project, but such an approach needs further examination for much wider application. Another example is ‘crowd sourcing’ which should have special application in social innovation programmes. Are we keeping pace with such developments?
3. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project7 as a role model
Some eight years ago, the opportunity arose for South Africa to bid for one of the largest international scientific projects ever. While we may have had the ideal physical site in the Northern Cape, the requirements were truly demanding of all our national abilities to design and demonstrate technological prowess in the field, to have the political will and policies to support an application, and the range of skilled people from a vast range of disciplines who could work together to achieve success in a defined time window. Looking ahead, such a project would also require increasing the numbers of specialists to drive and develop further so the education dimension was appreciated early. Here was a project that needed every bit of the approach of a National System of Innovation– government, universities and science councils and business all working together to plan, implement and prove our capability.
The team driving this project showed excellent judgement in their approach. Over the past years, the KAT-7 demonstrator with seven dishes has been completed and is undergoing final commissioning, while the expansion to the MeerKAT with 64 receptors continues. In addition, the advanced information and data processing facilities required have been initiated as a key factor. Business and industry were, from the outset, part of this development bringing production and R&D capacity to the fore to make the reality possible. The design of all these systems has included many innovations created by maximising the abilities of a broad team.
The success in winning the bid for 70% of the whole international programme is a true indicator of the potential of South Africans to rise to a challenge, no matter how daunting. No one institution, government department or business could have achieved this. Can we learn from this success, that is the question?
4. Conclusion
The world economy is moving increasingly rapidly to become more knowledge-driven, with technology developments playing a vital role, and information technology accelerating the progress. To stay abreast of such a new
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24 Management Today | September 2012 The Innovation Journal
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