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Innovation measurement and transformative social change

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This chapter traces trends in the field of innovation measurement as it adapts to changing conceptualizations of innovation and of conditions of countries in the global South. Using the example of the measurement of innovation in the informal sector in South Africa, the chapter reflects on how African researchers have taken on the challenge. It describes experimentation with novel participatory methodologies, grounded in the lived realities of social actors that have been traditionally marginalized from formal systems of innovation, from the formal economy, and from decision-making processes. The main contribution is to demonstrate the value and limitations of this approach for the field of innovation measurement for directing and assessing progress towards transformative social change.

Source: Human Science Research Council SA

DOI: 10.14749/32361087

Author: Human Sciences Research Council

Language: English

Topic: Innovation and Socioeconomic Development

Subfield: Business and International Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: Human Sciences Research Council

OpenAlex ID: W7162080966

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