Science, Technology and Space

1. ABOUT SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DIVISION

The Division of Science and Technology contributes to the overall mandate of the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST) by formulating, harmonizing, coordinating and implementing enabling policies on the continent to accelerate Africa’s transition to an innovative-led, knowledge-based economy.

The long-term people-centered AU Agenda 2063, recognizes the critical role of science, technology and innovation, as universal enablers for addressing poverty and inequalities; diseases; climate change impact; food and nutrition security, digitization, health; disease prevention, environmental conservation, migration and peace and security for realising the aspirations of the African citizens and global sustainable development goals.

The work of the Science Technology and Innovation Division includes mobilising collective action at the national, regional and continental levels with the aim to popularize and raise awareness on the central role of science, technology and innovation (STI) in socio-economic development; promotes public understanding and participation, building human and institutional capacities for STI.

Overall the Department serves as the secretariat of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST), an AU Policy Organ, composed of the Ministers in charge of Education and/or Science, Technology and Innovation who meet periodically and take joint decisions on related matters.

The Division further collaborates with the Specialized Technical Offices of the Commission and those directly under the Department are:

The African Observatory for Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI) based in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Scientific, Technical, Research Commission (STRC) based in Abuja, Nigeria.

2. PROGRAMMES

Outer Space Programme
Africa has an opportunity to exploit its geographic position and natural resources to promote economic growth, improve the quality of life of its people, and contribute to scientific knowledge. At the same time, Africa is facing major challenges in food security, rapid urbanization, the sustainable use of the environment, and the need to educate a growing population. Economic, political, environmental and social reforms can make an impact only if there is concerted effort to build indigenous skills and technological capabilities that provide effective solutions to the challenges.

Active participation in the development of space-related applications and services will enable the continent to address its development challenges, meet the objectives of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, and make significant contributions to the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA). Africa can take advantage new opportunities offered by its geographic advantages, and become a global space player. The successful implementation of these frameworks is highly dependent on space technologies and applications. Access to sound, secure spatial data for decision-making will require an indigenous space programme.

Africa cannot afford to remain a net importer of space technologies, as in the long term this will limit socio-economic development and negate the African Union’s vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena”. Developing an adequate regional space capability has been hampered by the capital-intensive nature of the space sector and the lack of a formal governance structure to advance a collective effort. These difficulties must be overcome given the strategic value of a regional space sector in advancing the economic, political, environmental and social agenda of the continent. Space applications are needed to achieve over 90% of the strategic objectives across the eight departments of the African Union Commission (AUC). The use of space-based products and services to provide critical spatial information for decision-making purposes would contribute to realizing Agenda 2063, and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, and Africa (GMES and Africa)

GMES & Africa is a joint AU-EU programme emanating from the long-standing partnership between Africa and Europe in the area of Earth Observation (EO). It is designed to Designed to support the implementation of the African Space Policy and Strategy by addressing the growing needs of African countries to access and use Earth Observation (EO) data for the implementation of sustainable development policies on the continent. These include the management of the environment and natural resources and monitoring of humanitarian operations on the continent through the integration and deployment of African requirements and needs in Copernicus Services.

Officially launched in November 2016 in Brazaville, Congo, the programme is a priority under the African Space Policy and Strategy, formulated by African Union Heads of State and Government. It is co-funded to the tune of €30 million by the European Commission and the African Union Commission. The African Union Commission is the Delegated Authority for implementing the programmes which receives continued support from European Institutions such as the Joint Research Center, EUMETSAT, and European Space Agency.

GMES and Africa Grants are issued in two lots, according to the Water & Natural Resources service, and the Marine and Coastal Resources service. It will deliver the following to various stakeholders across Africa:

Provide information for policymakers, scientists, businesses and the public
Maintain and improve local, institutional, human and technical capacities for accessing and using EO data and services for sustainable socio-economic development
Provide decision-makers with information and tools required for the implementation of sustainable socio-economic development policies and programmes at the continental, regional and national levels
Raises public awareness on the critical role of Earth Observation in sustainable development

GMES and Africa will deliver 23 Applications across Africa covering the following activities:

Consolidation of applications already operational in the region
Extension of operational applications to other regions
Development of new applications up to the operational stage of the product development cycle: Definition, Specification, Development and Operation

Unlike its predecessor EO programs, GMES and Africa covers the entire African continent, and it is implemented through a Call for Proposals. The Call was launched in May 2017, attracting a number of applicants from across the African continent. Following the close of the Call, the African Union Commission (AUC) evaluated the proposals received in conjunction with the Guidelines on the Call, and selected 13 consortia of institutions representing the five regions of Africa. The consortia are delivering projects on natural resource management, particularly relevant to Water and Natural Resources, as well as Marine and Coastal Areas.

The African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence

“We shall accumulate machinery and establish steel works, iron foundries and factories; we shall link the various States of our continent with communications; we shall astound the world with our hydroelectric power; we shall drain marshes and swamps, clear infested areas, feed the under-nourished, and rid our people of parasites and disease. It is within the possibility of science and technology to make even the Sahara bloom into a vast field with verdant vegetation for agricultural and industrial developments”.

