By Buertey Francis BORYOR
Ghana has been urged to develop a concise national innovation strategy in order to promote national cohesion.
President and Founder-Nobel International Business School (NiBS), Professor Kwaku Atuahene-Gima, in keynote remarks at the Certified Innovation Professionals Association’s Innovation Forum in Accra intimated that in order to engage in meaningful national conversations about innovation, a clear, strategic framework that defines and drives a cohesive national innovation strategy must drive such efforts.
“Such strategy must outline the scope and objectives of innovation, specify the role of various sectors in driving innovation and establish frameworks for measuring outcomes and results,” he added.
He also mentioned that innovation is becoming more widely appreciated, not only within organisations and individual offices but also at the national level.
Moreover, he stated that the country will benefit from a national innovation strategy that provides clear guidance to private firms, assisting entrepreneurs in aligning their operations with national goals, identifying development possibilities and accessing government support to strengthen innovation capability.
Atuahene-Gima went on to say that such a strategy would detail the tools available to assist businesses in increasing their innovative potential and achieving measurable results.
“I think that if we carry the conversation along these lines, we will be far better at implementing innovation – not only at the national level but also at the company level, the individual level and the community level. In the future, organisations will be required to demonstrate their innovation capabilities,” he emphasised.
Additionally, he highlighted that the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) recently published a new standard – released in September – outlining the criteria organisations must meet to be recognised as innovators.
“In Ghana, many innovation awards lack concrete evidence,” he said, proposing that organisations should adopt the ISO 56001 standard to provide measurable proof of their innovation capabilities.
The event was themed ‘Exploring the Future through Innovation’ and brought together industry leaders, experts, innovators and other stakeholders to discuss ways of addressing societal and governmental issues with innovation at the centre.
Meanwhile, President of the Certified Innovation Professionals Association (CIPA) Dr. Richard Ampofo Boadu said the Association is actively working to engage with young people by introducing innovation challenges in secondary schools.
According to him, this initiative is part of their ongoing efforts to foster creativity and innovative thinking among the youth and it is a key part of their future.
He added that the Association is exploring the creation of innovation hubs as part of its strategic initiatives.
“Most Ghanaians possess strong creative thinking skills; however, creativity alone does not always translate into innovation. Our role as an association is to channel these creative ideas into tangible innovations. By promoting best practices in innovation, we aim to help individuals and organisations develop their innovative capabilities – fostering a more innovation-driven culture,” he further said.
