An innovation measurement framework for the South African cultural and creative industries

Abstract

There is increased scrutiny on the directionality of innovation systems in advancing critical global sustainability and development objectives. Equally, innovation policy mixes require complimentary measurement agendas to track activity and outcomes and inform public investment decisions. South Africa has a clear innovation policy mix for its arts, culture and heritage (ACH) dispensation. However, innovation indicators are not yet integrated within the monitoring and evaluation framework of the ACH dispensation. In this paper, a directionality-sensitive innovation measurement framework for the cultural and creative industries (CCI) is proposed with indicator categories addressing a fuller variety of system actors than are typically assessed in innovation surveys. The framework was piloted in South Africa’s Western Cape Province and yielded several methodological insights and data. Key among these is the value of survey interviews for data enumeration that bridges respondent understanding of the concept of innovation, as well as combining object- and subject-based approaches to mitigate against measurement error. By adopting this framework, data comprising a richer cross-sectional view of innovation in the CCI can be compared and analysed, in-country and across countries, enabling several potential research and policy monitoring use cases.
Significance:
This article makes a methodological and an empirical contribution to the innovation measurement literature, reporting results from survey piloting of a framework based on Gault’s theoretical concept measuring innovation everywhere. It also makes a policy-oriented contribution, specifically at the nexus of ACH and innovation policy in South Africa, by proposing a directionality-sensitive innovation indicator framework for the CCI that has been tested in one province, and that can be used and adapted for future policy monitoring efforts.

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