auc- hrst sti programme amcost v 12-15 th november 2012 brazzaville, congo african union commission...

AUC- HRST STI Programme

AMCOST V12-15th November 2012

Brazzaville, Congo

African Union Commission

Department of HRST

Science and Technology Division

Introduction

The African Union Commission within the overall strategic framework of the union has defined an ambitious “Science and Technology Programme for Africa” which is aimed at contributing to the wellbeing and improved quality of life for the African citizens.

Political guidance

AU vision: An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena

AU strategic plan (2009-2012)

AMCOST

Introduction

Developed in 2005 Collective action to develop and use S&T for socio-economic

transformation of Africa Integration into World economy Erected on 3 pillars

o Capacity buildingo Knowledge productiono Technological Innovation

Implementation period of the CPA resulted in milestone achievements

But with Challengeso implementation of specific policies and programmes

o programs relied on external financial support targeting short term activities and solutions

The Consolidated Plan of Action (CPA)

Revision of CPA

2013 -2023

Review dictated by the need to

a) adapt to the changes of the global environment,

b) the emergence of acute environmental concerns and new scientific approaches (eg green economies) and

c) advances (such as new materials and nanoscience technologies).

I. Supporting Research Initiatives through grants and direct funding

II. Popularization of Science & Technology

III. Promoting public understanding and participation in S&T

IV. Science and Technology Capacity Building in Africa

a) Policy level

b) Institutional level

c) thematic level

AUC/HRST STI programs /Strategies

Open call for proposals designed to mobilize African scientific excellence

Promotion of Intra-Africa and international cooperation in

research and capacity building. Focus on priority areas as articulated in the CPA

Post-harvest and Agriculture

Renewable and Sustainable Energy

Water and Sanitation

Competitive research grants at Pan-African level

First and Second call for Proposals valued at €14 million

Financed by EC and the ACP Group of States

Innovatively bring African researchers to form supranational

networks and scientific consortia 7

Supporting Research Initiatives

The African Union Research Grant

The 20 lead institutions received a grant ranging from €500,000 to €750,000 to do research in 46 locations of Africa, involving a network of 54 research institutions established between Africa, Europe and New Zealand

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I. Supporting Research Initiatives

The long term objective to create a competitive system of research

grants as a pan African Union financial instrument to support scientific research and to adopt AUC procedures for grants management and mobilisation of more resources for the implementation of AU STI policy.

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I. Supporting Research Initiatives

Applications to the UARG from the 2 Calls by Geographical representation

Regions First call Second callEast Africa 102 107

West Africa 78 55

Southern Africa

24 24

North Africa 5 17

Central Africa 9 9

Others 16 37

Total 234 249

18 Awards from the 2 Calls by Geographical representation of Lead applicants but all actions within Africa

Partnerships established between research InstitutionsPartnerships established between research Institutions

1st call 2nd Call

Location of Actions by CountriesLocation of Actions by Countries

- 24 actions- 24 actions - 22 actions- 22 actions1st call 2nd call

Popularization of Science & Technology

African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards Programme (2009 – 2012)

To build public understanding, scientific culture and raise awareness on the role STI sector in Africa’s socio- economic transformation & its integration

To award and honor outstanding African Scientists for their scientific achievements and discoveries.

Promote scientific development in Africa through recognition of excellence among African scientists, women, men alike and younger researchers and encourage them to persevere in their research or academic careers, and nurture their ambitions;

Popularize and Promote public understanding and participation in the implementation of Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action (CPA) and AU Assembly decisions on science and technology.

Raise the profile of science and technology sector in African Union Member States, Regional Economic Communities and so that science contributes Africa’s sustainable development, poverty alleviation and integration efforts.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AWARDS

At National level to promote participation of younger researchers.

At Regional level for women scientists with

two prizes of $20,000 each

At Continental level open to pioneer scientists

two prizes of $100,000 each

Life and Earth Science: embraces all sciences related to the planet earth, covering (but not limited to) the following disciplines, geology, geophysics and geodesy.

