Capacity-building for financing national and collaborative FONRID projects
SGCI is a multi-donor initiative supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, IDRC, and South Africa’s National Research Foundation. The Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) is a multi-donor initiative developed jointly by IDRC, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, and South Africa’s National Research Foundation. SGCI aims to strengthen the capacities of science granting councils to support research and evidence-based policies that contribute to economic and social development; design and monitor research programs and formulate and implement policies based on the use of robust science, technology, and innovation indicators; support knowledge transfer to the private sector; and establish partnerships among councils and with other science system stakeholders.
Since its inception in 2015, SGCI has been strengthening the capacities of science granting councils in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative’s activities include training, regional exchanges and forums, online training, on-site coaching, and collaborative research. More effective science granting councils are expected to strengthen national science, technology, and innovation systems and ultimately promote nationally led research that contributes to development in participating countries.
Two new cross-cutting dimensions, namely research excellence and gender equality and inclusivity, have recently been added to the Initiative. As part of the SGCI’s second phase, funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and IDRC will provide grants to each council, enabling them to manage research competitions and related activities in areas aligned with their national research agendas.
With this three-year project, Burkina Faso’s Fonds national de la recherche et de l’innovation pour le développement (FONRID) will use Sida and IDRC funding, supplemented by its own resources, to launch a call for national research projects and another call for joint projects with research teams from Senegal and/or Mozambique. Research will focus on priority areas for Burkina Faso, namely manufacturing and industrialization, sustainable economies and societies, and emerging technologies and development. Each proposal will involve collaboration with private sector stakeholders and other users of the research results. All funded research will account for gender issues and the inclusion and participation of female scientists. FONRID will test a new approach to managing their call for proposals via an online proposal submission system and will evaluate sharing a database of proposal reviewers with collaborating councils.