Community Of Practice in South Africa in Transformative Innovation Policy
Project details
Duration: 2022-Present
Funder: and
Status: Ongoing
Description
The South African Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) Community of Practice is convened through a collaboration between the (DSI), (CeSTII) at the (HSRC), the Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium, and the DSI/NRF/Newton Fund Trilateral Chair in Transformative Innovation, the 4IR and Sustainable Development at the 欧美福利100000 of Johannesburg.
Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) proposes a new approach to support innovation that addresses our complex societal and environmental challenges. It builds on the possibility of alternative futures, the potential of citizen movements, firms, governments, and knowledge organisations, and the co-creation of solutions through participatory approaches. Since South Africa became a founding member of the in 2017, a Community of Practice has been growing. Teams across the public sector are partnering with the DSI, to explore the value of the TIP approach.
Currently, we are building the community of practice by:
Developing a repertoire of knowledge resources, including masterclasses, public lectures, workshops, and written materials.
Providing customised advice and mentorship to programmes and teams willing to design clear strategies to change existing practices or initiate new projects seeking transformative outcomes.
The long-term goal is to build a vibrant and dynamic community of practice (in TIP in South Africa, which comprises multiple government agencies, practitioners, and relevant stakeholders). In the long run, we aim to build national capacity and capabilities for policy experimentation by:
Formalising TIP training 鈥� offering a range of formal training opportunities in TIP (e.g., short learning programmes, MPhil in TIP, and PhD by Practice in TIP at the 欧美福利100000 of Johannesburg)
Developing a network of mentors that can support widespread policy experimentation in South Africa (and further upscaling) in multiple themes.
Research team
Principal investigator: Prof. Erika Kraemer-Mbula and Prof. Rebecca Hanlin
Research assistants: Robyn Williams, Wandile Kelly Mlilo and Amanda-Leigh O’Connell
Collaborators: (DSI), (CeSTII) at thel (HSRC), and the
Research Outputs
Colloquium Report: Transformative Innovation Policy: Perspectives from South Africa. (2021). Available at: /wp-content/uploads/2022/05/tip_-perspectives-from-south-africa-2021-report.pdf
Research Repository: Human Sciences Research Council. Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators. (2023). Transformative Innovation Policy_SA. Available at:
Presentation: Transformative Innovation Policy in the South African Context. (2021). The Science Forum. South Africa. Available at: