News
Science Granting Councils Initiative announce support to Africa’s STI Policy Agenda at African Union Meetings
Press Release Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | February 12, 2026 — Ahead of the Annual Summit of Heads of State at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa this February, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Government of Norway, and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Wellcome (UK), German Research Foundation(DFG) and…
Kenya’s research fund launches data security training
The National Research Fund (NRF) Kenya has launched a research data security training workshop, highlighting its commitment to strengthening the quality, integrity, and impact of publicly funded research across the country. The workshop convened experts from universities, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and research institutions to build practical skills in safeguarding research data, intellectual property,…
ILASA summer school for systems modeling 2026
Master’s students, PhD candidates, and early-career researchers with a focus on sustainability and quantitative methods are invited to apply for the IIASA Summer School for Systems Modeling, taking place in Laxenburg, Austria, from 29 June – 10 July 2026. The two-week in-person programme offers intensive, hands-on training in mathematical and computational modelling for sustainability research.…
The TWAS-DFG 2026 cooperation visits programme call is now open.
The call is now open for the TWAS-DFG Cooperation Visits Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme is a collaborative effort between The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) to foster international scientific partnerships. The TWAS-DFG programme provides postdoctoral researchers from Sub-Saharan Africa with the opportunity to undertake a…
Uniting Malawi’s innovators: NCST’s push to bridge the coordination gap
How does Malawi move from pockets of innovation to a truly connected national ecosystem? In this interview with the Science Granting Councils Initiative, Isaac Chingwota, acting director for Technology Transfer, Innovation and Commercialisation at the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST), explains why coordination and data are central to unlocking Malawi’s innovation potential. Malawi…
Namibia launches BOOSTUP programme to bridge innovation gaps
Many promising technology-driven ideas struggle to progress beyond the concept stage due to limited access to early-stage support and mentorship. These challenges highlight the need for targeted interventions that could transform innovative ideas into viable and scalable solutions. It is against this backdrop that the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST), in partnership…
Kenya’s postgraduate research grants
The National Research Fund (NRF), Kenya, invites applications for postgraduate research grants for the 2025/2026 financial year. This national research call is a strategic intervention to strengthen Kenya’s Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem by supporting high-quality postgraduate research that drives innovation, informs evidence-based policymaking, and contributes to inclusive national development in line with the…
The FONSTI mag: A new era for science storytelling in Côte d’Ivoire
Effective research communication is central to ensuring that science informs policy, reaches communities, and inspires the next generation of scientists. Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), members are increasingly experimenting with creative, people-centred ways of making research more visible, accessible, and relevant beyond academic circles and as a core function of national science systems. One such…
Advancing STI systems through Kenya’s silicon savannah
The National Research Fund (NRF) leadership, last week, joined the principal secretary of the State Department for Science, Research and Innovation, Haukat Abdulrazak, on a strategic visit to Konza Technopolis, Kenya’s flagship innovation ecosystem and a cornerstone of the country’s ambition to become a knowledge-based economy. The visit, led by NRF chief executive officer Dickson…
SGCI 2026: Strengthening science granting councils for leadership
As African countries confront increasingly complex development challenges ranging from climate change and health security to food systems, digital transformation, and economic diversification, the need for strong, responsive national science funding institutions has never been more urgent. Science granting councils sit at the centre of this challenge, shaping how research is prioritised, funded, governed, and…
