Magazine June 2015 | Issue 5
In this Issue Unlocking Food Security Africa in Horizon 2020 Science and Development
CAAST-Net Plus
Building Bi-regional Partnerships for Global Challenges
Contents
Coordinators’ Message
Challenges and Opportunities for Bi-regional Cooperation A message from the project coordinators Dr Andrew Cherry and Dr Eric Mwangi
3
HLPD Explained The mechanisms of the EU-Africa STI policy dialogue Gerard Ralphs and Dr Andrew Cherry
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[Image credit: Flickr, Lorenzo Tomada]
Policy Updates
[Image credit: Flickr, Mark Hunter]
Horizon 2020 Know-how
[Image credit: Flickr, Patrick Q]
Research-in-progress
[Image credit: Flickr, Janneke Staaks]
Towards a Jointly Funded EU-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership 5 The way forward Refilwe Mashigo, Dr Helena Gómez Macpherson and Prof. Jeff Waage Policy Brief How Africa-EU research and innovation can address food and nutrition security
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From the Entebbe Forum Findings and recommendations for decision-makers
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The Role of Science in Reaching Development Goals Isayvani Naicker
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Infographic A total of 17 Horizon 2020 projects have African partners
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African Participation in Horizon 2020, So Far Stéphane Hogan
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Horizon 2020 News on caast-net-plus.org Our updates, your opportunities
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From Information to Action The purpose of Horizon 2020 info days Christian van der Merwe, Tugela Matubatuba and Constantine Vaitsas
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Africa-EU Research Collaboration on Health An assessment of the outcomes John Ouma-Mugabe
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Share Your Lessons Communication and dissemination in bi-regional partnerships Gerard Ralphs and Isabella Wagner
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Pin it to CAAST-Net Plus Events, links and opportunities
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CAAST-Net Plus is funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n0 311806. This document reflects only the author’s views and the European Union cannot be held liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. The CAAST-Net Plus Magazine is produced by Research Africa Address: A307 Gate House, Black River Park, Observatory, 7925, South Africa Phone: +27 (0)21 447 5484 Fax: +27 (0)21 447 9152 Email: info@research-africa.net Web site: www.researchresearch.com/africa
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Magazine June 2015 | Issue 5
Challenges and Opportunities for Bi-regional Cooperation A message from the project coordinators Dr Andrew Cherry Project Coordinator
Dr Eric Mwangi Africa Region Coordinator
The richness of Africa-EU cooperation in research and innovation in the domains of climate change, food security and health is amply illustrated through the desk studies, the conference sessions, the stakeholder interviews, and the surveys conducted by partners.
As we’ve deepened our understanding and appreciation of this landscape of joint efforts, it has become evident at the same time there are system-wide and domain specific opportunities for enhancing cooperation, for example through addressing weaknesses around the conditions in which cooperation operates. These weaknesses have the potential to undermine or limit the quality and quantity of cooperation. It’s only through the detailed understanding that partners have achieved that we are able to understand where we can make a difference. Whether it is through the fostering of programming coordination, through a pilot initiative to promote industry-academia relations for research uptake, the development of a think tank to advise bi-regional policy, or through a global framework for equitable research contracts, CAASTNet Plus partners are now reflecting on the design of interventions that would exploit opportunities to reduce the impact of some of these weaknesses and in so doing sustainably enhance our cooperation. At the same time as building a better cooperation landscape for partnerships, CAAST-Net Plus partners are drawing on their knowledge of partnerships and priorities and the needs of Africa-EU science, technology and innovation (STI) cooperation to work alongside the EU-Africa high-level policy dialogue platform in STI. The platform, better known as ‘HLPD’, a term explained in this magazine (see page 5), is a core component of the EU-Africa STI partnership. It was back in 2013 that HLPD took the decision to focus the EU-Africa STI partnership in coming years on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA).
A roadmap for EU-Africa cooperation in FNSSA, recently drawn up by a working group of African and European experts, has given direction and content to the partnership. CAAST-Net Plus is working with the HLPD’s secretariat – the HLPD Bureau – to develop the roadmap’s implementation pathways, and to address some of the cross-cutting priorities in the roadmap. The EU’s funding programme for research and innovation, Horizon 2020, is fully open to international participation and is one of many programmes supporting Africa-Europe partnerships. There’s a nice infographic later in the magazine that gives some early data on African participation in Horizon 2020. CAAST-Net Plus continues to invest heavily in building awareness of the opportunities for cooperation under Horizon 2020 and in fostering a network of National Contact Points on the Africa continent. There’s more about this in the articles of this issue of the magazine. Over 1000 researchers, academics and similar actors from 28 different countries have now participated in 13 Horizon 2020 information sessions in 12 different Africa countries, run by CAAST-Net Plus and its collaborators, with more such sessions on the way. Finally, all the work that CAAST-Net Plus does depends on you, our collaborators, the actors and stakeholders in the Africa-EU cooperation landscape. Please do tell us what you think, send us your ideas and comments, join with us in making EU-Africa STI cooperation ever more fruitful.
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HLPD Explained The mechanisms of the EU-Africa STI policy dialogue Gerard Ralphs Research Africa
Dr Andrew Cherry Project Coordinator
CAAST-Net Plus project coordinator Dr Andrew Cherry unpacks one of the more frequently used acronyms in the Africa-EU research and innovation landscape. Questions: Gerard Ralphs Responses: Dr Andrew Cherry
What is HLPD? “HLPD” is short for EU-Africa High Level Policy Dialogue Platform on Science, Technology and Innovation. HLPD is a platform for discussions on research and innovation policy between senior officials from African and European countries, mandated with formulating and implementing long-term priorities to strengthen bi-regional STI cooperation. The HLPD is an element of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) adopted in Lisbon in 2007. JAES seeks to develop a political vision and practical approaches to further cement EU-Africa cooperation in areas of mutual interest. HLPD is co-chaired on the European side by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation and on the African side by the Congo (as former chair of the African Union’s African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology).
