By encouraging participation from diverse stakeholders – academia, private sector, civil society and the general public – Science Granting Councils (SGCs) can tap into a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experiences, enriching the policy-making process.
Heads of Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in Africa during a meeting under the umbrella of the research and innovation project which aims to strengthen their capacity to fund and manage research and innovation projects in areas aligned with their national development plans and priorities.
Heads of Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in Africa during a meeting under the umbrella of the research and innovation project which aims to strengthen their capacity to fund and manage research and innovation projects in areas aligned with their national development plans and priorities.
ACTS has initiated a new fund to support Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in Africa to convene multi-stakeholder policy events on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
The fund is expected to strengthen the role of the Councils in policy and decision-making processes.
Through a call for Expression of Interest (EoI), the Councils will be supported to identify, prioritize and select multi- stakeholder event themes they wish to convene. The councils will then be supported to develop knowledge products that articulates best practice as well as recommendations and action plans.
The fund will also support councils to promote and disseminate the outputs and recommendations to facilitate the implementation of the action plans at national and local levels.
Through a virtual knowledge platform, ACTS will upload the resulting knowledge products from all the Councils on the SGCI website. Four peer to peer learning virtual workshops – two in year 1 and two in year 2 – will be organized to enable Councils to share experiences, and best practices.
Depending on the stakeholder events selected by the SGCs in the different key themes, the stakeholder events convened by the SGCs will take different formats. SGCs will decide on the formats for the events that suit their needs and interests
Ultimately, this initiative expects to enable knowledge sharing, learning, and networking among SGCs and other stakeholders in the STI system.
Policy dialogues will enable efficient and effective use of evidence to instill public confidence and strengthen the councils’ efforts to make stronger arguments for increased public funding from their governments.
In addition, this initiative will enable the councils to increase their engagement with private sector actors with a view to promoting technology transfer and commercialization of research results leading to increased deployment of research results to address sustainable development challenges.
This engagement will enhance the role of councils as national STI policy champions and advisors; and increased public awareness about the role of STI in social and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa to unlock other opportunities from the government in advancement of STI.
Participants in one of the sessions of a RIM project workshop held in Senegal
