Business

Managing innovation and leadership in Tanzania

Published 11 August 2011

Academics from the University of Brighton's Business School are helping one of the poorest countries in the world by providing management training to support innovation, develop leadership skills and aid the alleviation of poverty.

A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) review of Tanzania's National Science, Technology and Innovation System identified the need for new ideas to unlock the country's potential for social and economic development. As a result, the Tanzanian government and UNESCO turned to Brighton Business School for help.

Professor Howard Rush, assistant head of research and Dave Francis, assistant head of the Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM) designed a skills-based 'Managing Innovation' train-the-trainer programme first delivered in 2010. The course, which included intensive study with practical sessions, was selected as the best means of empowering and enabling Tanzanians to become Innovation Champions.

CENTRIM has been running 'Managing Innovation: Optimising the Power of New Ideas' courses (in collaboration with a US company Barnes and Conti) around the world for the past five years. Over 4,000 managers have completed the courses with approximately 40 certified trainers operating in USA, Brazil, Venezuela and, most recently, Tanzania.

Professor Rush and Dr Francis recently conducted a new Innovation Strategy Workshop to complement the earlier innovation management course. Eighteen senior managers from six Tanzanian companies, along with six local trainees who, when certified, will take over the running of the new course, participated. Their positive feedback praised the facilitators' "brilliant and professional conduct". The workshop helped participants to clarify their organisation’s current and required strategy, assisted them to determine where their businesses needed innovation, and defined what their Top Management Team needed to do in order to direct, facilitate and assess innovation.

When the evaluation forms for the Innovation Strategy Workshop were analysed, participants' comments included the statement that "every CEO and manager should be required to attend the workshop". Dr Francis said: "CENTRIM is proud to have made a contribution to practical innovation in a country that has such a pressing need for economic development".

Workshop participants