FNSSA for EU-Africa cooperation. These experts met routinely with the Bureau to develop the content, consult with external stakeholders, and agree on steps to its completion. The roadmap, which will eventually be used to strengthen EU-Africa research and innovation partnerships, was completed by the experts in May and is now with the Bureau for developing the implementation pathways and the M&E processes.
How do projects such as RINEA and CAAST-Net Plus support the work of the HLPD Bureau? RINEA is a new network of African and European institutes funded by Horizon 2020 to directly support the work of the HLPD and its Bureau. It will conduct analysis of EU-Africa cooperation, provide support to the policy dialogue, and foster research and innovation partnerships. An interesting dimension of RINEA is the structure of its consortium, the countries in which closely mirrors the membership of the HLPD Bureau.
What is the “HLPD Bureau”? The HLPD Bureau is a component of HLPD which exists to provide technical and logistic support and to take forward HLPD decisions. Recent meetings of the Bureau, for example, have focussed on implementing the HLPD decision to build an EUAfrica STI partnership around food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA). To this end an Expert Working Group, comprising 5 experts from Africa and 5 from Europe, was charged by the Bureau to come up with a roadmap on
CAAST-Net Plus partners attended a meeting of the HLPD Expert Working Group, held in London from 5-6 March 2015. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
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CAAST-Net, and now CAAST-Net Plus, supports the broad EU-Africa cooperation landscape. Both projects have worked alongside the HLPD Bureau and HLPD’s former Joint Expert Group on STI, drawing on the projects’ tasks and position as networks of national science authorities from Africa and Europe to advance EU-Africa STI partnerships and policy discussions. For more information about HLPD and HLPD Bureau go to: www.africa-eu-partnership.org
The kick-off meeting the RINEA project took place in Bonn, Germany, in April 2015. RINEA [Image credit: European Commission]
Towards a Jointly Funded EU-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership The way forward Refilwe Mashigo Dr Helena Gómez Macpherson Research Africa CSIC *
Prof. Jeff Waage LIPC **
A working group of ten experts from Europe and Africa have developed a “roadmap” proposal for a jointly funded EU-Africa research and innovation partnership that focuses, initially, on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA). Refilwe Mashigo spoke to two of its authors about the background to this key policy paper. Questions: Refilwe Mashigo Responses: Dr Helena Gómez Macpherson and Dr Jeff Waage
Why is research cooperation in FNSSA critical at the present juncture for Africa and Europe? JW: Africa and Europe have shared research problems, albeit slightly different agendas within these, around sustainable intensification, trade and nutrition. Finding areas where both could benefit from the same kind of work was challenging for the group. But where this is possible there is an enormous opportunity to accelerate useful research for all involved.
At the level of FNSSA policy, and policy interventions, what should governments in both regions be thinking about now? JW: There are many policy interventions that have to be applied in order for food to be available, accessible, affordable and acceptable. Some of these apply to the way in which our food systems are established, the function of markets and private sector, and other policy interventions need to relate to consumer awareness and behaviour and to social protection that allows even the poorest people to afford nutritious foods. Governments must realise that sustainable agriculture in its own right, and agricultural policies that secure this, are not enough to ensure that populations receive sufficient, and sufficiently nutritious, food. HGM: Learning from experiences in other countries is a good start. I am also of the view that any policy intervention should be accompanied by monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness and impact, which is particularly important in the first phase of the intervention. Once the potential impact of a policy is really understood, then governments will find their way in applying
* **
policy. Societies should also understand the implications of policies so that there is a bottom-up demand for their proper application.
What are the major priority areas that the roadmap sets out to address? HGM: The group has identified three thematic areas of common interest for Africa and Europe: first, sustainable intensification, agriculture and food systems for nutrition; second, expansion and improvement of agricultural markets and trade; and third, cross-cutting areas for improving institutional innovation capacity. These areas are important for focusing efforts. However, I consider two other issues in the roadmap to be essential to its overall coherence: the identification of five criteria for setting priorities, one the one hand, and the proposed model that closely links research to innovation and in which key stakeholders, including farmers, participate in defining priorities and activities, on the other hand.
Why are co-financed and co-owned R&I initiative important in bi-regional STI cooperation? HGM: Simply put, financing and owning a programme means being close to its formulation and feeling responsible of its implementation and success. To download the Roadmap Towards a Jointly-funded EU-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership, With an Initial Focus on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture go to: http://l.caast-net-plus.org/cs
Helena Gómez Macpherson is Chief Agronomy Department at the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, in the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Prof Jeff Waage is Director of the London International Development Centre (LIPC) and Technical Advisor to the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition.
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Policy Brief How Africa-EU research and innovation can address food and nutrition insecurity
As one in a series of three impact studies on Africa-EU science, technology and innovation cooperation, CAAST-Net Plus is pleased to report findings from research analysing bi-regional partnerships in the area of food and nutrition security.
This report will be launched in July 2015. To receive a copy, sign up to the CAAST-Net Plus mailing list. (www.caast-netplus.org/newsletter).
Finding #1: Food and nutrition security challenges persist in sub-Saharan Africa This is despite more than a decade of high profile attention to the value of STI for addressing challenges in African agriculture, the complementary nature of research initiatives by many organisations, and significant EU investment in bilateral research cooperation.
