Report
In November 2024, the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) hosted its Annual Forum and the Global Research Council (GRC) Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana. This key event brought…
In November 2024, the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) hosted its Annual Forum and the Global Research Council (GRC) Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana. This key event brought together science funding councils, policymakers, researchers, and private sector leaders from across Africa.
A Platform for Reflection and Collaboration
The meeting aimed to:
- Review the SGCI’s progress since 2015
- Share lessons, success stories, and challenges
- Strengthen partnerships and cross-border collaboration
- Explore ways to promote innovation, gender equality, and private sector engagement
One highlight was the executive seminar on Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP), where participants stressed the need to:
- Advocate for national innovation policies
- Strengthen IP systems to support research commercialization
Key Achievements Shared
Many African science councils have made notable progress:
- Côte d’Ivoire’s FONSTI funded projects led by women and promoted girls in STEM
- Ghana’s MESTI launched the 3Fs strategy: Fixing the numbers, Fixing the institution, and Fixing the narrative
- Kenya and Uganda partnered on joint research calls
- Namibia and Zimbabwe signed a collaboration agreement
- Rwanda increased private sector investment in research
These successes show growing cooperation between councils and their rising influence in shaping research agendas.
Challenges to Overcome
Despite progress, challenges remain:
- Weak links between research and industry
- Low commercialization of research findings
- Insufficient research funding and STI data
- Barriers to cross-border collaboration, like legal and language differences
Looking Ahead: What Needs to Happen?
Participants recommended:
- Strengthening national innovation systems and policies
- Increasing private sector partnerships and funding
- Enhancing monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment of projects
- Scaling up successful research projects instead of only funding new ones
- Promoting gender equality and youth involvement in research
To Summarise
The Forum reaffirmed SGCI’s role in driving innovation and research in Africa. By learning from each other and working together, African science councils can make lasting contributions to economic and social development.
Research and Resources
Themes
The SGCI aims to strengthen the capacities of these SGCs to support research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to economic and social development.
