The role of universities in knowledge-based industrialisation in Kenya: a study of university industry-government linkages in manufacturing sector
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Date
2015
Authors
Thuo, Onesmus Muroki
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify and document the patterns in universityindustry-
government linkages (UIOLs) as platforms for the commercialization of
knowledge and technology in the manufacturing sector of the economy. This would
be the basis for proposals to support the development of a knowledge-based
manufacturing sector as envisioned in Kenya Vision 2030. To do so, the following
research questions guided the study: a) What is the extent of UIGLs in the
manufacturing sector? b) What is the motivation for these linkages? c) To what extent
can these linkages contribute to the creation of knowledge-based manufacturing in
Kenya? d) What are the challenges facing these linkages? e) How can these linkages
be enhanced to facilitate knowledge-based manufacturing in Kenya? These questions
were generated within the framework of Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff's (1995) Triple
Helix (TH) model of an innovation system in which an entrepreneurial university is
the key driver of innovation as part of a dynamic National Innovation System (NIS)
constituted by UIG institutional spheres and linkages that interact closely and coevolve
as a triadic web of innovation into a knowledge-based economy. To answer the
research questions, the QUAN-qual explanatory mixed methods design was used. The
study targeted 49 senior university managers; 5 senior policymakers in the Ministries
of Devolution and Planning, Industrialisation and Enterprise Development, and
Education, Science and Technology; and 2 key manufacturing industry informants
from the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and Kenya Association of
Manufacturers (KAM. A stratified sample of 17 university managers was selected for
the UIGL survey. The AAU/ AUCC Survey Questionnaire was adapted for the survey.
The AUINEP AD Community Innovation Survey Questionnaire and an interview
schedule were used for an innovating manufacturing firm connected to a university.
Interview schedules were used for the Director of a university-based UIGL platform
and selected informants .in relevant policymaking positions in the government
ministries. Document analysis of policy documents on Science, Technology and
Innovation (STI) and on industrialisation in Kenya was done to identify the role of the
government in UIGLs. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the survey findings
on the extent of UIGLs. Cross-case analysis of the interview findings and qualitative
contingency analysis of policy documents were done to contextualize the survey
findings. The study found that only 5 respondent universities reported having any
interactions with the manufacturing sector. Of those, only 2 had UIOL platforms and
university-based commercialized products on these platforms. The 2 UIGLs are only
tangentially motivated by Kenya Vision 2030 policy priorities. Key challenges in
creating UIGLs are: financial support for research, poor research infrastructure,
limited research partnerships between universities and the manufacturing sector, and
dissonance between national development and STr policies. The study concludes that
there are limited UIGLs to support the transfer of knowledge and technology to the
manufacturing sector, rendering the attainment of a knowledge-based manufacturing
sector unlikely. Thus, study recommends the strengthening of the knowledge and
technology generation and transfer system, and the prioritisation of sector-relevant
research and robust partnerships for commercialisation in manufacturing in both
national and institutional policy.
Description
A thesis submitted to the department of educational management, policy and curriculum studies, school of Education, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in educational planning and economics of education of Kenyatta University
June 2015