Recommendation #1: Strengthen research networking and priority setting by establishing a high-level Africa-EU think tank Our suggestion is that a high level multi-disciplinary think tank needs to be established, comprising directors of the main agricultural research coordinating platforms and experts from key academic institutions in Africa and Europe, to identify the joint priorities and work programmes and approve the monitoring and evaluation framework.
Finding #2: Disconnect between research, policy and industry Political will exists at the highest policy level in the AU and the EU for addressing FNS challenges. However, while the major outputs of bilateral research cooperation supported by the EU’s framework programmes, EU member states, and other instruments have resulted in capacity being developed and the generation of knowledge, these remain disconnected from policy, farmers and industry.
Recommendation #2: Establish M&E framework for greater research uptake and impact Scientific and technical research outputs should respond to jointly agreed priorities. They should be measured and their outcomes and impact on FNS should be appropriately tracked based on the approved monitoring and evaluation framework. Scientific outputs should not only be published in peer-reviewed journals but also converted into policy briefs and working papers for wider dissemination to other stakeholders so as to better influence policies and programmes.
Finding #3: Limited ownership of research and innovation agendas Africa-EU STI collaboration in FNS is limited to a few strong partners and major players on both continents. African and European researchers and organisations not among these countries are not sufficiently enabled to participate in joint projects due to several well-known constraints.
Recommendation #3: Co-funded and co-owned research The STI collaboration between Africa and the EU needs to be strengthened and go beyond the participation of the established players (Kenya, South Africa, France, Germany, UK). Joint research priorities should be co-funded and co-owned. Africa should be encouraged and supported to make financial resources available to African researchers and research organisations.
Background This research considers the extent to which EU-Africa research cooperation initiatives, supported by the EU, bilateral programmes of EU member states, and private research funds, have impacted on Africa-EU joint FNS priorities. Analysis focused on how research outputs from these initiatives were being used in policy-making and related programme planning and implementation, as well as for supporting innovation in products, processes and markets for increasing impact on FNS outcomes. The study's lead author is Judith Ann Francis of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
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Magazine June 2015 | Issue 5
From the Entebbe Forum Findings and recommendations for decision-makers
In November 2014 CAAST-Net Plus convened 60 experts to discuss Africa-EU strategies for using science, technology and innovation to tackle global challenges of health, food and nutrition security, and climate change.
The event was hosted by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), and co-organised by the International Bureau of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR-PT) and South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology. All three organisations are partners in the CAAST-Net Plus consortium. “Our consortium works to reinforce the Africa-EU relationship in STI at the formal and informal levels, and we do this through several channels,” says project coordinator, Dr Andrew Cherry. To download this report go to: http://l.caast-net-plus.org/cA
“CAAST-Net Plus stakeholder forums, in particular, are an excellent mechanism for developing a two-way exchange of knowledge and information between these formal and informal relationships.
Key Findings and Recommendations The findings of the 1st CAAST-Net Plus Stakeholder Forum are clustered around five major areas. Each area, in turn, contains a series of detailed recommendations and associated actions for implementation. The five areas are: 1 Establishing knowledge sharing and matchmaking structures to support stakeholder involvement in research and innovation projects; 2 Fostering closer collaboration between academia and industry through the African RECs; 3 Defining bi-regional science, technology and innovation (STI) roadmaps for societal challenges through participatory approaches; 4 Supporting joint Africa-EU Centres of Excellence and Think Tanks; and, 5 Strengthening of national and multinational innovation systems.
“We encourage readers from bi-regional, subregional and national contexts to actively engage with the ideas presented in this report and to seek pathways to integrate them within their ongoing activities, as well as in their institutions,” Cherry says.
CAAST-Net Plus stakeholder forums convene participants from Africa and the EU to discuss topics of mutual interest. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
Your comments and questions about this report are welcomed and can be sent by email to enquiries@caast-net-plus.org.
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The Role of Science in Reaching Development Goals
Dr Isayvani Naicker Department of Science and Technology, South Africa
The science community must unite to ensure that they complete the unfinished business around the Millennium Development Goals.
There have been pockets of progress since 2000 when the goals were introduced to address food security and reduce maternal and infant mortality as some of the global challenges around poverty.
Reduce child mortality
As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals draws nearer, a new agenda is on the cards to finish the job. The United Nations has now urged member countries to come up with a plan for the work to continue after it reaches its deadline at the end of December 2015 for the list of 17 proposed sustainable development goals.
Improve maternal health
What the world set out to achieve There were eight goals that needed to be achieved. Driven by the United Nations, governments around the world were given targets around the goals. This is what was achieved:
Eradicate extreme poverty The number of people living under the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day declined from 1.8 to 1.4 billion between 1990 and 2005.
South African scientists have led the push to bring down number of deaths in pregnancy.
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases The number of new HIV infections fell steadily from 3.5 million in 1996 to 2.7 million in 2010.
Ensure environmental sustainability Since 1990, 1.7 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water.
Develop a global partnership for development Debt burdens have eased for developing countries and now dropped below the historical levels. In May 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the World Health Organisation asked pharmaceutical companies to give 10% of their vaccine production to poor countries.
Achieve universal primary education
How science has helped so far
Roughly 69 million school-age children are not in school, down considerably from 106 million in 1999.
Science has made major contributions.
Promote gender equality and empower women The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Girls’ Education Initiative developed legal tools to reduce genderbased violence in schools.
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Between 1990 and 2008, child mortality in developing countries dropped from 100 to 72 deaths per 1000 live births.
Magazine June 2015 | Issue 5
For example, the goal set for eradicating poverty and hunger has been helped through new high-yielding varieties of rice that can withstand drought in Africa and flooding in Asia. In addition, this genetically modified golden rice, rich in beta-carotene, can prevent blindness.
