Transformative Innovation Policy Africa Hub exploratory: Final technical report

This report examines the prospects for applying Transformative Innovation policy (TIP) in Sub-Saharan Africa through an exploratory collaboration between researchers and policymakers.

It includes country STI ecosystem mapping reports for Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa, drawing on the Three Frames of innovation policy.

The project was coordinated by the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) in the UK, with support from Canada’s International Development Research Centre, and investigated through co-enquiry how innovation policy systems in these countries operate and how they might be reoriented to better address societal challenges such as inequality, sustainability, and inclusive development.

The report analyses national systems and explores how policy can move beyond traditional approaches focused mainly on research investment or competitiveness toward strategies that promote systemic change. It highlights lessons from cross-country collaboration and identifies pathways for strengthening governance, experimentation, and learning in innovation policy so that science, technology, and innovation can contribute more directly to sustainable development and societal transformation in African contexts.