Strengthening the National Research and Innovation Funding Agencies in West Africa (SRIFA)REPORT ON VALIDATION, CO-DEVELOPMENT AND CO-DESIGN OF TRAINING
PROGRAMME AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT WORKSHOP IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Event Dates: 21-22 May 2024
Prepared by:Prof. Nicholas Ozor
Executive Director, African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS),
and SRIFA Principal Investigator,
Chancery Building, 8th Floor, Valley Road,
P. O. Box 10081-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Email: executivedirector@atpsnet.org
Submitted to:
Dr. Matthew Wallace
Senior Program Specialist,
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada.
mwallace@idrc.ca

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and Justification
The Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in sub-Saharan Africa recognizes the critical role of national
agencies in charge of funding of research and innovation referred to as Science Granting Councils (SGCs). The
SGCs are responsible for driving research and innovation (R&I) for social and economic development. In West
Africa, efforts are underway to strengthen existing SGCs where they exist as well as to establish new ones
where they do not exist to bolster R&I capacities in the sub-region. With support from the SGCI, the African
Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) in partnership with the African University of Science andTechnology (AUST), is working to provide training and technical support to SGCs in Burkina Faso, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Preliminary studies conducted through desk reviews,
surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions have informed the development of draft reports
on each of the participating countries. With a 2-day validation and co-development workshop, the training needs
and technical support is refined and finalized for subsequent delivery of tailored training and technical support
to the Councils in the respective countries.
The landscape of R&I funding, policy, and practice is dynamic, requiring Councils or their equivalent in West
Africa to continuously evolve and build their capacities. Despite their dedication to R&I, these Councils or theirequivalent encounter challenges such as limited resources, policy inconsistencies, and knowledge gaps amongstaff. Existing training programmes often lack regional specificity and fail to address the unique needs of West
Africa. Worse still is that some countries in the sub-region are yet to establish a research and innovation funding
Council. Therefore, the proposed workshop aims to validate and refine training programme content by engaging
the Council staff or its equivalent in the participating countries in reviewing and providing feedback on
designed modules; prioritizing topics relevant to emerging R&I trends. Additionally, to build capacity of theCouncils and/or establish a new Council where it does not exist, the workshop seeks to co-develop and tailor
technical support delivery approaches in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders; integrating innovative
methods such as blended learning and peer-to-peer exchange. It aims to foster ownership and commitment
among participants through active participation, open discussions, and shared decision-making, whiledeveloping strategies for long-term engagement and knowledge sharing. Furthermore, the workshop aims tostrengthen regional collaboration and partnerships by facilitating networking and communication between
Council representatives and identifying opportunities for joint research projects, policy initiatives, and resource
mobilization within the sub-region.
1.2 Goal of the Validation and Co-Development of Training Programme Workshop
The goal of the workshop was to validate the preliminary results on policy and institutional landscape,comprehensive stakeholder mapping and analysis, and needs assessment of the research and innovation funding
ecosystem in the participating countries and co-develop a tailor-made training and/or technical support
programme for each of the Councils/funding agencies. Specifically, the Workshop seeks to:a) Validate the content and structure of the training programme designed to strengthen Science Granting
Councils in West Africa.
b) Facilitate collaborative refinement and prioritization of needs in order to develop the training
programme through inputs from key stakeholders.
c) Foster knowledge exchange and peer learning among participants to enhance the effectiveness of
capacity-building efforts.
d) Generate actionable insights and recommendations to ensure the relevance and impact of the training
programme.