Basic, Science, Technology and Innovation: category will consist of all other sciences, technologies and innovations excluding those covered within Earth and life Sciences category

To date: 26 AU –TWAS National Awards for Young Scientist by Country

To date: 15 Women Recipients of Regional Awards: USD 20,000

2009

2010

2011

6 Recipients of Continental Awards

Winners for 2009

Winners for 2011

Winners for 2010

Prize ValueUSD 100,000 & a Gold Medal

AU January AssemblyOf Heads of State and Government

Promoting public understanding and participation in S&T

African Scientific Renaissance Day the 30th of June every year to be celebrated in each AU Member

States, and RECs;

Media Communication Action: Creation of specific media activities for S&T vulgarisation Capacity building of scientific journalism in Africa;

Pan-African Parliament Workshop build on and collaborate with ECA on enhancing the participation of

policy makers in STI, particularly investment

Congress of African Scientists and policy makers To collaborate with ECA within SWA framework

African parliamentarian workshop on S&T

Objectives: to enhance the role of the parliamentarians in science, technology and innovation (STI),

To popularise science and technology in the continent, strengthen and enhance active dialogue among parliament legislators, policy-makers, scientists, private sector, the media, and representatives of the civil society in order to promote application of scientific research and stimulate sustainable development.


Outcomes: African parliamentarians identified actions that they can start implementing within their constituencies and respective parliaments with the view to contributing to the STI agenda at country level for human and institutional capacity development in STI for inclusive growth.


Recommendations : Parliament should continue to create an enabling environment for STI in the continent by formulating the much needed legislations and advocating for adequate budgets in their debates, particularly the push beyond the 1% GDP allocation to STI, and attract additional funding from international collaboration, NGO's among others.


Recommendations: Promote intra-Africa and regional collaboration and cooperation in STI by for example joint funding of projects by Member States

Restructuring the Science & Technology institutions like universities and research centres to allow them to form spin offs and commercializes their results


Recommendations: Countries should consider establishment of higher council of S&T chaired by the president of the country to direct the research agenda.

Technology and knowledge transfer between different African countries and other developed countries is essential to leapfrog the development of the continent. This could include exchange (MSc. and PhD) programmes to ensure that we boost the critical mass of researchers.

GMES Africa – ThematicGMES Africa – Thematic

Policy and institutional framework Policy and institutional framework Infrastructure framework Infrastructure framework

Capacity buildingCapacity building

•Food security Food security & rural dvpt& rural dvpt•Infrastructure Infrastructure for territorial for territorial dvptdvpt•Health MgtHealth Mgt

• Long term mgt Long term mgt natural natural ResourcesResources

• Water Water resource mgtresource mgt

• Marine & Marine & coastal areascoastal areas

•Climate variability Climate variability & change& change•Natural & human Natural & human induced disastersinduced disasters•Conflict & political crises

GMES and Africa As a practical way of developing the Action Plan,

three thematic areas 1) Marine and Coastal Areas, (2) Water Management and (3) Long Term Management of Natural Resources were proposed to be addressed through the organisation of Workshops in Africa. A broader validation workshop will be convened in 2013. The thematic workshop will deepening the dialogue among the African earth observation users; and between the African and European policy makers for the identification and integration of their requirements for the provision of GMES services to Africa.

African Forum on STI for Youth Employment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), in April 2012, jointly organized a Science, Technology and Innovation Forum at the Ministerial level in Nairobi. The main objective of the forum was to focus Science, Technology and Innovation to contribute to Youth Empowerment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth.

African Forum on STI for Youth Employment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth

to Strive individually and collectively towards the development, review and implementation of STI policies, law, strategies, programmes and action plans at regional and national levels for enhancing STI for youth Employment, Human capital Development and Inclusive Growth;

to Strengthen Scientific Research in Africa by promoting and increasing investment in collaborative research at national, regional and intra-regional levels; and support institutional and human capacity building in Research for Development.

Nairobi Forum on STI for Youth Employment, Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth

Committed to strengthen Higher Education and Research Institutions, including Research Infrastructure, to increase Human capital in STEM as well as knowledge production and dissemination.

Currently the AU Commission, AfDB, UNECA, UNESCO and ADEA have put in place a taskforce to propose joint projects emanating from the Nairobi STI Forum Declaration for implementation.

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Science and Technology Capacity Building in Africa - Policy Level

Support S&T policy reviews with Member States and Regional economic Communities

Facilitate formulation and implementation of Common policy frameworks

Hold Periodic African Ministerial Conferences on Science and Technology

Science and Technology Capacity Building in Africa - Institutional Level

Pan African intellectual Propriety Organization (PAIPO), EX.CL/315 (X)

AOSTI ARIC


African Observatory of Science, Technology, and Innovation (AOSTI) AOSTI was established by the Decision of AU Summit Assembly/AU/Dec.235 (xii) of Jan. 2009To measure STI activities to support evidence-based policymaking - Produce relevant Indicators for STI such as monitoring the R&D Intensity of 1% of GDPTo collect and review STI policies in member states in order to raise awareness of potential policy mixes, means of implementing policies and ways of measuring impactHost country :The Republic of Equatorial Guinea Initial funding: US$3.6M

