Strengthening the capacities of the National Science and Technology Council of Zambia in the management of research and innovation projects

The Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) is a multi-donor Initiative funded by IDRC, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, South Africa’s National Research Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the German Research Foundation. Since its inception in 2015, SGCI has strengthened the capacities of science granting councils in sub-Saharan African countries to support research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to economic and social development. Specifically, SGCI is strengthening the capacities of councils in managing research, using data and evidence in policy and decision-making, funding research and innovation projects, strategic communications and knowledge translation, and gender equality and inclusivity. As part of the SGCI’s second phase, IDRC and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation agreed on a new partnership to deepen and extend SGCI’s strategic engagements with up to 17 councils over four years (2022–2025) in areas that complement SGCI’s ongoing activities. These areas include supporting the councils to fund and manage research and innovation projects.

The overall goal of this project is to support the National Science and Technology Council of Zambia to manage research calls on sustainable agriculture, energy, climate smart technologies and mining value addition to contribute to Zambia’s Eighth National Development Plan. This project will be implemented in partnership with the National Commission for Science and Technology of Namibia and with the National Research Fund of Mozambique.