Supporting the roles of Science Granting Councils in Africa’s development

The Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in sub-Saharan Africa is a multilateral alliance funded by six partners: the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF-SA), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Since its launch in April 2015, SGCI has worked with Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in 17 sub-Saharan African countries. The goal is to build capacity to fund and manage research, support innovation, and strengthen the use of evidence in policymaking.

SGCI focuses on developing sustainable research ecosystems that contribute to inclusive economic and social development.

SGCI Annual Report 2024

The SGCI Annual Report 2024 covers progress made by SGCI-2 partnerships from November 2023 to October 2024. The report is based on a joint SGCI logical framework that was reviewed and approved in 2023. It highlights achievements, challenges, and lessons from ongoing collaboration.

Seven SGCI Key Thematic Areas

The work of the SGCI is organised into seven thematic areas. These were developed based on a 2014 scoping study, political economy analyses, consultative meetings, and case studies.

They aim to address several key challenges facing SGCs. These include:

• Limited research management capacities
• Lack of a sustained funding base
• Poor application of knowledge for economic and social use
• Poor coordination with other agencies
• Limited capacities to use evidence for policy and decision-making
• Poor integration of gender equality and inclusivity considerations in research and grants management