1.3 Methodology for the Workshop
The workshop was held physically and virtually for the benefit of those unable to join physically at Azalai Hotelin Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The workshop involved two-day engagement sessions with the Council and otherrelevant stakeholders including ministries and agencies in research and innovation funding. The first day
involved presentation and the validation of results and prioritization of training needs and technical support
while the second day involved the co-development of training and technical support programmes with theCouncil. This 2-day workshop employed highly interactive and collaborative approaches. The project team
actively participated in the workshop led by the PI- Prof Nicholas Ozor. Other project team members included
the Co-PI of the project Prof. Peter Onwualu, Dr. Cynthia Nwobodo (Project Officer), Susan Mburu,(Communication and Outreach Officer). The team reviewed and refined the reports through presentations, group
discussions, and brainstorming sessions. The focus was on co-developing training delivery methods and tools
tailored to the Council’s preferred learning styles, national, and regional contexts. The workshop was expected
to foster ownership and commitment by encouraging open dialogue, shared decision-making, and strategies forlong-term engagement as well as gender equality and social inclusion. Additionally, the networking
opportunities are expected to facilitate regional collaboration and knowledge exchange among SGCs andstakeholders, strengthening R&I ecosystems across West Africa.
1.4 Expected Outputs and Outcomes of the workshopa) Validated and refined training programme tailored to the needs of Science Granting Councils in West
Africa.
b) Enhanced collaboration and mutual learning among stakeholders involved in research and innovation
funding.
c) Actionable recommendations for the effective implementation and sustainability of the training
programme and technical support.
DAY 1: UNDERSTANDING POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL LANDSCAPE, COMPREHENSIVESTAKEHOLDER MAPPING OF THE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FUNDING ECOSYSTEM
The first day of the workshop provided an opportunity for the national stakeholders to focus on relevant changes
related to the policies/strategic documents, the institutional landscape, stakeholders, and training needs andtechnical support requirements in the research and innovation funding ecosystem of Cote d'Ivoire.
First of all, the exchanges between stakeholders highlighted the significant shifts recorded in the ecosystem of
research and innovation funding in Côte d’Ivoire last year. Indeed, the parliament has adopted a new law
n°2023-429 of 22nd May 2023 governing Higher Education, Research and Innovation. This law implies some
important changes in the legal status and the landscape of the ecosystem of institutions of higher education,
research and innovation. These institutions become public administrative establishments of scientific andtechnological nature called “EPAST”. By virtue of this new status, they are linked to the State by a performance
contract.
Furthermore, these research and higher education institutions are authorized to participate in some enterprises,
create production units, subscribe to contracts for scientific and technical services, manage research contracts,
exploit patents and commercialize research products for economic valorization of research results. Thislegislative reform has led to a profound transformation of the research and innovation ecosystem in Côte
d’Ivoire. This progress achieved after ATPS preliminary studies and first draft report was underscored byparticipants.

The recent adjustments relating to the national context and the multifaceted ecosystem of research andinnovation include the funding mechanism dedicated to support scientific research, technological andagricultural innovation. The participants emphasized that the law has created scientific and technologicalentities which depend on the support of FONSTI for the funding of their activities and the implementation of
their missions. These entities are the National Research Programs, the Poles of Competences, the Scientific andInnovation Poles, the Technopoles and the Communality Means for Research.
With regard to the funding policy, the State has reaffirmed, through this law, its commitment to allocate 1% of
GDP to funding of research and innovation. This percentage includes the contributions of the State, the private
sector and the technical and financial Partners. The current percentage of GDP allocated to R&I is around
0.35%. This is very insufficient and limited compared to the ratio of industrialized countries and OECD.
All these adjustments relating to the policies, institutions and stakeholders of the national research andinnovation funding ecosystem were raised during the discussions. To sum up, the changes recorded these last
two years in Côte d’Ivoire justify the relevance of this workshop, in a view to update data collected during thepreliminary studies of ATPS and its partner.
Despite the outstanding progress, the R&I ecosystem (documents, institutions, actors and stakeholders) arefacing critical issues, multifaceted challenges and stakes in terms of endogenous and autonomous funding
capacity, perennity of resources, capacities building, STI data collection, updating of research and innovation
national policy. Indeed, the country hasn’t proceeded to the national collection of STI data, for the time being.
This is a significant shortcoming for the national STI ecosystem.
In particular, it was highlighted, that at the strategic and operational level, the National Fund for STI (FONSTI)
is endowed with the following main policy documents: Policy related to conflict of interest, policy for genderand inclusion, anti-corruption policy, anti-money laundering and terrorism financing policy. Nevertheless, thediscussions emphasized the fact that some policy documents aren’t available yet and FONSTI is working toaddress this specific issue (specifically, Intellectual Property policy document). In this prospect, FONSTI hassigned a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ivorian Office for Intellectual Property (OIPI) in theview to addressing the critical issue of research results patenting and endowment of an intellectual property
policy document.
In terms of the prioritized training needs and technical support required to enhance the capacities of FONSTI,
the following table presents the outcomes of the working group one and two during the first day of theworkshop.
Priority Training Needs

Level ofPriority

Commercialization of research results
1stPublic-Private Partnership (PPP)

Justifications
Abundance of research results; creation of
employment and poverty reduction; Incentive
measures for researchers; effective communication
aroundresearch
results;
facilitationofPublic-Private Partnership.
Economic valorization of the potential of projects ;Improvement of populations living conditions witha strong societal impact ; competitiveness ofenterprises ; Reduction of research activities costat the level of private sector ; Mobilisation of funds

2nd
Mobilization of funding and research
grants
3rd

Quality assurance and research ethics
4th
Online management of calls for projects
5thStrategies for gender equality and social
inclusion

6

Monitoring, assessment and mutual peer
to peer Learning

7thfrom private sector and research grants ; Concretecommitment of private sector in R&I ecosystem.
Funding has a crucial importance to carry out
scientific research activities; Allocations ofresources by funders are very selective; Availabilityof funders.
Ensure competitiveness at the international level;
Funding and commercialization criteria.
Compliance with international standards; Improve
the international reputation of the Council;
Facilitation of management for the Council andprojects holders.
Comply with international policies.

th

Allow the Council to be effective; Ensure pursuit offunding and reduce failure risks.

The priority technical support and their justifications are presented in table below:
Priority Technical Support

Level ofPriority

Justifications

Support for advocacy for increased
funding for R&I in the country among
policy makers and parliamentarians

1.It is the foundation and departure of research
2.Legal documents arise from this point toallow the sector to research and obtain funds
3.National research policy will depend on thispoint
4.One of the certain ways to obtain financing.
(Through negotiations and presentation of abudget to parliament)

1st

Stakeholder engagements and policy
dialogue on topical issues of interest to
Council R&I funding
DraftingofSTI
documents/frameworks

2nd

policy-These are the first points that are put forward bydonors for partnerships with the outside world.
3rd

Organization of study/learning visits toother successful Councils

4thBecause this is a prerequisite for developing
policies drawing on the experiences ofpredecessors in the field; draw inspiration fromthem also for the management model in order toensure sustainability
STI Memorandum of Understanding
with other Councils and ecosystem
players
Commission studies on specific STI
issues relevant to Councils
Creation of physical and online
platforms for knowledge sharing
between parties

5th

th

6

Allows co-financing, sharing of experience, andknow-howExperience the excitement of research and stay
up to date
Allows to consolidate your knowledgeth7

The richness of sharing these experiences with the ATPS SRIFA project team and the mutual peer-to-peer
learning, the quality of various contributions and the strengthening of the capacities of national stakeholders
have been the added value of this national workshop in terms of profound understanding of policy andinstitutional landscape, comprehensive stakeholders mapping of R&I funding ecosystem of Cote d’Ivoire.
DAY 2: CO-DEVELOPING TAILOR-MADE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SUPPORTPROGRAMMESDay two of the discussions on enhancing the capabilities of the research and innovation funding agency of Coted’Ivoire involved a brainstorming session in each of the working groups. These group discussions focused on
the revised priority training needs and technical support, providing insights in terms of content, challenges,
solutions, gender and social inclusion, sustainability, and cross-cutting issues in the proposed capacity buildingof stakeholders and institutions in the R&I ecosystem.
The prioritization of training needs and emerging issues by the first working group resulted in seven mostimportant training needs as summarized in the following table:
The stakeholders in the second working group discussed the revised technical support under each of focus areas
as presented in the table below:
Co-developed and Co-designed Technical Support to strengthen Council
Priority

Support for advocacy
for increased funding
for R&I in the country
among policy makers
and parliamentariansContent

Genderequality andinclusion
strategies

Challenges

Solution

Emerging
Issues

Revision of Include
all Lack of private Taking the private Invite
allthe
STI stakeholders sector interest. sector into account Ministries,
policyin
Insufficient
Universities
Côte d’Ivoireinterest in the Decentralization
andresearchMESRS.
of STI policy
centers, CCI,
Centralization
civilsociety,of STI policy Organizea NGOsat
MESRS stakeholder Finance &level.
roundtableto budgetdiscuss
the  Economy &importance of STI planningnational

education
 MESRS Patronage
Etc.
Stakeholder
Research
Encourage the In the context Encourage Monitoring or
engagements and policy projecttraining of as of challenges policies: facilitate impactofdialogue on topical writing
many men and concerning
teleworking
capacity
issues of interest to (several
women
gender,the Study
the building on theCouncil R&I funding
modules(Researchers) cessationof possibilityof numberofexist and the withor women's
extending
projects won
need must be without
a careers
for maternity leave formore precise disability
maternity
women
by
and
must
reasons
is favouring
their
take
into
preponderant. teleworking
account the- The problem - Increase training
researchersofAfrican in project writing
themselves)
researchers
from the 2nd
facingCycle (Master)international
projects due tothe language
andtraining
barrier
Drafting of STI policy English
documents/frameworks formation

Encourage the Language
training of as barriers
many men andwomen(Researchers)
withor
withoutadisability

Immersion course How to target
in
listed journals
English-speaking
countries

Organizationof Quantitative - Encourage Limited Encourage How to target
study/learning visits to andthe training of access to data transdisciplinarity listed scientificothersuccessful qualitative
as many men collection and - Improvement of journals
Councils
dataand
women analysis tools working
collection(Researchers) - Lack of conditions
and analysis withor laboratory
tools
withoutadisability
STI Memorandum of Strategies for - Encourage - Motivation of Upgrading
Understanding
with scientific
the training of researchers to status
other Councils and valorization as many men publish
in researchers
ecosystem playersof research andwomen listed journals
results(Researchers)

the How to targetof listed scientificjournalswithwithout
disabilityoraCommission studies on Economic
Encourage the Non-innovativ
specific STI issues valorization training of as e search result
relevant to Councils
strategies for many men andresearch
women
results(Researchers)
withor
withoutadisability
Creation of physical and Policy briefs
online platforms forknowledge
sharing
between parties

Establish
collaboration
betweenresearchersandthe private sector

Encourage the Disinterest of Lobbying
withtraining of as publicdecision-makers
many men and authorities
women(Researchers)
withor
withoutadisability

1. Conclusion
Participants highlighted the fact that the R&I institutional landscape has recorded profound shifts with thecreation of the legal status of EPAST which allows the institutions to participate in various enterprises andcreate economic production units. However, the funding policy is facing a major challenge related to the low
percentage of GDP allocated to R&I ecosystem. Emphasis made about the lack of national STI data collection
which should help decisions and policy makers to shape an up to date national STI policy. The PASRES is now
subsumed into FONSTI as a programme targeting women and marginalized communities.
Finally, the issue of weak economic valorization, commercialization and patenting of research results wereprominent. To address these challenges, the workshop proposed significant support in the areas of capacity
training and technical support to enhance the performance of the research and innovation funding ecosystem in
Cote d’Ivoire.

A Group photograph of participants during SRIFA validation workshop in Côte d’Ivoire

Workshop Programme
Jour 1: Comprendre le système du financement de la recherche et de l'innovation

21 Mai 2024

Session du matin: Ouverture et aperçu general
9:00 - 9:30

Enregistrement

Susan Mburu/Représentant

de CNC
9:30 – 9:40

Mots de bienvenue

Dre Annette Ouattara

9:40 – 9:45

Présentation des participants

Tous les participants

9:45 -10:00

Discours d’ouverture.