Science has also helping African farmers, who lose as much as half of what they produce to pest infections, through new technologies for better biological pest control. In South Africa, science has played its part too. One area of progress is in reducing childbirth mortality, thanks to the discovery of magnesium sulphate given to mothers immediately after birth drastically reducing deaths.
Collaboration is focus for the future The skills pool and international partnerships in science, technology and innovation are being harnessed to help achieve the post-2015 development agenda. But collaboration is key. An area of agreement in various international and regional talks on developing a post-2015 agenda is the need to form stronger partnerships and cooperation between scientists. The Addis Accord Zero Draft Outcome is expected to provide a future framework, which commits governments to boost international collaboration in scientific research aimed at meeting the needs of developing nations. Extreme poverty has been cut by half but science is expected to play a greater role in future development efforts. United Nations.
Past collaboration between scientists has produced exceptional outcomes across the globe. An innovation like the internet was developed through global partnerships at the European Organisation of Nuclear Research (CERN). The web has proved a powerful tool in tackling development challenges. Investments in large projects to develop global science research structures like the Large Hadron Collidor and Square Kilometre Array can be uniquely productive in raising the profile and money for science technology innovation. Another technology produced as result of scientific collaboration is the grid, which harnesses the power of computers around the world to process the vast amount of data collected by scientists in their experiments. It is a type of virtual supercomputer. South African scientists have been urged to work together, taking their cue from the country’s National Development Plan (vision 2030) which spells out the key role of science, technology and innovation in meeting development goals. The plan hopes that the science community can help end poverty and also create jobs in South Africa and on the continent. While there is a long way to go, science is already playing its part towards creating a better world by providing leadership, an enabling environment and resources for sustainable development. It will be even more successful if collaboration becomes the byword of scientists. Dr Isayvani Naicker is Chief Director of International Resources at the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand. This article appeared in The Conversation on 25 May 2015. It is republished with permission under a Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivatives license. https://theconversation.com
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Infographic
A total of 17 Horizon 2020 projects have African partners
Number of proposals from all over the world:
45,000
*
Total calls:
Total money:
65 59
2014 2015 Difference: -6
2014 2015
€7575m €7055m
Difference: -€520m
* Source: European Commission. Data as at March 2015.
PARTICIPATIONS
AFRICA in Horizon 2020 *
37 32 17 16
EU FUNDING *
Morocco 1 6,322
Egypt
Algeria
2 104,438
1 67,656
Uganda
organisations
participations
projects
countries
2 901,343
Cote d’Ivoire
Ethiopia (AUC) 1 45,685
Nigeria 1 29,813
2 136,250
Kenya Burkina Faso
4 228,250
1 16,625
Burundi
Togo
(40% from South Africa)
1 40,031
1 27,968
Total EU funding:
€5m
Senegal
Zambia
2 250,625
1 62,500 Namibia
Mozambique 1 454,593
1 35,978
TOTAL: PARTICIPATIONS 37 EU FUNDING * € 5,045,444
South Africa 15 2,637,369 * All figures in €.
* Source: European Commission. Data as of May 2015.
AFRICA in Horizon 2020 - Participation by Programme Area
PROJECTS
PARTICIPATIONS
Space
3 4 € 204,289
Industrial Leadership € 204,289
Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials
Europe in a Changing World - Inclusive, Innovative and Reflective Societies
5 15 € 1,087,412
2 8 € 504,805
Societal Challenges € 4,781,717
Science With and For Society € 59,438
TOTAL
Develop the Governance for the Advancement of Responsible R&I
Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine and Maritime Research and the Bioeconomy
Health, Demographic Change and Well-being
1 1 € 59,438
2 2 € 212,000
4 7 € 2,977,500
PROJECTS: 17
* Source: European Commission.
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PARTICIPATIONS: 37
FUNDING: € 5,045,444
AFRICA in HORIZON 2020
Projects
ACRONYM
TYPE
AREA
TBVAC2020
RIA
HEALTH
Advancing Novel and Promising TB Vaccine Candidates €18,200,000
40
EMI-TB
RIA
HEALTH
Eliciting Mucosal Immunity to Tuberculosis
€ 7,993,660
14
SMART2D
RIA
HEALTH
Self-Management for Prevention and Management of Type-2-Diabetes
€ 3,344,979
6
REACTION
RIA
HEALTH
Evaluation of the Efficacy and of the Antiviral Activity of T-705 (Favipiravir) against Ebola
€ 2,575,810
12
nEUROSTRESSPEP
RIA
FOOD
Novel Biocontrol Agents for Insect Pests from Neuroendocrinology
€ 6,995,053
14
PROTEIN2FOOD
RIA
FOOD
Development of High Quality Food Protein through Sustainable Production and Processing
€ 8,817,638
19
EWIT
CSA
ENV
Developing an E-waste Implementation Toolkit for Recycling and Secondary Raw Material Recovery Strategies in Metropolitan Areas in Africa
€ 1,641,750
24
ERA-NET
ENV
Water Works 2014-2019 in Support of Water JPI
€ 6,160,307
23
green.eu
CSA
ENV
European Global Transition Network on EcoInnovation, Green Economy and Sustainable Development
€ 2,994,179
12
INTRAW
CSA
ENV
International Cooperation on Raw materials
€ 2,111,200
15
BioMOre
RIA
ENV
New Mining Concept for Extracting Metals from Deep Ore Deposits using Biotechnology
€ 8,564,962
22
RINEA
CSA
SOCIETY
Research and Innovation Support for Europe and Africa
€ 1,927,363
13
MERID
CSA
SOCIETY
Middle East Research and Innovation Dialogue
€ 999,750
13
MyOcean FO
CSA
LEIT
Pre-Operational Marine Service Continuity in Transition towards Copernicus
€ 6,000,000
57
EUSPACE-AWE
CSA
LEIT
EU SPACE AWARENESS
€ 1,999,965
10
IA
LEIT
Multiplying in Africa European Global Navigation Initiatives Fostering Interlaced Cooperation
€ 1,416,163
9
CSA
GOV
Network of Science with and for Society National Contact Points
€ 1,999,594
16
WaterWorks 2014
MAGNIFIC SiS.net2
TITLE
FUNDING PARTNERS
CSA = Coordination and Support Action; RIA = Research and Innovation Action; ERA-NET = European Research Area Network; IA = Innovation Action. Source: European Commission. All information related to the Horizon 2020 programme can be found on the European Commission’s Participant Portal http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/
Horizon 2020 TIPS Researchers
Researchers should present to their partners clearly and concisely what they can bring to these projects. They should try to seek support from their institution – for example, if it’s a first participation make sure their institution is formally registered with the European Commission, an administrative process that is essential to becoming eligible to receive funding.
