Regulation for innovation supporting Sustainable Development Goals

Global disparities in access to COVID-19 vaccines have laid bare inequities and shortcomings in national and international regulatory systems, including intellectual property laws and policies. These regulatory misalignments have significant negative implications for health in lower-income countries, and it is widely expected that these shortcomings may impact other innovations as well, thus hindering progress against Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This project aims to help address inequities in global regulatory systems that inhibit innovations that are relevant for the achievement of SDGs.

In support of more inclusive and sustainable development, particularly in Africa, the project will research and engage with the knowledge governance regimes impacting regulation for innovation. Informed by gender-based analysis plus, it will analyze imbalances between higher-income economies and lower-income economies in capacity, expertise, power and influence in regulatory fora and propose solutions to help address these imbalances. It will do so through studies of regulatory instruments, exploring practical examples of approaches to regulation for innovation and through action research. It will have a central, albeit not exclusive, focus on the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The project will be led by the Open African Innovation Research network (Open Air) and the University of Cape Town will serve as the administrative centre.