ECOWAS Policy on Science and Technology: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:08, 31 January 2017

Revision as of 16:12, 31 January 2017

Line 13:

ECOPOST encourages countries ''inter alia'' to:<ref name=":0" />

* raise gross domestic expenditure on R&Dresearch and development (GERD) to 1% of GDP, as recommended by the [[African Union]] in 2003; in 2013, research intensity averaged 0.3% in West Africa;

* define their own research priorities, so that researchers are working on topics of national interest rather than those proposed by donors;

* create a national S&T fund which would allocate funds to research projects on a competitive basis;

Line 29:

* create networks between universities, research institutions and industry to promote collaboration;

* foster clean, sustainable sources of energy and the development of local construction materials;

* establish national and regional databases on R&Dresearch and development activities.

== Investment in research and development ==

ECOWAS countries still have a long way to go to reach the [[African Union|African Union’s]] target of devoting 1% of GDP to gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD). Mali comes closest (0.66% in 2010), followed by Senegal (0.54% in 2010), according to the [[UNESCO Science Report]] (2015). They are trailed by Ghana (0.38% in 2010), Nigeria and Togo (0.22% in 2007 and 2012 respectively), Burkina Faso (0.20% in 2009), Gambia (0.13% in 2011) and Cabo Verde (0.07% in 2007). The strong economic growth experienced by the subregion in recent years owing to the commodity boom does, of course, make it harder to improve the GERD/GDP ratio, since GDP keeps rising. Several countries have increased their commitment to R&Dresearch in recent years. Mali devoted just 0.25% of GDP to R&Dresearch and development in 2009, for instance, and Senegal has increased its own research intensity from 0.37% in 2008.<ref name=":0" />

Although the government is the main source of GERD, foreign sources contribute a sizeable chunk in Ghana (31%), Senegal (41%) and Burkina Faso (60%). Gambia receives nearly half of its GERD from private non-profit sources.<ref name=":0" />

GERD tends to be spent mainly in either the government or university sectors, depending on the country, although only Ghana and Senegal have provided data for all four performing sectors. These data reveal that the share of GERD performed by the business enterprise sector in these two countries is negligible. This will need to change if the region is to raise its investment in R&Dresearch and development.<ref name=":0" />

It would be hazardous to extrapolate to the entire subregion without recent data for more than seven countries but the available data do suggest a shortage of qualified personnel. Only Senegal stands out, with 361 full-time equivalent researchers per million population in 2010.<ref name=":0" />

Despite policies promoting gender equality, women’s participation in R&Dresearch remains low. Cabo Verde, Senegal and Nigeria have some of the best ratios: around one in three (Cabo Verde) and one in four researchers. Concerning the sector of employment, the surprise comes from Mali, where half (49%) of researchers were working in the business enterprise sector in 2010, according to the [[UNESCO Institute for Statistics]].<ref name=":0" />

== Impact of science and technology in West Africa ==

Line 58:

== Moves to improve data collection ==

Countries are being encouraged to work with the ECOWAS Commission to improve data collection. Of the 13 countries which participated in the first phase of the African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators Initiative (ASTII), just four from ECOWAS countries contributed to ASTII’s first collection of R&D data on research for publication in the ''African Innovation Outlook'' (2011): Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. ASTII was launched in 2007 by the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in order to improve data collection and analysis onin the field of R&Dresearch.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.nepad.org/resource/african-innovation-outlook-2010|title=African Innovation Outlook 2010|last=Planning and Coordinating Agency of the New Partnership for Africa's Development|first=|publisher=|year=2011|isbn=|___location=Pretoria|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref>

ECOWAS was barely more visible in the second ''African Innovation Outlook'', with just six countries contributing data on research and development out of 19 across the continent: Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Togo. Nigeria was totally absent and only Ghana and Senegal provided a full set of data for all four performance sectors.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.nepad.org/resource/african-innovation-outlook-ii-0|title=African Innovation Outlook 2014|last=Planning and Coordinating Agency of the New Partnership for Africa's Development|first=|publisher=|year=2014|isbn=|___location=Pretoria|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref>