Ekanem Braide, President, Nigerian Academy of ScienceCredit: Nigerian Academy of Science/Strings Studios
Science academies in Africa are growing in commitment to research, development and policies, yet African governments continue to ignore science advice.
Since the first African national academy, the Madagascar's National Academy of Arts Letters and Sciences (AcNALS) was established in 1902, their number has grown to 38. Their roles have evolved from just awarding prizes to deserving scientists, to changing policy and giving advice. But, the disconnect between the generators of scientific evidence and its consumers continues to widen.
There are a number of critical steps across the continent to enhance links between scientific research and policy. The Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) which seeks to amplify the voice of science across Africa has 29 members. It was established in 2001 with support from the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), and the Inter Academy Partnership (IAP) and started with 9 founding members — the AAS, and the national academies of Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. Since then, 19 other academies across Africa have become members of this network.
The inception of the African Science Academies Development Initiative (ASADI) Project in 2004 strengthened the advisory roles of national science academies in partnerships and collaboration, and the capacity of academies to provide evidence for policymaking.
The ten-year project supported by the Gates Foundation, and implemented by the United States National Academies of Science (USNAS) worked with the UNAS, the NAS, as well as Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) as primary partner academies. The project then built the capacity of academies' staff and organized convening stakeholder engagement.
Alongside the national science academies, there are now 14 national young academies (organizations of early career scientists) usually affiliated with the senior national academy of their respective countries. These exist in Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. A recent report, released this month called for countries without academies to establish them and where they exist, they should be supported to increasingly function in their role as advisors to their respective government.
These varied developments are documented in a new report, The Evolving Science Advisory Landscape in Africa, on the role of science advice and science academies in Africa. The report was based on a multi-country study by an expert committee of eight researchers from Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Egypt. It was led by the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), through the African chapter of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The report provides an understanding of how and why science advice and evidence can be used to address the challenges at a continental, national and society level. Africa lacks an enabling political ecosystem to offer opportunities for decision-makers and science advisors to talk. There are also no institutionalized science advisory systems, which restrict science advice to personal relationships.
“African countries have to decide what structures for science advice work best. It is important to further create synergies between the science academies, the ministries of science and technology where they exist, and other structures for science advice such as parliamentary research departments or offices,” says Ekanem Ikpi Braide, President, the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS).
For Peter N. Mugyenyi, President, Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS) INGSA-Africa Representative “we have to think innovatively so that our products which are so painstakingly worked on by experts do not just gather dust.”
The report highlights a number of recommendations including partnerships with stakeholders from relevant non-scientific disciplines and sectors as scientists conceptualize, conduct and communicate their research to the larger society. This is expected to ensure that researchers’ voices are heard outside scientific and academic circles and requires legislative support, political will and adoption of evidence for policy making to strengthen science advisory committees.
“Research should be aligned with national priorities and the political environment so that your evidence is easily accepted,” says Cale Sanctus, head of assessment at the Uganda National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC). “Positioning ourselves in networks would make it easier to disseminate our findings.”
The Annual Meeting of African Science Academies (AMASA) is cited as one of the meetings with the potential to strengthen science-policy links in Africa. The committee recommended that scientists need to present their findings in ways that are accesible to policymakers and the general public.
“The inability to understand scientific information is a contributing factor to the low uptake and use of such reports. Science academies in Africa should aim at science impact,” says K. Mosto Onuoha, Committee Chair and Immediate Past President, Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS).
“The ability of scientists to communicate is critical. I think we need answer questions that are important to our stakeholders and the rest of the society. Too often our reports are too academic and have no information that people can use,” says Alice N. Pell, a fellow of the UNAS and a professor at Cornell University.
Jacqueline Kado, Executive Director, The Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) asserts that “science advice has to be relevant and contextual. What has worked elsewhere might not necessarily work everywhere. Even within the Africa continent you cannot use one country’s advice to work for another one.”