Kwame Nkrumah

The African Union Commission is committed to ensuring that science, technology and innovation contribute to Africa’s sustainable development efforts. The Constitutive Act establishing the African Union recognizes the need to advance the development of Africa by promoting research in all fields, and in science and technology in particular. The Commission, through its Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology, implements a strategic science and technology development programme through the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (STISA-2024), aimed at contributing to the wellbeing and improved quality of life of African citizens as articulated in the African Union Agenda 2063.

In January 2007, AU Heads of State and Government declared 2007 as “the launching year for building constituencies and champions for science, technology and innovation in Africa”. As a holistic and deliberate measure to maintain science and technology on top of our development, cooperation and political agenda, the Commission urged the Member States and the Regional Economic Communities to popularize science, technology and innovation among African citizens, and to empower them, celebrate their achievements and promote all efforts to transform scientific research into sustainable development.

With the support of its Development Partners, particularly the European Commission, the African Union Commission launched on 9 September 2008, the prestigious African Union Science Award Programme, later renamed the “African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence” (AUKNASE), by the African Union Heads of State and Government in memory of leading Pan-Africanist and First President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

A firm believer in African liberation and unity, Nkrumah pursued a revolutionary pan-African policy, with a strong vision extending beyond national boundaries, for the creation of a new Africa, “a federal union of African states”, to take charge of its own destiny. He is among the founding fathers of the then Organization of African Unity established in 1963, an important pan-Africanist organization which later become the African Union in 2002.

The programme is implemented at national level for young researchers, at the regional level for women scientists and at the continental level for all scientists. The objective is to give out science awards to top African scientists for their achievements and valuable discoveries and findings in science, technology and innovation. AUKNASE reflects and underscores a success story and the critical role of science and technology in the development and integration of Africa. Under this programme, prizes are awarded to top African scientists in each of the following two sectors (a) Life and Earth Science and innovation; and (b) Basic Science, Technology and Innovation at the national, regional and continental levels.

The African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence Programme (AUKNASE) shall be organized at three levels as follows:

Continental level, where two awards of USD 100,000 are given to African pioneer scientists
Regional level, where two African women scientists from each of the five geographical regions of Africa are given USD 20,000 each, and
National level, dedicated to young African researchers, where two prizes are given per country and the value of the prizes is determined by the African Union Commission

The objectives of AUKNASE are to:

Award and honour outstanding African scientists for their achievements and discoveries in science, technology and innovation;
Promote scientific development in Africa through recognition of excellence among African scientists, women, men and younger researchers and encourage them to persevere in their research or academic careers, and nurture their ambitions;
Popularize and promote public understanding of and participation in the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063, through the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024), the Sustainable Development Goals and the AU Assembly decisions on science, technology and innovation; and
Raise the profile of the science, technology and innovation sector in African Union Member States, and in the Regional Economic Communities so that science, technology and innovation can effectively contribute to Africa’s sustainable development, poverty alleviation and integration efforts.

African Union Research Grant

The African Union Research Grant (AURG) is one of the activities initiated within the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST) to support research and development through grants and direct funding. It provides the opportunity to use science and technology as a tool for driving sustainable development, building and strengthening Africa’s science and technology capacity, and serves as a platform for the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024).

The AURG initiative is a continental programme whose benefits trickle down to the regional and national levels enhancing integration and supporting an African alliance through collaborative networks in science and technology. The objective is to empower African researchers to collectively contribute to addressing common developmental challenges in science and technology. The programme therefore provides a framework for the African Union Commission to deploy and to improve research in science and technology so that it contributes to Africa’s poverty reduction, economic growth and social development efforts. Specifically, the AURG aims to:

Build the AU Commission’s capacity to create a sustainable system of competitive research grants at Pan¬-African level and to put in place procedures and processes to manage such grants with the ambition of utilizing the experience to develop a fully-fledged African Programme Framework for research;
Build Africa’s research capacities through direct funding of the AU’s science and technology policies, particularly the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (STISA 2024)
Enhance intra-regional scientific research collaboration and cooperation that contributes to Africa’s sustainable development.

The AURG ultimately targets moving towards a more united and self-reliant Africa in Science, Technology and Innovations breakthroughs in food security, energy efficiency, clean and potable water. Implementing the AURG entails proposal assessment phases based on agreed methodology and criteria by external assessors and supported by in-house members of the evaluation committee as well as the programme management unit of the African Union Commission. At every assessment phase, applications not meeting the threshold are eliminated while those proceeding to the next phase are ranked by scores.

It is expected that through this program, the Africa Union Commission and its partners will contribute positively to achieving the following:

Enhanced African partnership framework for joint research, development and exchange of information;
The establishment a credible and competitive system of grants management as an innovative way to involve African citizens to work together on common development priorities ;
Harmonized research efforts and resources, providing African farmers and policy makers with decision support tools, based on scientifically validated indigenous knowledge
In-depth evidence-based multi-level and interdisciplinary know-how to sustainably manage and resolve conflicts;
Boosting in research capacities and cooperation in Africa for increased innovation in science and technology to Increase productivity and food security, decrease dependence on imported energy, as well as increased knowledge of water resources and capacity building through training of post graduates scholars and researchers.

3. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024

Strengthening capacity in science, technology and innovation for sustainable development, and harnessing the outcome discoveries, can only be achieved within a comprehensive framework of science, technology and innovation, where we respond at the national, regional and continental levels, with policies, programmes, institutions and partnerships, which maximize economic opportunities and societal benefits. In this regard, the African Heads of State and Government in June 2014 adopted the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024) as the continental framework for accelerating Africa's transition to an innovation-led, knowledge-based economy within the overall framework of the AU Agenda 2063.

STISA-2024 outlines the key socio-economic priority areas that Africa has to collectively address through scientific research and development, and innovation. STISA-2024 is the first of ten-year strategies, that will be developed in the framework of the long-term journey of Agenda 2063 and deployed across various socio-economic and development sectors.

There is an urgent need to change the narrative that Africa, being home to 15% of the world’s population and 5% of the world’s GDP, accounts for just 1.3% of the globe’s investment in research and development (R&D) and holds only 0.1% of the world’s patents. Africa needs to make greater investments in science, technology and innovation to become more efficient and competitive, as outlined by the African Development Bank (AfDB). There is a need to measure and provide both policy and programmatic interventions with regards to how Africa is faring in terms of:

Investment in Research, Development and Innovation (R&D and I)
Increasing technical competencies to boost the number of Researchers in R&D and I
Promote Scientific and technical Publications and knowledge generation
Industrial design applications and entrepreneurship development
Patent applications (nonresidents and residents) and strengthen IP regimes in the continent

The strategy aims at fostering social transformation and economic competitiveness through human capital development, innovation, value addition, industrialization and entrepreneurship. The implementation of the strategy is on the other hand boosted by Member States who are embarking on an unprecedented historic mission of modernizing various sectors such as agriculture, industry, health, infrastructure among others based on science, technology and innovation development. The strategy is thus instrumental in transforming Africa into a modern and powerful continent with attractive economic growth rates and high returns on investment.

African Space Policy and Strategy

The Commission is keen to sustain an African dialogue on space science and technology. In January 2016, the Heads of State and Government adopted the Space Policy and Strategy to enables Member States to harness space sciences, technologies and innovations for Africa’s growth, transformation and thereby creating an African space economy. The space policy and strategy are premised on building space capabilities on earth observation systems, navigation and positioning, satellite communication and space science and exploration.

The Commission is aware that to establish an effective outer-space programme there are a number of institutional arrangements that should be put in place in the continent and chief among them the African Space Agency for an inclusive architecture of a continental outer-space programme that engages the national and regional institutions in the final collective implementation of the Space Policy and Strategy.

Biosafety Policy of the African Union

Taking on the one hand the growing interests of use of products derived from modern biotechnology and on the other the challenges of African countries in implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) and dealing with its gaps, the AU Executive Council in July 2003 adopted a decision that, inter alia, ‘stresses the need for Member States to equip themselves with the necessary human and institutional capacities to deal with Biosafety issues within the framework of the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety’. This decision also appeals to the African development partners willing to assist Africa in this endeavour, to grant the necessary resources as well as financial and technical support towards the implementation of this programme.

With the decision, the AU continued the work on biosafety begun by the OAU, appealing to the African development partners willing to assist Africa in this endeavour, to grant the necessary resources as well as financial and technical support towards the implementation of this program. Against this background, a project on capacity building for an Africa-wide biosafety system was developed between the AU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), to equip the AU with the necessary capacity and effective instruments to support its Member States in implementing the Cartagena Protocol and applying the African Model Law on Biosafety.

4. TECHNICAL OFFICES

The African Observatory for Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI), based in Malabo Equatorial Guinea. Its mission is to champion evidence-based science, technology and innovation policy-making by backstopping African countries to manage and use statistical information in accordance with the African Charter of Statistics.
Scientific, Technical, Research Commission (STRC) based in Abuja Nigeria, which also hosts African Scientific Technical and Research Innovation Council (ASRIC) a continental platform that mobilize African research and innovation excellence to promote dialogue and voice of the scientific community in building and sustaining continental research-policy nexus.

5. RESOURCES/DOCUMENTS

STISA-2024 (English)
STISA-2024 (French)
African Space Policy and Strategy
AU Kwame Nkrumah Awards_ Rules of Procedure (English)
AU Kwame Nkrumah Awards_ Rules of Procedure (French)
AU Kwame Nkrumah Awards_ Nomination Form (English)
AU Kwame Nkrumah Awards_ Nomination Form (French)
AU Research Grant Booklet
African Union Biosafety Policy
AU Practical Guidelines on Biosafety (English)
AU Practical Guidelines on Biosafety (French)
AU Strategic Guidelines on ABS (English)
AU Strategic Guidelines on ABS (French)
African Space Policy
African Space Strategy