Africa as a knowledge society

Britz, Johannes; Lor, Peter Johan; Coetzee, I.E.M.; Bester, B.C.

doi:10.1080/10572317.2006.10762700

Cited by 86 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Research is frequently not demand driven. While cognitive frames and priorities are important, African scholars have further located these failures in a lack of basic funding, mentorship and capacity issues at the university level that maintains these disconnections [26][27][28].…”

Section: Defining the Problem: Knowledge Politics And Capacities (A) The Politics Of Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging research with policy and action: what are the challenges of responding to zoonotic disease in Africa?

Bardosh

Cornwall-Scoones²,

Kalema‐Zikusoka³

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Zoonotic diseases will maintain a high level of public policy attention in the coming decades. From the spectre of a global pandemic to anxieties over agricultural change, urbanization, social inequality and threats to natural ecosystems, effectively preparing and responding to endemic and emerging diseases will require technological, institutional and social innovation. Much current discussion emphasizes the need for a ‘One Health’ approach: bridging disciplines and sectors to tackle these complex dynamics. However, as attention has increased, so too has an appreciation of the practical challenges in linking multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral research with policy, action and impact. In this commentary paper, we reflect on these issues with particular reference to the African sub-continent. We structure the themes of our analysis on the existing literature, expert opinion and 11 interviews with leading One Health scholars and practitioners, conducted at an international symposium in 2016. We highlight a variety of challenges in research and knowledge production, in the difficult terrain of implementation and outreach, and in the politicized nature of decision-making and priority setting. We then turn our attention to a number of strategies that might help reconfigure current pathways and accepted norms of practice. These include: (i) challenging scientific expertise; (ii) strengthening national multi-sectoral coordination; (iii) building on what works; and (iv) re-framing policy narratives. We argue that bridging the research-policy-action interface in Africa, and better connecting zoonoses, ecosystems and well-being in the twenty-first century, will ultimately require greater attention to the democratization of science and public policy.This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.

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Section: Defining the Problem: Knowledge Politics And Capacities (A) The Politics Of Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging research with policy and action: what are the challenges of responding to zoonotic disease in Africa?

Bardosh

Cornwall-Scoones²,

Kalema‐Zikusoka³

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…The questions are, what and why are these universities researching if this increase has not translated to increase in sustainable development or graduate employment. The continent should begin to record export of capital goods but unfortunately, in many respects, Africa is worse off than in 1960, and according to a report on Africa by the G8 countries, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region of the world that has actually become poorer in the last generation (Britz et al, 2006). This will be worse with COVID-19 if the status quo in our HEIs is left as it is.…”

Section: Projects Should Be Based On the Un Sdgsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Development Goals as a Framework for Postgraduate Future Research Following COVID-19 Pandemic: A New Norm for Developing Countries

Useh

2020

Higher Education for the Future

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Purpose and Significance: Education is regarded as the key to economic development, and COVID-19 has provided all universities the unique opportunity to urgently address their fitness for purpose. Universities can play a significant role in contributing to a more sustainable world by mainstreaming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at postgraduate levels. The opportunity to utilize United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) as the framework for postgraduate projects in solving real world’s challenges in our communities after the COVID-19 pandemic was explored. Main Body: One way of ensuring concomitant attainments of the SDGs with community development is that post-COVID-19 postgraduate projects should be purposively driven to address UN SDGs to make positive social impact in our communities. Through this, higher education institutions (HEIs) will be contributing in no little measures to human capital and social development with sustainable developments driven through interdisciplinary approach. Conclusion: The research products upon the completion of master’s and doctoral studies from our different universities should be purposively designed in accordance with the UN SDGs and universities’ visions to solve real-life challenges and therefore make social impacts in our communities. All HEIs should embrace an integrated approach by designing courses with learning objectives that are clearly focused on holistic approaches to sustainable societal development.

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“…(61)(62)(63) In particular, education plays a vital role in strengthening human capital, which directly in uences the ability to create, absorb, transform, disseminate, and use of knowledge and innovation. (59,(64)(65)(66) Education and training emphasizing the value of traditional knowledge and culture also strengthens human capital to innovate contextually relevant solutions for local development problems. (58,63,67)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Health Sciences Research Capacity in Africa: Mapping The Available Data

Wenham

Wouters

Jones

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: In recent years there have been calls to strengthen health sciences research capacity in African countries. This capacity can contribute to improvements in health, social welfare, and poverty reduction through domestic application of research findings; it is increasingly seen as critical to pandemic preparedness and response. Developing research infrastructure and performance may reduce national economies’ reliance on primary commodity and agricultural production, as countries strive to develop knowledge-based economies to help drive macroeconomic growth. Yet efforts to date to understand health sciences research capacity are limited to output metrics of journal citations and publications, failing to reflect the complexity of the health sciences research landscape in many settings. Methods: We map and assess current capacity for health sciences research across all 54 countries of Africa by collecting a range of available data. This included structural indicators (research institutions and research funding), process indicators (clinical trial infrastructures, intellectual property rights, and regulatory capacities) and output indicators (publications and citations). Results: While there are some countries which perform well across the range of indicators used, for most countries the results are varied – suggesting high relative performance in some indicators, but lower in others. Missing data for key measures of capacity or performance is also a key concern. Taken as a whole, existing data suggest a nuanced view of current health sciences research landscape on the African continent.Conclusion: Mapping existing data may enable governments and international organisations to identify where gaps in health sciences research capacity lie, particularly in comparison to other countries in the region. It also highlights gaps where more data are needed. These data can help to inform investment priorities and future system needs.

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Africa as a knowledge society

Cited by 86 publications

References 14 publications

Engaging research with policy and action: what are the challenges of responding to zoonotic disease in Africa?

Engaging research with policy and action: what are the challenges of responding to zoonotic disease in Africa?

Sustainable Development Goals as a Framework for Postgraduate Future Research Following COVID-19 Pandemic: A New Norm for Developing Countries

Measuring Health Sciences Research Capacity in Africa: Mapping The Available Data

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