Technology Development Practice in Ethiopian Science and Technology Universities : Analyzing the Actors and Management

Abstract

Higher education institutions are increasingly embracing the third mission of connecting with broader society, primarily through technology transfer. Ethiopia established two Science and Technology (S & T) universities in 2015 with the specific mission of developing and disseminating technology supporting the country's economic development agenda toward industrialization. Thus far, research findings indicate that the effectiveness and challenges of such university-based technology development and transfer programs are explained by context-based practices. Universities with the same mission in developing countries faced various internal management challenges requiring context-based research. Given the mission's fledgling state, this paper examined technology development within the two S&T universities. As such, the purpose of this study was to identify the actors involved in technology development process, evaluate their relationships, analyze their impact on the outcome, and propose solutions to identified gaps. The study's theoretical underpinning is agency theory, and organizational control theory is used to complement it. The two S & T universities' technology development processes are centered on prototype development. Hence, the study was conducted based on the practices in technology development projects since 2015. Interviews and document reviews were conducted to collect detailed information in context, and conclusions were drawn using thematic analysis. According to the findings, two national ministries oversee universities' technology development programs: the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The former oversees operational performance, while the latter directs budget utilization in all university programs, including technology development. Similar structures and roles are reflected in the technology development process within universities. While the finance and procurement directorates are responsible for enforcing MoF’s rules and regulations, the Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) manage the technology development program. The contract, between TTOs as principals and technology developers as agents, incorporates outcome-based contracts for evaluating developed technologies and behavior-based contracts for controlling the budget expenditure. Consequently, compliance with finance and procurement rules and regulations takes precedence, resulting in outcome uncertainties in the technology development process. Gaps in technical knowledge and skills during the technology development add to the outcome uncertainties. These outcome uncertainties slowed projects’ progress, adversely affected the output targets, complicated the execution of outcome-based contracts, and caused TTOs to deviate from the shared technology development goals. The solution forwarded is a change in the mandate of actors overseeing the technology development and budget utilization. Thus, first, both the technology development performance and budget utilization oversight mandate should be put under the auspices of a single entity at national level and replicate this arrangement under the mandate of TTOs’. The goal of this solution is mitigating the outcome uncertainties. Second, TTOs should introduce clan socialization during the technology development process to close knowledge and skill gaps and foster a support system for technology developers. Finally, the paper discusses the practical and theoretical implications of the study.