Dr Irma Booyens
Dr Irma Booyens is a senior research manager in the Economic Performance and Development (EPD) unit. She holds an PhD in Geography from the University of Johannesburg (2015), and a master's in Development Studies from the University of the Free State (2008).
Before joining EPD, she held a National Research Foundation (NRF) Scarce Skills Scholarship whilst completing her PhD. Prior to this she was employed by the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) at the HSRC in Cape Town. She also worked as a development economist at Urban Econ consultancy in Pretoria before joining the HSRC for the first time in 2008.
Her areas of research interest include: innovation in service industries and tourism; innovation in rural areas; innovation networking; and local and regional economic development.
Dr Booyens' publication record spans the authoring and co-authoring of 14 journal articles and 8 conference presentations. Her most recent work, published in International Journal of Tourism Research, investigated tourism innovation in the Western Cape. This paper draws on empirical evidence regarding the types and nature of innovation by tourism firms, and considers tourism innovation on different spatial scales which include tourism firms and system levels with a focus on networking behaviour.
Innovation and local economic development policy in the global South: new South African perspectives
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National survey of research and experimental development (2009/10 Fiscal year): main results 2009/10
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Are small, medium- and micro-sized enterprises engines of innovation?: the reality in South Africa
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