Welcoming and introductory remarks

Dr Samuel Tiriongo, National Research Fund, Kenya Board of Trustees

About the SGCI

Dr Prudence Makhura, National Research Foundation, South Africa

About the SGCI Academic Symposium

Dr Marcus Wilms,  German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany

First Group: SGCI Funded Projects

– PUCFPFP Research Project: Processing, upscaling and commercialisation of food products derived from underutilised fruits and plants in Mozambique and Namibia

(Dr Penny Hiwilepo-van Hal: University of Namibia and Dr Damião Nguluve: Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique)

– Locust4Industry Research Project: Development of safe mass rearing tools and value addition for the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria Forskal) value chain in East Africa

(Prof. Joshua Ondura Ogendo: Egerton University and Prof Dorothy Nakimbugwe: Makerere University)

– ReCaCaPA-BS: strengthening the capabilities and capacities of Burkinabe and Senegalese actors for the establishment of a sustainable system of production of knowledge and actions against chronic diseases in the elderly

(Dr Lamine Ndiaye: Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar and Dr Berthè Abdramane: Centre Muraz Research Institute)

Second Group: Kenya National Projects

– Project Title: Optimizing small-scale biogas technology for household energy and improvement of soil fertility within coffee dairy production systems

(Prof. Thomas Rewe: Pwani University)

– Project Title: Improving smallholder farmers’ incomes through enhanced mango productivity, post-harvest technologies, value addition and marketing of mango products in Kwale, Lamu and Tana River Counties of Coastal Kenya

(Dr Finyange Pole: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO))

– Project Title: Commercialization of Cassava Value Chain for Improved Food and Nutritional Security – and Animal Feed Component

(Dr Vitalis Ogemah: Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST))

Third Group: SGCI Funded Projects

Project Title: Towards Technology Sustainability Through Upscaling and Commercialization of Biogas Generation in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia

(Dr Mapereka Chagunda: Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST))

– Project Title: Development and commercialization of sunflower oil mini-refinery technology to enhance productivity and income of small-scale edible oil processors

(Prof. Frederick Kahimba: Tanzania Engineering and Manufacturing Design Organization (TEMDO))

– Project Title: Indigenous Microsymbionts for Food and Forage legumes: Deriving ecosystems services from Agricultural Biotechnology

(Prof. Nhamo Nhamo: Marondera University of Applied Science and Technology)

Introducing and explaining Part III of the programme

Participants are invited to engage with project posters and principal investigators about the funded projects. See Poster Booklet for all posters.

Welcome, opening remarks and introductions

Prof Dickson Andala, National Research Fund, Kenya

Host, 2023 GRC SSA Africa Regional Meeting

Introduction and overview of the GRC

Prof Euclides de Mesquita Neto, FAPESP Brazil and GRC Executive Secretary

Effective research contributions towards sustainable development: GRC 2024 Discussion Paper

Prof Pélagie Theoua, Member of the Scientific Council of the Organization of the 2024 Annual Meeting, FONSTI Cote d’Ivoire

Keynote address

Prof. Vasey Mwaja, Editor-in-Chief, Kenya Academy of Sciences (KNAS) and Chairman, Secure Capital Investments Limited

Facilitated panel discussion on Research for Sustainable Development

1.       Dr Amos Nungu, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Tanzania

2.       Prof.  Soukèye Dia Tine, Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) , Senegal

3.       Mugala Guest, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Zambia

4.       Mr. Osamu Kobayashi, Director, Department of International Affairs, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and co-chair, Multilateral Engagement Working Group.

Guiding Questions

1. What can we as funder do to ensure closer collaboration between societal actors/ stakeholders in the whole research process? What are the experiences with funding transdisciplinary research? How can closer collaboration be encouraged in funding schemes to encourage research on sustainability?

2.   How can funders balance the (societal) impact orientation of research for sustainable development and basic science? Can the two be reconciled?

3. How can funders support the transfer of knowledge into implementation? What is the role of research in developing solutions and concrete options for acting upon a problem? How strongly should this be promoted by research funders?

4. How can research appropriately consider complex interrelations between sustainability goals?

5.   What are the implications of more collaborative, use-oriented forms of research for sustainable development for research evaluation (proposal assessment)?

6. How can funders move from open research (consultation fees) to open access (publication fees)? How can funders support open access publications costs?

7.   Many research questions on sustainable development require transdisciplinary co-creation. However, it can also be critical and non-inclusive to reduce it to such research. What contribution can mono-disciplinary and/or non-collaborative research make?

Facilitated panel discussion on Making Research Itself Sustainable

1.       Dr Martin Ongol, Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), Uganda

2.       Prof. Kouamé Traoré, Le Fonds National de la Recherche et de l’Innovation pour le Développement (FONRID), Burkina Faso

3.       Prof. Anicia Peters, National Commission on Research Science and Technology (NCRST), Namibia

4.       Representative, GRC Research Assessment Working Group

Guiding Questions

1. What examples are there of research funders encouraging more sustainable research practices (e.g., DORA, Open Science, Publication Practices). Are there examples of where these have worked well? Are there areas where they have failed? What challenges have arisen where more sustainable research practices have been tried out?

2. To what extent do research funders reflect on whether their research evaluation systems sustainable research practices? How can research assessment systems evaluate interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity appropriately? How can research funders develop evaluation systems that are sensitive to the lessons of Goodhart’s Law and so, through changing evaluation systems, change the fundamental practices that can make research unsustainable? Are there any examples of where this is being done? Have they worked and if so, why not? What are the obstacles in evaluation systems? To what extent

3. Should research funders be actively encouraging change to achieve more sustainable research in research ecosystems more widely? Does doing this challenge the autonomy of universities and research institutes? Is it envisionable to develop an “”Athena Swann” charter for sustainability? Should holding such a charter be a condition for receiving research funding?

4. Should research councils require a sustainability impact assessment (SIA) to be completed for all research? For some types of research? How easy would it be to introduce SIAs? Would they make any difference? What would they have to look like to make a difference?

5.  To what extent are you aware of SDG-aligned research being supported by your organisation? Is there any routine collection of data on SDG-aligned research? Are there examples of specific SDG-aligned research calls? What worked well in these calls? What challenges did they pose for evaluation?

6.  What could individual responsibilities be in contributing toward sustainable development within research institutions and the research they conduct? Do research funders have a role in encouraging such individual responsibilities?

Facilitated panel discussion on Making Sure Sustainability Science Matters

1.       Dr Habtamu Abera Goshu, Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MiNT), Ethiopia

2.       Dr Cephas Mensah, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation (MESTI), Ghana

3.       Prof. Florêncio Maulano, Fundo Nacional de Investigação (FNI), Mozambique

4.       Representative, GRC Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion     Working Group

 Guiding Questions

1. Where do you see the key success factors for effective co-creation of sustainability research?

2. Are there promising models for building trust and mutual understanding between researchers, policymakers, and societal actors? What can we learn from them?

3.  Are there promising examples of enduring research-practice communities, or similar interfaces between scientists, practitioners, and decision makers? What can we learn from them? How to include members of society in the dialogue between researchers and policy actors?

4. Which key skills do researchers, policymakers and societal actors need to jointly define and address issues of sustainability? What are the specific requirements in the case of politically controversial or value-laden issues and which additional tensions arise with respect to scholar-activism?

Reflection and Closing Remarks

Dr Yaya Sangare, Fonds pour la Science, la Technologie et l’Innovation (FONSTI), Cote d’Ivoire and SSA Governing Board