AFRICAN UNION Strategy for the development of an African Science and Technology Policy framework By Dr. Abdul-Hakim Rajab Elwaer Director of HRST AUC
The Department of Human Resources Science and Technology (HRST) within the African Union Commission, contributes towards the achievement of the vision of the African Union by supporting the development, harmonization, coordination and implementation of appropriate policies in African Member States and Regional Economic Communities. In this context, the HRST Department intends to develop an African Science and Technology Policy framework that address the African Problems and gives an African solutions for them.
The Policy development programme proposed by the HRST Department consists of the following Phases: Management, Data Collection and AU statistics on S&T; Analysis of the Statistics output; Drafting the AUC S&T Policy framework; Capacity building; and Elevation and Monitoring
Phase (1): Management, Data Collection and AU statistics on S&T: Phase One consists of the following activates: a) African Science and Technology Strategic planning meeting for the implementation of the Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action; b) African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators intergovernmental meeting; c) African Union Science statistical system; and d) The AU survey on the Science and Technology in Member States.
1-a) African Science and Technology Strategic planning meeting for the implementation of the Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action: To facilitate the implementation of the Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action a workshop between the African Union Commission and NEPAD officers charged with the responsibility for Science and Technology was held in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa June 2007. The aim of the meeting was the development of a strategy for the implementation of Africa s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action. The workshop reviewed the vision, developed a mission statement, clarified goals/objectives and outlined an implementation strategy for the immediate term. The outcomes of the workshop along with the strategy were presented to the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology (AMCOST III) meetings that were held in Mombassa November 2007.
1-b) African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators intergovernmental meeting A meeting was organized by NEPAD/OST to establish an intergovernmental committee for the Science, Technology and Innovation indictors, Maputo, in September 2007
1-c) African Union Science statistical system The formulation of science policy and development of S&T plans and programs call for sound information on the country's scientific and technical potential. This implies the need of a set of indicators able to detect the relevant aspects of that complex mechanism constituted by the national scientific and technical system. In other words, it is necessary to have available comprehensive data on the overall resources at the disposal of a country for its scientific and technological activities. These data may be administrative, functional, operational or structural in nature; they may or may not be numerical or statistical and they relate to all scientific units of the country.
Science statistics, which may be defined as a field of statistics dealing with the quantitative measurement of the volume and structure of scientific and technological activities of a given country, provides a conceptual framework wherein information is organized with the aim of measuring, analyzing and evaluating a set of variables relevant to science policy-making. In this regards the HRST Department developed an African Union Science and Technology Statistical manual that follow the international definition standards for science and technology, which presented in different publications such as those produced by the Division of Statistics on Science and Technology of the UNESCO.
1-d) The AU survey for the Science and Technology in Member States. A survey questionnaire was developed by the HRST Department the questionnaire composed of five sections: I. SECTION 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENT In this section information on the responded (country S&T focal point) are requested such as: Contact information Institutional information
II.SECTION 2. COUNTRY PROFILE In this section information requested are: S&T Institutions in the Member States; and S&T activities in the Member States that includes the scientific publication and Patent III. SECTION 3. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL PERSONNEL In this section information requested are: Classification by the type of work and sex S&T Personnel by field of study and Research S&T Personnel by sector of employment
IV. SECTION 4. Finical Resources In this section information requested are: Total domestic expenditure on S&T (TDEST) Categorize of fund Fund for varies S&T Activities Fund by Scientific field and sector of employment Total domestic expenditure on S&T by Sector of employment
V.SECTION 5. Comments of the AUC S&T questionnaire In this part the respondent is requested to comment on the questionnaire, to assist the commission to develop 2009 version of the AUC S&T questionnaire.
Phase (2): Analysis of the Statistics output: Phase Two consists of the following activates: a) The analysis of the survey outcome; and b) Publishing of the African Science and Technology 2008 survey report.
Phase (3): Drafting the AUC S&T policy framework Phase Three consists of the following activates: a) SWOT analysis of the African Science and Technology sector; b) Drafting the African union Science and Technology optimum Policy; The African Union Science and Technology optimum Policy will be drafted by a consultancy committee. The consultancy committee on Science and Technology policy development comprises from six members (five members representing the AU 5 regions and a committee leader who will be responsible on the insurance of the quality and compilation of the committee output)
c) Workshop for defining the optimum African Science and Technology policy; d) Member States comments on the draft policy; e) Finalizing the African Science and Technology optimum policy; and f) Presenting the African Science and Technology Policy to the AMCOST.
Phase (4): Capacity building Phase Four consists of the following activates: a) Capacity building programme to the Member State official on the African Science and Technology optimum policy.
Phase (5): Evaluation and Monitoring Phase Five consists of the following activates: a) Evaluation and Monitoring the implementation of the African S&T policy; and b) Publishing of the biennial Science and Technology African report.