Gender mainstreaming in R&D “gaining ground in Uganda

[KAMPALA] The inclusion of women in Uganda’s research ecosystem is attracting increasing attention, but the country needs to do more to foster research for sustainable development, according to a leading member of the Initiative of Scientific Research Granting Agencies (IOSRS).

Steven Sebbale, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary and Head of the Gender Team at Uganda’s National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), points out that before IOSRS introduced a thematic focus on the inclusion of women, there was no structure in place to address gender issues in IOSRS. research and development (R&D).

Gender and inclusion is one of the six themes of IOSRS, inaugurated in March 2015.

” Over the years, we’ve been involved at various levels in the work of IOSRS ,” explains Steven Sebbale in an interview he gave to the Humanities Research Council of South Africa.

New partnerships

He adds that this new focus on gender and the inclusion of women has enabled us to make some progress.

” We’ve stimulated enthusiasm about gender parity and the inclusion of women in research, themes we’ve really put at the heart of our program,” he adds.

The board, he points out, set up a gender commission two years ago which actively advocates the inclusion of women in its research and development procedures.

” We’re also at the heart of [l’] science policy decision-making space, so we try to integrate gender issues wherever we have some influence.”

Steven Sebbale adds that the Council is establishing a dialogue on the inclusion of women with other Ugandan institutions, for example the Uganda Council for Higher Education and the Uganda Academy of Sciences.

” We bring up gender issues in our conversations (…) and we see a definite enthusiasm for the subject “, he adds.

But despite the progress made, he believes that there is still ” a lot to do ” to integrate the inclusion of women in research and development, because many aspects are still at the conceptual stage.

” It’s no exaggeration to say, in view of the debates we’re having, that the relevance of the gender question is a given. (…) All stakeholders agree that this is a problem that needs to be tackled right away. “

” We know we’ve said enough. Now is the time to act. “

Research findings in Uganda

In a second interview, Steven Sebbale pointed out that the new report on research findings in Uganda, which was released on June 21, shows that research funding in the country is largely donor-dependent.

” New financing options in the private sector, such as venture capital, can accelerate the pace of progress in low-growth sectors ,” he adds.

According to him, the search system in Uganda is developing, but it could do so more quickly. He believes that additional efforts are needed to support researchers so that they can have a lasting social impact.

” Given Uganda’s ambition to achieve middle-income status by 2030, we can’t stress enough how important research is. “

” However, reforms to the way research is managed, funded and interconnected will play a key role in ensuring that the system takes advantage of opportunities for growth that are inclusive, sustainable and scalable. “

” Another thing we’ve noticed : the importance of knowledge management and the value of knowledge is rarely demonstrated. Research is carried out as an end in itself, rather than as a means to an end. “

This work was funded by the International Development Research Centre. in Ottawa, Canada. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Centre or its Board of Governors.