Stéphane Hogan of the European Union’s Delegation to the African Union offers three tips aimed at researchers, institutional leaders, and governments.
Institutions
Institutions can identify topics that would align with their research capacities and the individual researchers in their institutions, and support researchers in the process of participating.
Governments
In the run up to a renewed set of Horizon 2020 opportunities in 2016 and 2017, governments should make sure they have effective NCP networks in place.
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Africa’s Participation in Horizon 2020, So Far
Stéphane Hogan European Union Delegation to the African Union
African participation in Horizon 2020, Europe’s seven-year research funding programme, has started out lower than in its predecessor Framework 7, new figures show.
Factors curbing African participation include low awareness of the opportunities both in Africa and Europe, and a lack of support by African governments and institutions for researchers wanting to apply. Stéphane Hogan
Stéphane Hogan, science counsellor to the European Union’s delegation to the African Union, presented the data last month at a research management conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. In the first 16 months of the programme, African institutions from 16 countries won €5 million (US$5.7m) across 37 individual grants, Hogan said. The majority of awards are for climate change and health research, and half the money went to South Africa (see infographic on pages 10-11). But, he added, so far African participation in Horizon 2020 has been lower than it was in its predecessor programme Framework 7, which ran from 2007 until 2013. Hogan said that he hoped more Africans will submit proposals to the next Horizon 2020 calls, which will have more topics suitable for the continent and other developing regions. Hogan was speaking at a meeting arranged by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association from 11 to 13 May.
Stéphane Hogan addresses participants at the CAAST-Net Plus-DRUSSA Pathways for Research Uptake workshop during the ACU-SARIMA conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, in May 2015. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
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Factors curbing African participation include low awareness of the opportunities both in Africa and Europe, and a lack of support by African governments and institutions for researchers wanting to apply. In an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the meeting, Hogan told Research Africa that many of these constraints could be reduced if African governments committed to
strengthening their support to researchers. More African countries need to set up National Contact Points that researchers can turn to for help and support on applying for EU funding or finding partners, he said. “But there is also the problem of some individuals appointed as NCPs that do not have time, resources or expertise to perform the role properly. This needs to be addressed at country level,” he added. There are projects funded by the European Commission, such as CAAST-Net Plus, ISTAfrica and INCONTACT 2020, which are specifically designed to create awareness about Horizon 2020 in Africa and to train NCPs. Improving their NCPs should be a priority for African governments, he says. “In the run up to a renewed set of Horizon 2020 opportunities in 2016 and 2017, governments should make sure they have effective NCP networks in place.” For institutional leaders, careful planning and strategy is key, Hogan adds. “Institutions can identify topics that would align with their research capacities and the individual researchers in their institutions, and support researchers in the process of participating.” This article was written by Gerard Ralphs. An earlier version appeared on Research Professional Africa on 18 May 2015 (www.researchprofessional.com).
Horizon 2020 News on caast-net-plus.org Our updates, your opportunities
Latest Data on African Participation in Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 Call for Individual Fellowships
The science counsellor of the European Union’s delegation to the African Union, Stéphane Hogan, has presented the most recent data on Horizon 2020 participation by African institutions. Speaking to Research Africa at a research management conference in South Africa last month, Hogan said that so far institutions from 16 countries had won about €5 million across 37 grants. African governments wishing to pursue greater involvement in Horizon 2020 need to commit to providing more effective support to their researchers, the article says.
The Marie SklodowskaCurie Actions’ Individual Fellowships programme has opened for applications. Fellowships allow researchers to develop their competence through mobility and training, says the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. The programme is open to researchers within and outside of Europe. Applicants have until 10 September 2015 to submit proposals.
http://l.caast-net-plus.org/bE [Image credit: Marie Curie Actions]
http://l.caast-net-plus.org/c1 [Image credit: Flickr, Peter B]
Horizon Prize for Better Antibiotic Use Up for Grabs The European Union has launched another of its Horizon Prizes funded out of it Horizon 2020 programme, this time to stem the growing tendency of antibiotic resistance through overuse of the medicines. The prize is worth €1 million and will be given to parties involved in the development of a rapid test to screen for safe treatment of patients with respiratory tract infections without antibiotics. Individuals, groups or consortia in EU member states or any country involved in Horizon 2020 activities can apply for the prize. The criteria for evaluation are: reduction of antibiotic use; accuracy and safety; non-invasive technology; affordability; rapid results; and ease of use. Applications close on 17 August.