Dr Yaya Sangare

10:00-10:20

Présentation des objectifs de l'atelier et des résultats

Pr Nicholas Ozor

attendus.
10:20 - 10:30

Photo de groupe

10:30 – 11:00

Tous les participants
Pause-café

Session 1: Présentation des résultats préliminaires
11:00 – 11:45

Présentation du rapport Côte d’Ivoire

Dr Cynthia Nwobodo

11:45 – 12:45

Session interactive de question-réponse.

Dr Cynthia Nwobodo

12:45 – 2:00

Pause déjeuner
Session de l’après-midi : Discussion de fonds avec les parties prenantes

2:00 – 3:30

Séances en petits groupes : Discussions des groupes departies prenantes sur la priorisation des besoins deformation et de soutien technique

3:30 – 4:00

Présentations des groupes sur les défis et les opportunités
identifiés.

4:00 – 4:30

Discussion plénière : Thèmes clés émergeant desengagements des parties prenantes.

Dr Cynthia Nwobodo

4.30 – 6.00

Session de réseautage

Jour 2: Co-développement de programmes sur mesure

22 Mai

2024
Session du matin: Récapitulatif et Définition des objectifs
9:00 - 9:30

Enregistrement

Susan Mburu/Représentant

de CNC
9:30 – 9:45

Récapitulatif et revue de la première journée

Dr. Cynthia Nwobodo

9:45 -10:30

Introduction au processus de co-développement

Dr. Cynthia Nwobodo

10:30 – 11:00

Pause-café
Session 2: Atelier de co-développement

11:00 – 11:40

Atelier 1: Conception des programmes de formation sur

Tous les participants

mesure.
11:40 – 12:20

Atelier 2: Identification des besoins en assistanceTous les participants

technique
12:20 – 1:00

Discussions inter-groupes et partage d'idées

1.00 – 2.00

Tous les participants

Pause déjeuner
Session de l’après-midi: Planification de la mise en œuvre

2:00 -2:30

Présentation du programme codéveloppé

Représentant du conseil

2:30 – 3:30

Retour d'information et affinement à travers un processus

Tous les participantsitératif.
3:30 – 4:15

Feuille de route pour la mise en œuvre : Calendrier et

Dr. Cynthia Nwobodo

responsabilités
4:15 – 4:30

Discours de clôture et perspectives

Prof. Peter Onwualu

List of Participants
S/N

Name

Sex

Institution

Role

Contact details

1.

Dr
SANGARE
Yaya

M

FONSTI

General Secretary

2.

OUATTARAZEINEBOUFFONSTIManagement of calls for zeinebou.ouattara@fonsti.org
projects(+225) 0778266808

3.

Dr TRA BI M
TRA
Bienvenu Eric

FONSTI

Head of Studies and erictrabi78@yahoo.fr
Legal Affairs(+225) 07 78 26 68 38

4.

KambireWilfriedM

FONSTIIn charge of Call for hermann.kambire@fonsti.org;
Projects Manager(+225) 05 05 22 60 83

5.

Dre Ouattara F
AnnetteFONSTIManagement of capacity annetteouattara@yahoo.fr
building
and(+225) 01 03 63 51 99
partnerships

6.

Mr Nguessan M
Evrad

FONSTIIn
chargemanagement control

yayasangci@yahoo.fr / (+225) 01
40 37 71 16

of evrad.nguessan@fonsti.org(+225) 05 01 19 58 67 /(+225) 07 09 14 21 90

7.

Mr
Marcel M
BakaryFONSTIIn charge of monitoring marcel.bakary@fonsti.org
andevaluationof(+225) 05 94 87 19 88
projects

8.

Mr
Fofana M
MohamedFONSTIIn
chargeof mohamed.fofana@fonsti.org
technologies
and(+225) 05 55 59 87 98
information system

9.

