In Malabo, Equatorial Guinea – on the 29th and 30th of August 2017, AOSTI, the African Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, United Kingdom, organised a joint workshop on the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of the continental Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024) implementation.

The two-day workshop, was focused on developing an M&E framework needed to assess the implementation of STISA-2024, since the strategy was launched by the African Union Commission (AUC) in 2014.

The workshop was an opportunity for policy practitioners, academics and other researchers to exchange views and experiences on monitoring and evaluation of STI programmes in the African context. At the end of the workshop, participants made several suggestions from which the themes listed below emerged as possible next steps in finding the most appropriate model to operationalise the monitoring and evaluation of the STISA implementation phases:

  1. Learning by Doing
  2. Harmonisation of the STISA M&E Language of Discourse
  3. Production of a STISA M&E Operational Model and Development of Performance Indicators
  4. Resources to operationalise the implementation of STISA M&E
  5. Areas which require future work.

The workshop was attended by Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), M&E, and policy experts from key stakeholder organizations such as AUC, NEPAD, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), academia, civil society, international organisations and Africans in the Diaspora.

Dr. Rasekoala was invited to the workshop as a member of the AUC-STISA M&E Working Group, and, on behalf of African Gong proposed key domains for which indicators for the M&E of Science Communication and PLUS, should be developed. These include indicators for policymaking, programme and practice indicators, capacity-building indicators and longitudinal public impact indicators. The discussions highlighted the growing recognition of the critical role of STI in the development trajectories of African nations and thus, the imperative to enhance the scientific knowledge base and capacity of citizens. The meeting deplored the low profile of the African continent in the domain of science communication and PLUS.