Indicators of Higher Education and the Public Good in Africa: A Dashboard Approach

Indicators and metrics have gained increasing prominence in international higher education in recent years, and global rankings have become a powerful force in shaping ideas of what the university is and should be. Yet these measures do a poor job of capturing the broad role of the institution, and particularly in recognising its actions in promoting the public good and addressing inequalities. African higher education institutions have struggled to perform well in the conventional rankings, whose indicators rely on extensive resources for high-level research. This article explores the possibilities of alternative metrics for understanding the public good contribution of universities in the context of four African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. After assessing the shortcomings of the existing indicators and metrics, and the challenges of the availability of data, it puts forward a dashboard approach as a possible new model. Dashboards have the advantage of avoiding the conflation of diverse qualities of importance and allow different profiles of an institution to be compared. The article proposes six main elements for the dashboard: solidarity with society, equitable access and deliberative space (which correspond to the intrinsic notion of public good and graduate destinations, knowledge production and community engagement (which correspond to instrumental notions). Finally, the challenges of implementing public good metrics in practice are discussed

How does the Technology Innovation Agency( TIA) evaluate the relationship between universities of technology and SMMEs for technology transfer: a case study of the Technology Stations Programme

Thesis (M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016.Increasingly, innovation through technology transfer is seen as a mechanism through which economic growth can be spurred. The South African National Innovation System (NIS) is built on this premise, leading to the emergence of Technology Transfer Organizations (TTOs) such as the Technology Innovation Agency’s (TIA’s) Technology Stations Programme. The Technology Stations Programme addresses, and attempts to alleviate, the slow overall decline of South African industrial sectors through innovation work for industrialization. It is not clear, however, how the TIA monitors and evaluates, and hence measures the economic and socio-economic outcomes of the Technology Stations Programme. This is because the relationship between the strategic objectives of the programme, and the performance indicators used for impact assessment is not clear. This study identifies the use of the Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) Scorecard of indicators as the framework for performance reporting at the Technology Stations Programme. The study describes the SETI framework and then evaluates it, finding that it is not well defined and lacks the properties required of a framework of indicators to make it an adequate tool for performance reporting. Other problems compromising the reporting on the Technology Stations Programme have to do with the seemingly incomplete nature of reports, occasional incoherence and seeming carelessness where there are graphic errors in the reporting. This inadequate monitoring and evaluation, and performance reporting is concerning because interview work suggests that the Technology Stations Programme is highly successful in supporting SMMEs and offering them technology related services that contribute to industrial policy through innovation work. The failure to have a SETI Scorecard of indicators that is functional enough to make these outcomes in the Technology Stations Programme visible in formal reporting is concerning as programme evaluation should make known the effects of policies. In the case of the Technology Stations Programme these effects are crucial as the technology transfer taking place in the programme is anticipated to achieve grand objectives in the way of economic value adding and industrial expansion. This necessitates the need to capture the outcomes related to these objectives, and make future decisions on the Technology Stations Programme as well as other technology transfer programmes

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups and in public and private education institutions

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups and in public and private education institutions

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa: A Social Skills Ecosystem Perspective

The transition to more just and sustainable development requires radical change across a wide range of areas and particularly within the nexus between learning and work. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training that goes beyond the narrow focus of much of the current literature and policy debate. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this issue through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups, and in public and private educational institutions. Offering new insights and ways of thinking about this field, the book draws out clear implications for theory, policy and practice in Africa and beyond

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa: A Social Skills Ecosystem Perspective

The transition to more just and sustainable development requires radical change across a wide range of areas and particularly within the nexus between learning and work. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training that goes beyond the narrow focus of much of the current literature and policy debate. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this issue through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups, and in public and private educational institutions. Offering new insights and ways of thinking about this field, the book draws out clear implications for theory, policy and practice in Africa and beyond