EU Contemplating Second Chance For Unsuccessful Horizon 2020 Applications The European Union (EU) is considering ways to ensure that unsuccessful Horizon 2020 bids, which show promise, are directed to alternative sources of funding, Science|Business reported on 12 March. The article says that only 14-15% of current applications are successful for H2020 funding, despite many others being of high quality. “I think the incentive here is to say, ‘Look, we have these projects that went through the Horizon 2020 evaluation filter, which is extremely tough, and here you go, you have a [recognition] of excellence, it’s up to you [whether to provide finance],” Carlos Moedas, the EU Research Commissioner told Science|Business. According to the article, plans afoot include referring applications to innovation sector of the EU’s development programmes, a regional initiative.
http://l.caast-net-plus.org/ah [Image credit: Horizon 2020]
http://l.caast-net-plus.org/aR [Image credit: Flickr, Sparktography]
For more updates like this, go to http://l.caast-net-plus.org/cr
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From Information to Action The purpose of Horizon 2020 info days
Christian van der Merwe Research Africa
Horizon 2020 information sessions provide crucial learning opportunities for researchers and SMEs from particular national or regional contexts in the pre-award stage. Research Africa spoke to two NCPs from South Africa and Greece about why these sessions matter. Questions: Christian van der Merwe Responses: Tugela Matubatuba and Constantine Vaitsas
In what ways do information sessions organised by networks such as CAAST-Net Plus, INCONTACT 2020 and ESASTAP Plus help to boost African researchers’ and SMEs’ chances of winning Horizon 2020 funding?
Info sessions are critical because they are carefully designed to support researchers in participating in Horizon 2020 projects. So researchers gain access to vital information that they might otherwise have missed. Constantine Vaitsas
Horizon 2020 brochures can be accessed on the Participant Portal. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
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TM: Info sessions are arranged to raise awareness of current Horizon 2020 opportunities and the processes researchers and innovators should follow if they want to participate in the programme. Proposals are evaluated based on criteria set by the EU and so sessions are aimed at preparing and equipping the research community to be able to respond appropriately. Sometimes info sessions are paired with brokerage (or networking) events, where NCPs facilitate partner matching between African and European
Q&A sessions afford participants the chance to clarify the processes involved in setting up NCPs or participating in a Horizon 2020 proposal effort. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
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researchers who are keen to collaborate on responding to Horizon 2020 or, indeed, other EU opportunities. CV: Info sessions are critical because they are carefully designed to support researchers in participating in Horizon 2020 projects. So researchers gain access to vital information that they might otherwise have missed. But they also benefit from the networking, which is explicitly promoted through these sessions. It is this formula — of key information and networking — that can help to drive cooperation between researchers from around the world and that, in turn, can leads to successful research and innovation project proposals.
How have researchers and SMEs from your national or regional contexts responded to Horizon 2020 information sessions? TM: The South African research and innovation community that I work with closely through the
EU-funded projects such as CAAST-Net Plus, ESASTAP Plus and INCONTACT 2020 regularly organise Horizon 2020 information sessions across the African continent. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
Tugela Matubatuba DST
Constantine Vaitsas FORTH/PRAXI Network
ESASTAP Plus project has generally welcomed the Horizon 2020 info session offering. Many have been particularly enthusiastic in submitting followup queries to the DST. Some have considered establishing proposal writing networks. A few have actually gone the full distance and responded to Horizon 2020 calls, and won funding!
We want to encourage the South African and, through CAAST-Net Plus, the broader African research community to participate in EU funding programmes.
By the same token, a number of participants have expressed concerns about the investment of time and effort in putting together a response to a Horizon 2020 call. We do our best to support the community in this regard, such as through providing seed funding for proposal development.
CV: Positively! The research and innovation communities I have worked with on the African continent through the CAASTNet Plus project appreciate the Horizon 2020 info sessions we have delivered. This is because these sessions offer participants the opportunity to access new programme information and any updates, for example, on participation rules, reporting and financial modalities, and so on. This data is usually presented by an officer experienced in the mechanisms of the programme. So info sessions offer the right platform to meet with experienced programme participants and EU representatives to ask or discuss specific issues regarding their prospects for participation.
Tugela Matubatuba
During Horizon 2020 info days groups are tasked with preparing a mock proposal. [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
What have been some of the positive outcomes of the information sessions that you have organised? TM: South Africa has witnessed an increase of the country’s participation in the framework programme over the past decade and this can certainly in part be attributed to the active interventions of the DST and ESASTAP-PLUS. Of course more still needs to be done! We want to encourage the South African and, through CAAST-Net Plus, the broader African research and innovation community to participate in EU funding programmes. We anticipate many more info sessions to promote these instruments, especially with the private sector and institutions that have not yet participated in projects. CV: It is encouraging to see the info sessions populated by high numbers of researchers. Equally, we are pleased to have connected with so many young researchers and more experienced researchers with previous framework programme exposure. But it is not only about the high participation numbers: the main positive signs are the level of engagement during the sessions and subsequent follow-ups that are made by participants with the presenters. One of our ambitions in the coming months is to explore in more depth how these connections are leading to new proposal development networks. Tugela Matubatuba is a Horizon 2020 National Contact Point at the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa. Constantine Vaitsas is the Horizon 2020 National Contact Point at the FORTH/ PRAXI Network, Greece. Christian van der Merwe is a reporter for Research Africa, based in Cape Town.
