Africa-EU policies for innovation systems

24-25 November 2014. Entebbe, Uganda. Uganda's National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), a CAAST-Net Plus partner, hosted the first CAAST-Net Plus stakeholder forum. Seventy-five key representatives from both public and private sectors, including civil society organisations and the media, had been invited to contribute experiences and ideas about Transferring knowledge into solutions: Africa-EU policies for innovation systems addressing societal challenges (read the concept note + Download detailed agenda)

Specific aims of the forum included:

• promoting a common understanding of the role of knowledge in societal and economic development;
• identifying good practice examples of knowledge transfer within and between Africa and the EU;
• analysing success factors, obstacles and barriers to research and innovation uptake; and,
• developing action scenarios for stakeholders in policy, research and business.

Extract:

Panel Discussion 1: How do the challenges of Climate Change, Food and Nutrition Security, and Health affect each other, and what, in this context, is the role of R and D in providing sustainable and appropriate solutions?

• Biotechnology, Indiginous Approach to Disease Eradication, S. Agwale (Innovative Biotech Ltd.)
• How do the challenges of Climate Change, Food and Nutrition Security and Health affect each other and what, in this context, is the role of R&D in providing sustainable and appropriate solutions?P. Worms (World Agroforestry Centre)

Panel Discussion 2: How can Africa-EU research collaborations strengthen knowledge creation that feeds directly into the development and/or patenting of new technologies?

• Entrepreneurship as a Key to Innovations, S. Jochim (Foundation Entrepreneurship)
• European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP),O. Olesen (EDCTP)
• Collaboration for Innovation: Lessons from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - SA, V. Mzenda (CSIR)

Review of Day 1
Rapporteur Summary of Day 1, M. Hughes (Rwanda)

Panel Discussion 3: What can be done to ensure that African and EU policy makers, private sector and civil society organisations are able to identify, fully understand and act upon relevant research projects?

• Considering the clinical research industry as an area for enhanced public-private sector collaboration between the AU and the EU and an economic growth area for Africa : a personal perspective, M. Ba (Pharmalys Ltd.)
• Ensuring stakeholders identify, understand and act on relevant research projects, A. Friedman (Mobenzi)

STISA 2024 and Horizon 2020: A Chance and a Challenge

• Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024, H. Masheleni (AUC)
• EU-Africa Research Cooperation in Horizon 2020 G. Essegbey (CSIR-STEPRI)

Background Reading

• Declaration of the Fourth EU-Africa Summit, 2-3 April 2014
• Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) Roadmap 2014-2017
• Preliminary Roadmap on FNSSA, prepared by EWG, appointed by Africa-EU HLPD Bureau (Input to roadmap for a jointly funded EU-Africa Research & Innovation Partnership with an initial focus on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture including water. Prepared by a Expert Working Group appointed by the EU-Africa High Level Policy Dialogue Bureau in March 2014: Helena Gómez Macpherson, Philippe Petithuguenin, Joachim von Braun, Luís Goulão and Jeff Waage from Europe and Johnson A Ekpere, Paco Sereme, Daniel Nkoola Kisauzi, Ibrahim RM Benesi and Mohammed Jeenah from Africa.) Please note: The official consultation of the roadmap has not started yet - this is only an advance copy. The consultation will be done on a revised version that will become available later.