Strengthening the capacity of Africa’s science granting councils in the use of evidence in policy and decision-making

The Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) is a multi-donor initiative supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, IDRC, South Africa’s National Research Foundation, and the German Research Foundation. Since its inception in 2015, the Initiative has strengthened the capacities of science granting councils in 15 sub-Saharan African countries to support research and evidence-based policies that can contribute to economic and social development.

Among the Initiative’s key areas of focus are strengthening councils’ ability to use data and evidence to design and monitor research programs and to formulate and implement policies. This project will strengthen the capacity of science granting councils to generate and use evidence (both qualitative and quantitative) in policy and decision-making and to enhance their roles as national policy champions through training and technical support. It will support the councils to develop robust organization-level monitoring, evaluation, and learning and data management systems; to systematically collect, analyze, and use internal administrative, financial performance, and grants management data for project/ program management and policy/decision-making; to conduct reviews of their national policies to improve their decision-making processes, enhance their knowledge of the policy process, and strengthen their roles as policy champions; to facilitate peer-to-peer learning among councils through initiatives such as staff exchanges and learning visits about the use of evidence in policy and decision-making; and to engage with policy and other decision-makers in their countries.