Photographs in this article were taken at the CAAST-Net Plus INCONTACT 2020 info day in Accra, Ghana, on 28-29 May 2015. To access presentations from this event go to http://www.caast-net-plus.org/object/news/1199 [Image credit: CAAST-Net Plus]
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Africa-EU Research Collaboration on Health An assessment of the outcomes
John Ouma-Mugabe GSTM University of Pretoria
Over the past two years CAAST-Net Plus has engaged in dialogue with a range of African and European health experts to learn more about the outcomes of bi-regional research collaboration.
Africa and Europe have a long history of cooperation in health in general and health research and innovation (R&I) in particular. The cooperation has grown and deepened in the past three decades or so as a result of regional integration and globalisation of R&I. Bilateral, bi-regional and multilateral cooperation activities on health R&I have increased, as has the productivity of joint Africa-Europe scientific research projects (see for example, Box 1 & 2). But three key issues hamper the progress that has been made.
FP7 (and in particular the FP7 Africa Call) and the ACP S&T Programme. However, these EU investments are not adequately complimented by African resources. Most of the health R&I related policy statements in many AU summit declarations and the AU Africa Health Strategy 2007-2015 remain statements of intent because they are not backed by investments from African governments.
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Weak policy instruments and financial mechanisms
Africa-EU health R&I cooperation is guided by a range of explicit and implicit policies, expressed in the declarations of AU summits, the AU Africa Health Strategy 2007-2015, the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), and guidelines of the EU’s Framework Programmes (FP). Even though emphasis is often placed on supporting African countries to achieve health MDGs, most of the initiatives in this landscape aim to realise common policy objectives and focus on shared health challenges between Africa and Europe.
Even though emphasis is often placed on supporting African countries to achieve health MDGs, most of the initiatives in this landscape aim to realise common policy objectives and focus on shared health challenges between Africa and Europe. John Ouma-Mugabe
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On the whole, EU policy instruments and the JAES have so far delivered tangible outcomes from most of the projects funded through FP6,
Lack of opportunities for private sector engagement
The private sector is a major player in Africa-EU health R&I cooperation. Its participation in this cooperation has increased over the past decade. Stimulated by various policy and programmatic initiatives, such as Horizon 2020, we anticipate this growth to continue. However, African private sector participation within the cooperation landscape will be constrained unless African countries design clear strategies for promoting the sector’s engagement in collaborative bi-regional R&I initiatives. Increased private sector engagement in AfricaEU health R&I cooperation could be achieved if a range of policy issues are addressed. These include developing clear and evidence-based intellectual property protection policies and laws, strengthening the quality of the institutional infrastructure for regulating health R&I in general and clinical trials in particular, and creating fiscal or economic incentives for private companies to invest in health R&I.
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Insufficient policy uptake
In addition to its use for technological innovation, science is important for and in public policy-making. The EU has placed emphasis on supporting activities that strengthen science-policy linkages, and scientific research projects that have explicit goals of contributing to the improvement of the quality of public policies for health. For example, FP6 and FP7 had several projects on science for policy. The EDCTP for example has explicit goals to use scientific research to directly influence policies and regulations for clinical trials and approval of medicines. ANDI aims, inter alia, at promoting the harmonization of regulations for medicines and drugs approvals. However, many of the bi-regional health R&I cooperation projects do not have explicit goals of influencing policy and have no strategies for ensuring the uptake of science into policy-making. There are many EU-funded bi-regional health R&I projects that are unknown to policy-makers and where researchers and project managers have no strategies to use science in order to influence policies.
BOX 1: African Network for Drug and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) ANDI was launched in 2008 with EU funding in the amount of €5 million to promote and sustain African-led health R&I by building capacity, developing infrastructure, promoting collaborative efforts and delivering affordable new tools to fight diseases. Specific activities and investments undertaken by ANDI over the past five years include: + Centres of Excellence: identification and recognition of the first set of 38 pan-African public and private CoEs in health innovation to support implementation of specific R&D and capacity building activities as well as SouthSouth and North-South partnerships. + Projects: identification and initiation of viable projects such as the evaluation and technology transfer of an affordable medical device suite for maternal and child health in Africa, and co-formulation of a combination therapy to treat sickle cell anemia, disease monitoring and surveillance network, diagnostics/medical device networks, and a traditional medicines and natural products network.
BOX 2: European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP phase 1 2003-2013) EDCTP was established in 2003 as a public-private partnership of a number of European countries, the EU and African countries, to accelerate the development of “new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials”. Since its establishment EDCTP has supported at least 240 projects totalling about EUR 212 million. The projects focused on an array of activities including the following: + Integrated Projects: clinical trials as the core activity with associated capacity building and networking activities + Ethics: establishing, strengthening and mapping of national ethics committees and institutional review boards + Fellowships: personal awards to African researchers, with a focus on Senior Fellowship awards to develop African research leaders and building research teams + Regional Networks of Excellence: for conducting clinical trials, collaborative support for regional consortia + Short-term Grants: to provide seed funding for researchers to explore novel and innovative lines of research that may lead to the development and testing of new or improved clinical interventions Sources: www.edctp.org; EDCTP (2014), Annual Report 2013. European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership: The Hague.
John Ouma-Mugabe is Professor of Science and Innovation Policy at the Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) of the University of Pretoria. Views expressed in this article are his own and not the views of the GSTM. The contributions of Kenya’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, the Spanish Foundation for International Cooperation, Health and Social Affairs (FCSAI), and the Council on Health Research for Development are acknowledged.
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Share Your Lessons Communication and dissemination in bi-regional partnerships Gerard Ralphs Research Africa
Isabella Wagner Centre for Social Innovation
CAAST-Net Plus is researching the communication and dissemination needs and challenges in EU-Africa research and innovation partnerships. Our results aim to inform bi-regional funders about these two key aspects of programme and project design.
