SAIS impact case report: case studies that make a difference

Since the early 2000’s, the digital technologies and applications have radically transformed the way products and services are developed and brought to the market. Ideas are increasingly developed both in competition and collaboration in international networks, engaging new practitioners - such as start-ups, technologists, and citizens – on equal footings in open and iterative innovation communities, processes and relationships.

In this booklet by SAIS 2 and Loughborough University London, in collaboration with partnering Innovation Fund supported projects, we examine what works when designing and implementing impactful initiatives fostering early-stage entrepreneurship. Innovators seldom triumph in isolation, and we note the important roles that technology promoters, users, financiers and governments play in making innovation happen. Innovation ecosystems are generators of invention and resource enablers in transferring products and services to the marketplace. However, many ecosystem players still operate in silos and compete against each other. Constraints may arise, scarce resources are not used optimally, and new initiatives become difficult to implement. Our knowledge is limited on how new ecosystem tools and instruments, such as accelerators or angel investor networks, can achieve impact.

It is crucial for enterprises to understand their ecosystem and learn how to use data to measure their SAIS 2 Project Management Office impact. Therefore, all SAIS 2 supported projects (lasting 18-months or more) have gone through the Capacity Building Programme on Data Collection and Analytics organised by Loughborough University London with mLab Southern Africa. As an outcome, Impact Case Studies have been created to highlight demonstrable contributions to ecosystems. Through the bespoke methodology, the teams have tracked their project-induced quantitative and qualitative changes and impact in their stakeholder organisations and ecosystems.

This booklet presents four market-validation Impact Case Studies. As examples, we show how network mapping before and after the introduction of an accelerator programme helps us understand network growth and cluster density of start-ups, enabling access to funding. We also learn how the creation of an online, international, and interconnected Angel Investor Academy has enabled networked, shared deals and peer support, contributing to understanding the cultural impact of angel investing in entrepreneurial ecosystems. In total, SAIS Innovation Fund supported the implementation of twenty-six networked, trans-regional projects during 2018-2022. The methodology used in analysis is available under CC and published as a toolkit.