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1
2nd AMCOST Meeting Dakar, 29th September 2005

• Networks of Centers of Excellence in Water
  Science and Technology

Sciences Technology for African Development A
plan for working together
2
Expert Consultations

• At the Nairobi Workshop
• From 9th to 12th May 2005
• 60 experts from 20 African countries and from
  France
• At the Pretoria Task Force Meeting
• From 27th to 29th of July 2005
• 9 experts from the 5 regions
• Organization NEPAD, IRD, UNEP and UNESCO
• Funding NEPAD, UNEP, UNESCO and the French
  Ministry of Foreign Affairs

3
Expert Deliberations

• Trends in Water Sciences and Technology
• Scientific and Technological opportunities
• Criteria and Indicators
• Specific processes and actions
• Regional and International Cooperation Modalities
• Governance Structures
• Financial Mechanisms

4
Recommendations

• Establishment of the Water Task Force
• Criteria and guidelines
• Sharing of facilities and expertise
• Sustainability of the network
• Endorsement
• Call for submissions
• Verification of institutional capacities
• Elements of Terms of Reference for the
  Identification and Designation of Networks of
  Centers of Excellence

5
Governance Mechanism

• Inter-ministerial committee (AMCOST and AMCOW)
• Technical advisory committee
• Experts in water science and technology
• Technical and advisory services
• Peer-review system for competitive grants
• Network Coordination Office

6
Financial mechanisms

• Special trust fund in the African Water Facility
• Guidelines for the allocation of financial
  resources from the proposed trust fund would be
  developed and adopted by the governing council
• Donor contributions
• Sale of products or patents, publications, etc
• Public-Private Partnerships
• The governing council would establish a special
  ministerial committee on funding the network.
  Such a committee would ensure that strategies for
  resource mobilization and allocation are designed
  and implemented.

7
Emphasis should be put on

• Strengthening co-operation between national and
  technical departments and the centers of
  excellence to ensure that national capacity is
  also built or enhanced
• Seeking solutions to water problems that
  transcend State boundaries or are shared by
  several or many countries
• Using existing scientific and technological
  options to address specific water quality, use
  and management problems.
• Providing assistance to African countries in the
  analysis, collation and correlation of data

8
Indicators for Criteria

• A set of 10 criteria were developed with
  associated indicators e.g.
• Availability of appropriate infrastructural
  facilities
• Functioning state of art equipment
• Appropriate system of maintenance and repair of
  equipment
• Adequate supply consumables
• Adequate library facilities and Internet
  connections
• Quality of ongoing research and innovation
• Major research activities
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Citations
• Patents

9
Securing and Sustaining Water

• Scientific Assessment of Africas Water Resources
  and Systems
• Research and Technologies to Assess and Monitor
  Water-related Disasters (Emphasis on floods and
  drought)
• Knowledge and Technologies to Improve water
  quality and quantity (sanitation)

10
Conclusion

• Establish an inter - ministerial Dialogue between
  AMCOST and AMCOW
• Submission of centers to prepare and submit their
  institutional capacity profiles
• Consider an inter-ministerial mechanism to
• Select appropriate centers and formally designate
  them as Africas centers excellence in water
  sciences and technology
• Consider and approve the governance and financing
  mechanisms proposed by the network of centers