Political economy analysis of Africa’s Science Granting Councils

The Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) is a multi-donor initiative supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), IDRC, South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF), and the German Research Foundation (DFG). Launched in 2015, the Initiative has been strengthening the capacities of councils in 15 African countries to: manage research; design and monitor research programs, and to formulate and implement policies based on the use of data and evidence; support knowledge transfer to the private sector; and establish partnerships among councils and with other science system actors. More effective councils are expected to support research and evidence-based policies that strengthen their roles within science systems and contribute to economic and social development.

The overarching purpose of this project is to undertake a political economy analysis of science granting councils in selected African countries and regions. This will inform the Initiative’s capacity strengthening activities through a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the various contexts in which the councils operate. It will analyze how specific political and economic interests and concerns shape particular policies and programs in target countries; examine how power and resources are distributed and contested in different contexts, and the implications for development outcomes; explore how policy choices and impacts in target countries are influenced by national and world political and economic factors; and ensure that the SGCI’s capacity strengthening activities are aligned with the needs and interests of the councils as they undertake their work within the national, regional, and continental contexts in which they operate.