Description

This study is about foresight in science, technology and innovation (STI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It was commissioned by the Scinnovent Centre on behalf of the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) to identify whether and analyze how SSA countries are engaging in and with STI foresight (STIF) to inform research and innovation (R&I) priority setting and STI policy-making in general. The study is intended to inform the SGCI of international good approaches/practices of institutionalizing STIF and proposes a framework that SGCs in SSA can adopt with adjustment based on their individual remits and conditions to conduct foresight as part of their STI policy and planning activities. It is premised on the view that foresighting, which is about ‘strategic intelligence’ and ‘sense-making’ to identify and imagine possible futures, is critical in steering investments in R&I and STI policy to focus on long-term sustainable development aspirations such as those in Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).