An International Cultural and Educational Organisation in South America

Assessment of national innovation policies in South America to identify areas of improvement and strengthen policy making at the national and sub-national level.

Oxford Oracle interviewed a large group of policymakers, and coal-face workers across South America, from national and sub-national levels to academia and industry. The output of this work was delivered to national and sub-national public sector workers in a 4-day workshop in South America. Subsequently, a group of policymakers were seconded to the UK for 5 days, in which they were exposed to the UK innovation policy infrastructure. The delegates interacted with policymakers and planners from national government (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and a national innovation agency), sub-national level (Nottingham city council, Derby and Oxford LEP) as well as academia (UCL, Oxford and the university) and the catapult network (satellites and High Value Manufacturing). The aim was to build relationships with their British counterparts and learn from their experiences. Finally, the project culminated in a 3-day workshop in which regional heads and local chambers of commerce participated in a policy development, with a focus on regional strengths, needs and weaknesses.

Delegates gained from exposure to UKs infrastructure and have developed relationships with their British counterparts. Policy making at the local level has become much more independent of national government, with regions working more closely together and developing policy instruments that build on complementary strengths. The South American government has since allocated funds for regional development