Aka
Madeleine

FONSTI

Administrative Assistant madeleine.aka@fonsti.org

10. Patrick
AssamoiF(+225) 05 86 22 75 39
M

FONSTIIn
chargecommunication
Partnerhipof patrick.assamoi@fonsti.org
and(+225) 05 01 19 58 66

11. Mobio Ariane F

12. Dr Diomandé M
Métangbo

13. Dr.
BONI F
Laurence

14. Dr.
SORO M
KafanaFONSTIFONSTI

Administrative
Assistanteariane.mobio@csrs.ci

Project manager

metangbo@yahoo.fr(+225) 07 48 08 09 51 /(+225) 77 90 33 12 / (+225) 52 72
72 52

National
Deputy Director of (+225) 0707588399
Environment Project
Planning,
AgencyMonitoringand
Evaluation

Ecology
ResearchCenterResearcher
Ecology
Centerat
the kouampf@yahoo.fr;
Research(+225) 0708494739 - 0504039660

15. Mr.
Kodjo M
Behira Jonas

Methodist General Secretariat
University ofCôte d’Ivoire(UMECI)

16. Dr.
BOMISSO
Edson Lezin

Félix
Head
of
Houphouët-B Department
oigny
University

M

17. Mr. N'guesan M
KouakouRomainbehira.kodjo@umeci.org.ci(+225)0707787432

Research bomisso.lezin@ufhb.edu.ci;(+225)0101317362

National
Teacher-Researcher
HigherSchool of
Statistics andAppliedEconomics(ENSEA)(+225)05 65410300;

18. Prof.
GONNIN
GilbertM

Institute of Director
AfricanHistory, Art
andArcheology(IHAAA)gilbertgonnin@yahoo.fr;
0707843561

19. PrDOSSO F
Mireille

PasteurInstitute of
Ivory Coast(IPCI)

Directormireilledosso@yahoo.fr ;(+225)05 05546761

20. Dr
KOUADJOClaudeGhislaineF

National
ResearchCenterResearcher

claudghis@gmail.com;(+225)0748962020

21. BLE
Melecony
CélestinM(+225)

Agronomic(CNRA)
Oceanologica Deputy Directorl Research ResearchCenterof (+225) 0707787891

22. DrM
BOUAFFON
Yapo N'Dia
VictorIvorianCenter for
Economicand Social
Research(CIRES)of bouaffon@cires-ci.com;(+225)0142130808

23. Mr.
GNAMBA
Essoh Adrien

Catholic
Director of Research and essoh_adrien@hotmail.com;
University of Cooperation(+225)0506327193
West
Africa-University Unit in
Abidjan(UCAO-UUA)

M

Deputy Director
Research24. Mr.
Serge M
Didier Amon

National
Research Manager
WasteManagement
Agency.
(ANAGED)dsergeamon@gmail.com;(+225)0153222245

25. Professor
AdolpheZEZEMNational
Teacher-researcher
Polytechnic
Institute Felix
Boignyyouhe.deba@gmail.com;(+225)0709774326

26. Dr. N' goran M
Koffi Célestin

University _ Teacher-researcher
Péléforo Gon
Coulibaly of
Korhogonkoffiagos2012@gmail.com;(+225) 0707679897

27. Dr.
Konan F
Amoin Lucie

Alassane
Teacher-researcher
Ouattara
University of
Bouaké

kamoinlucy@gmail.com; (+225)
0757000720

28. Prof.
Yaya

Soro M

INP-HB
Teacher-researcher
Yamoussoukroyaya.soro@inphb.ci

29. DreSopie

Yapo F

UJLoG
Teacher-researcher
University of
Daloa

sopiedeyapo@yahoo.fr

International Teacher-researcher
University of
Abidjanrodloabi@yahoo.fr (+225) 70 36
68 32

30. Dr LOA BI
Rodolphe(+225) 07 07 71 67 66(+225) 07 08 21 42 85