for research and innovation, which on the one hand involves annual competitive grants and on the other hand increased core support to universities and research institutes. The public organizations create within them enabling conditions for creativity and enterprise development. The quality of education is improved at all levels to maintain a constant supply of a skilled scientific workforce. Ultimately, these efforts require inclusive innovation policies, which promote linkages and interactions between actors engaged in innovation processes both in country and abroad.

Science, technology and innovation plays a critical role in enhancing economic growth and contributing to national development. It is the means by which new products and services are developed or improved and brought to the market. However, to make this contribution, science, technology and innovation must be integrated in the national development planning process. Over the years, the integration of science, technology and innovation in Uganda’s national development planning has been implicit. Intentions to use science, technology and innovation as the vehicle for economic growth were evident in the country’s comprehensive development framework such as the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (1997 – 2008/09) and the National Development Plan (2010/11-2014/15). However, strategies of how to use it to bring about the desired outcomes of economic growth were lacking. The recent designation of science, technology and innovation in the National Development Plan of Uganda as a sector that provides institutional and infrastructural support to the production of goods and services demonstrates that integration of science, technology and innovation in development planning could be accomplished through endogenous efforts. But such inclusion of science, technology and innovation in the Plan should not be taken as an end in itself; rather it should be seen as a process. And implementation of the science, technology and innovation provisions of the National Development Plan ought to be undertaken within the context of the national innovation system.

Biotechnology is an important tool whose application Ugandan scientists are exploring in crop, fish and livestock improvement, value addition, waste management, and in medicine. However, the continuing growth of biotechnology or more broadly, biosciences as an enterprise in Uganda will depend on the support given to science and technology generally. To accelerate this growth, Government must ensure supportive science and technology structures such as: a national science funding facility for research and technology development; institutional governance systems which promote innovativeness, and high quality education at all levels to maintain a constant supply of a skilled bioscience workforce. Specific measures at institutional level could include: establishing more synergies between biotechnology programmes and strengthening interactions among the actors both locally and internationally; integrating biotechnology into institutional programmes and regulatory instruments; putting in place technology management policies and developing capacities for their implementation; encouraging private sector participation in commercialization of bioscience innovations, supporting spin-off bioscience-based companies through a national innovation and commercialization fund; and eliminating administrative bottlenecks in procurement and financial management through early and more coordinated planning. This paper gives highlights of biotechnology developments and the associated challenges in Uganda.