Context Science, technology and innovation partnerships between African and European countries are characterised by geographically dispersed individuals and organisations, with varying technological, research, infrastructural, linguistic and management capacities. These differences in capacities of the participants in EU-Africa STI partnerships are both bi-regional and inter-regional in nature. There are differences in capacities between the individuals, organisations and countries in the two regions and varying capacities within the regions themselves. In order for cooperating actors to fulfil their partnership and project objectives within these contexts, they need to consider both how to disseminate information about their activities to a wider audience, and how to communicate relevant information with each other.
It is not helpful to think about communication and dissemination in the same way. Dissemination requires a few simple tools—a website, newsletters, alerts, social media presence and so on. Communication is trickier, as it is a two-way street between partners and stakeholders.
Research Question If we can improve our understanding of these contexts and share this information with funders and programme designers, more effective projects and programmes can be constructed that utilise the learning that has taken place. Put differently, we would like to compile the information and experiences our colleagues in
the field have already gathered, to share lessons with the community on how communication and dissemination activities can be improved. As such, our research asks: what are the communication and dissemination needs and challenges in EU-Africa STI partnerships?
Two-stage Process In the first stage of our investigations, CAAST-Net Plus developed a working paper that aimed to bring to the surface some of the lessons learned within the CAASTNet Plus network itself, as well as its predecessor project, CAAST-Net. The working paper was developed using an exploratory research methodology, in which a small number of project partners were contacted and interviewed, and focus groups were conducted during a session at a CAAST-Net Plus annual meeting in 2014. The project’s external review panel provided comments on the working paper as have a number of partners, and the early findings of the working paper are given on the opposite page. In the second stage of our research, CAAST-Net Plus is reaching out to EU-Africa STI project coordinators and project participants through a short online survey in order to solicit their views and experiences. Data will be collected and analysed through a largely qualitative, rather than quantitative approach, and a final report will be available publically in December 2016.
PARTICIPATE IN OUR SURVEY URL: http://survey.zsi.at/index.php/297879/lang-en
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Some Early Findings Mind the Technology Gap One of the benefits of recent advances in information and communications technology is that there is significant choice in ways to communicate and disseminate information. It has become both cheaper and easier to set up things like websites and mailing lists than it was when the CAAST-Net project kicked off in 2008. But the advent of new technologies, including social media and Web 2.0 technology, also poses challenges for EU-Africa STI partnerships. Even with recent advances in internet and mobile technology access on the African continent, a gap remains between the two continents in terms of access to bandwidth and new hardware.
Dissemination is Easier than Communication Network-based projects, like CAASTNet Plus, require both dissemination and communication activities in order to fulfil their objectives. It is not helpful to think about these two activities in the same way. Dissemination requires a few simple tools—a website, newsletters, alerts, social media presence and so on. Communication is trickier, as it is a two-way street between partners and stakeholders. What has worked very well in terms of encouraging communication in CAAST-Net Plus has been networking events and information days, where partners and stakeholders have been able to meet face-to-face and start discussions. It is easy, however, for these discussions to peter out if there is no formal way to keep them going, for example through a purpose-built website or platform.
Balancing Political Communication in a Political Landscape CAAST-Net Plus operates within a highly politicised environment in which the interests of regions, countries, and organisations are at stake. However, CAAST-Net Plus communications, while linking intimately to political discussions and actors, does not express opinions about such discussions or actors. Its role is strictly defined by its overall objectives, work packages and their tasks and deliverables, and the requirements of the European Commission in terms of dissemination. All the information that is posted on CAAST-Net Plus’ website, in its magazines and newsletters, is vetted before publication to ensure its impartiality and neutrality.
Geography Matters There have been pros and cons associated with splitting the communication duties in CAASTNet Plus between Research Africa, based in South Africa, and ZSI, based in Austria. The pros include having communicators involved in the project who understand both the African and the European contexts and the varying needs of the audiences in the regions. This can be particularly important given the challenges posed by the technological gap referred to in Lesson 1. However, the geographical split of the communications team can occasionally result in duplication. The CAAST-Net Plus team solved this challenge by splitting the communication duties clearly between Research Africa and ZSI, and by ensuring that regular coordination meetings were held between the two. Gerard Ralphs of Research Africa in South Africa and Isabella Wagner of the Centre for Social Innovation, based in Austria, lead the communication and dissemination work package of the CAAST-Net Plus project. To receive a copy of the working paper referred to in this article, please write to enquiries@caast-net-plus.org.
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Pin it to CAAST-Net Plus Events | Links | Opportunities
CAAST-Net Plus Climate Change Stakeholder Meeting
Global Forum on Research and Innovation for Health
When: Where: Contact:
24 – 27 August 2015 The Philippine International Convention Center, Manila, Philippines For more info, email (secretariat@forum2015.org)
Innovation Africa a Summit 5th Innovation Afric When: Where: Contact:
r 2015 30 September – 2 Octobe nce Centre, fere Speke Resort and Con Kampala, Uganda African Brains ) (events@africanbrains.org
When: 7 – 8 September 2015 Where: Bergen Contact: For more info, visit http://www.caast-net-plus.org/object/news/1205
United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP21
When: Where: Contact:
30 November – 11 December 2015 Stade de France, Paris, France For more info, email (info@cop21paris.org)
Southern African-Nordic Centre (SANORD) Annual Conference
When: Where: Contact:
1 – 3 December 2015 Polytechnic of Namibia – Hotel School, Windhoek, Namibia Juanita Frans (jfrans@polytechnic.edu.na)
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The Magazine Junenext 2015 | issue Issue 5
of the CAAST-Net Plus Magazine will be published in December 2015