African Research and Innovation Council, Decision: Ex/CL/Dec216 (VII), Sirte Libya 2005Aimed to build and sustain a continental research policy nexus that promotes the production of high level scientific research to address Africa developmentFunds from SIDAFeasibility study developed Maiden document proposed for AMCOST meeting in Congo Brazzaville


Pan African University Initiative, Implemented under AUC/HRST Education Division Aimed

To develop human capital and critical mass of scientists through training high-level professionals needed to drive the development of Africa;

To conduct scientific research in key priority areas of ( (i) Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (ii) Life and Earth Sciences (including health and agriculture) (iii) Water, Energy Sciences (including climate change (iv) Space Sciences (v) Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences.

To date the following have been established: Four thematic regional hubs of excellence across the geopolitical zones

of Africa – Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon and Algeria Scholarships offered for M.sc and PhD program : Effective start date is

November 2012


Science and Technology Capacity Building in Africa - Thematic Level

Support to Member States in implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the African Model Law on Biosafety for:o Establishment and Strengthening of Institutional frame

worko Awareness Raising and Biosafety Information Exchangeo Capacity Building and Preparedness for International

Negotiationso Policy and Legal Frameworkso International Cooperationo Sustainable Mechanism


Support to MS implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the African Model Law on Biosafety for:Developed African common positions in international negotiations on biosafety, Built capacity > 90 African experts on biosafety risk assessment and management techniques, Developed Issue Papers on biosafety, African Strategy on Biosafety and revised African Model Law to support implementation of Biosafety, Reached agreement with RECs to mainstream biosafety in their priority actions and ongoing process to establish a continental coordination mechanism, Ongoing is Harmonization of GMO detection analysis and development of guidelines on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources

Securing and Using Africa’s Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge- AUC/STRC To link between the formal R&D institutions with local

communities that hold and use the knowledge to better understand and use its own indigenous / traditional knowledge tools techniques

Development of AU space science programme Climate change Water and desertification Commercialization of R&D results (linking research to

industry) Promoting African SMEs and business (incubators networks,

technology parks) Technology and knowledge transfer


International Cooperation The Africa - EU Joint Strategy of 2007 that

has Partnership No. 8 dedicated to Science Information Society and Space;

India-Africa cooperation that successfully organized a Ministerial Conference in New Delhi in March 2012;

Africa-Japan Cooperation that has instituted a Ministerial platform (JASTMM) for dialoguing and outlining action plan for the support of African growth and development.

The 8th Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space

Adopted by the Heads of State and Government of Europe and Africa since Lisbon 2007, as solid framework for long-term, systematic and well integrated cooperation

Eight thematic partnerships addressing issues of peace and security, governance, trade, energy, migration, climate change and, within the 8th Partnership (P8), science, information society and space.


The AU and EU Commissions agreed in 2008 on "The Book of Lighthouse Projects", with a set of 19 projects for cooperation in the fields of Science (12 projects), Information Society (6 projects) and Space (2 projects). Six of these projects were selected as early deliverables, two in the field of Science: African Union Research Grants (with a financing envelop of €14.7 million to launch two calls of research), and Water and Food Security in Africa and two in space science: The African Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES-Africa) and African Reference Frame.


An Africa-EU high-level policy dialogue between Member States Officials and the Commissions has been initiated.

The first senior officials (SOM) high-level policy dialogue between EU and AU member states and of both commissions took place on 10-11 Oct 2011 in Addis Ababa.


Preparations are underway for the implementation of the first SOM recommendations which include the mapping of existing initiatives in S&T and identification of gaps; and identification of effective financial mechanisms to support these joint initiatives.

India- Africa Partnership Declaration on S&T

New Delhi, 1-2 March 2012. Indian and African Ministries and relevant institutions forged an enhanced long term developmental and strategic partnership that will intensify efforts in addressing issues of mutual and common interests in science and technology, focusing on issues of regional and continental dimensions.

India- Africa Partnership Declaration on S&T

The conference made key recommendations to boost cooperation in Capacity Building in Science and Technology, Knowledge Transfer and Adoption and collaboration in priority research. Currently, the Commission and India are intensifying efforts towards the implementation of the New Delhi India-Africa Science and Technology Ministerial Declaration.

Major Challenges

Funding to implement most of the activities

Ownership

Sustainability of some of the existing programs.

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