Surveying national systems of innovation (NSI) using Free Open Source Software (foss): The case of Ghana

In today´s global knowledge-based economy, knowledge, its creation, accumulation and distribution, through institutions of human, organizational and social capital, plays an increasingly crucial role as the key factor in innovation and economic development. The production, distribution and processing of knowledge (especially scientific and technological) is increasingly performed within the domain of computational information and communication technologies (ICTs). Even though there is an asymmetric distribution of ICT resources, particularly between developed and developing countries the emergence of Free Open Source Software (FOSS) is a means to bridge the `digital divide´. This paper examines the use of FOSS for mapping and measuring the National System of Innovation (NSI) in Ghana and generating evidence based policy. Findings indicate the value of FOSS in mapping and measuring for evidence based policy and the crucial role of ICT in the NSI.