Science, Technology and Innovation for Africas Development

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Science, Technology and Innovation for Africas
Development

• John Mugabe

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Outline

• Renewed focus on science and innovation
• Africas common aspirations
• Challenges to realize the goals
• Programmatic interventions

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Renewed focus on science and technology

• Recognition that science and technology have to
  drive Africas economic and socio-political
  transformation
• Emergence of the knowledge economy and
  development as a knowledge intensive process
• Key policy processes WSSD, NEPAD and UN General
  Assembly 2005

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Africas aspirations

• A continent that harnesses science and related
  technological innovations for its economic
  transformation
• A continent that contributes to the global pool
  of science and innovation

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Common challenges

• Confidence building
• Common/shared policy instruments
• Improving infrastructure for RD
• Building civic and political constituencies for
  science and technology

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Programme Element 1

• Knowledge and information
• 1. Profiles of institutions
• 2. Funding instruments
• 3. STI indicators
• 4. ST policy needs in agriculture and health
• 5. Inventory of science parks
• 6. good practices of regional ST cooperation

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Programme Element 2

• Flagship RD programmes
• 1. African Biosciences Initiative
• 2. African Energy Research and Innovation
• 3. African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
  (AIMS)
• 4. African Water sciences network

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Programme element 2 (cont)

• 12 flagship programme areas (ICTs, biotechnology,
  biodiversity, laser technologies, space science,
  post-harvest food technologies, water sciences
  and technologies, drought research, indigenous
  technologies, manufacturing technologies,
  minerals science, and energy RD)

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Programme Element 3

• Common strategies and consensus to improve policy
  conditions
• 1. African Biotechnology Panel (AU approved and
  appointed)
• 2. Common African Science, Technology and
  Innovation (ASTII) Indicators
• 3. Regional ST cooperation protocol

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Programme Element 3 (cont)

• Stakeholder dialogues on STI (e.g. African Policy
  Dialogues on Biotechnology) Parliamentarians
  forum on ST
• Strengthening the capacity of Regional Economic
  Communities (RECs) to address science and
  technology issuesST offices established in RECs