Enabling Innovation Ecosystems in the MENA Region
In order to develop innovation ecosystems in the MENA region, there is a need to both gain insight into the nature of existing capabilities and develop mechanisms appropriate to the competences, culture and resources available in the area. By enabling and enhancing innovation capabilities, it is possible to develop innovation ecosystems to drive the region’s competitive advantage, and contribution to global value chains.
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to study innovation ecosystems in the MENA region. At the heart of sustainable innovation ecosystems are organizations that function as hubs of skills and knowledge, around which a local system can emerge. Large firms in the Arab world are central to the economy and can become powerful vehicles for innovation; creating industrial clusters, fuelling research institutions, and helping guide the necessary legislation, policies and culture shifts necessary for the development of innovation ecosystems.
The preliminary focus of the research is to thus to understand how to identify, and enable innovation capabilities in large MENA firms. The research focus will then shift to understanding how industrial innovation capabilities can be developed; finally the research will attempt to understand how national innovation capabilities can be developed and leveraged to deliver a global competitive advantage for countries in the region.
Research Deliverables
The research agenda is planned over a three year period with the intention of delivering the following the outcomes:
Year 1:
- Insight into the nature of innovation capabilities in large MENA firms
- An innovation capability roadmapping process for firms
Year 2:
- Insight into the nature of innovation capabilities in industrial sectors in the MENA region
- An innovation capability roadmapping process for industrial sectors
Year 3:
- Insight into the nature of innovation capabilities at the national level in the MENA region
- An innovation capability roadmapping process for identifying national innovation capabilities
Further Information
The Programme for Management, Policy, and Innovation in MENA is keen to engage stakeholders from the MENA region, and also welcomes cooperation and collaboration with companies, research institutions, and researchers with a similar research interest.
