TECHNOPOLICY BRIEF 7

HOW CAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYIN AFRICA BE FORMULATED AND
IMPLEMENTED?

Osita Ogbu

AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY POLICY STUDIES NETWORKABOUT THE AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY POLICY STUDIES NETWORKThe African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multi-disciplinary networkof researchers, policy makers, actors in the private sector and other end-users
interested in generating, promoting and strengthening innovative science andtechnology policies in Africa. With a regional secretariat in Nairobi, the network
operates through national chapters in 21 African countries, with an expansion plan
to cover the entire sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the objectives of the network is to disseminate research results to policymakers, legislators, the organized private sector, civil society, mass media andfarmers’ groups through publications, dialogue and advocacy. Among its range ofpublications are the Working Paper Series (WPS), Research Paper Series (RPS),
Special Paper Series (SPS) and the Technopolicy Briefs.
Technopolicy Briefs Series are commissioned short papers written byexperts from all over the world specifically to address current science andtechnology policy concerns and questions in Africa. The briefs are also
summaries of technical papers published under our WPS, SPS and RPS
written to highlight significant policy recommendations. These briefs arewriten with the busy policymakers and non-specialists in mind. The materials
are designed for general readership and help advance the advocacy andknwoledge brokerage roles of the ATPS.
ATPS is supported by a growing number of donors including the International
Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Carnegie Corporation of New York, theRockefeller Foundation, the World Bank, the OPEC Fund, Ford Foundation, CocaCola Eastern Africa, the African Development Bank, and the Royal Dutch Government.

Table of Contents
1.0

Introduction

12.0

What is the Ideal S&T and Liberal Economic Condition?

23.0

Does the Nature of S&T Coordinating in Institution Matter?

41.0
Introduction
It is no longer in doubt that science and technology is the engine for growth. Thereis a consensus here. There is an equally strong understanding that without
appropriate science and technology (S&T) policy to anchor and support theeconomic policies, the economic recovery and renaissance in Africa will be weak atbest. Unfortunately, in spite of this understanding and consensus, science andtechnology policy does not command as much of our attention as it should. We
have ministries of science and technology, national councils for science andtechnology and other S&T policy agencies in Africa that are under-funded and illequipped to execute their mandates. Often, the mandates of these institutions andtheir relationship with other organs of government are not clearly defined, and thenational leadership fails to provide it with a rallying cause.
S&T policy, by its very nature, emanates from various ministries: education, health,agriculture, industry, water resources, planning and national development. This,
sometimes, gives the impression that a lot is being done and that a coordinatedapproach will be superfluous. But S&T policy is too important to be incidental. It
must be purposeful, coordinated and directed towards achieving stated sectoral or
national goal. What is, therefore, the best strategy for generating and implementing
an enabling S&T policy for economic development of any nation in Africa? Before
we deal with this question let us examine the environment for economic policy
formulation, since S&T policy should be formulated in support of the overall economic
and developmental goals.

12.0
What is the Ideal S&T and Liberal Economic
Environment?
In this era of economic liberalism and market fundamentalism, S&T policy, just likeindustrial policy, may be seen as an intrusion in the market. In the strict sense ofmarket determinism, industrial development does not require the guiding hand of
the government. Once the government has provided the enabling environment,
industrial growth will follow. But this is farther from the truth. Not even the mostdeveloped industrialized nations have left the market to determine their industrial
trajectory and growth. It may not be called a technology or industrial policy, but thesegovernments took and continue to take active steps to engineer, promote and support
the development of certain industrial products or sectors. This is done throughsupport for certain types of research, through externalizing the product of militaryindustrial research, export guarantee, material and legislative support for innovationand other economic measures including subsidies intended to promote certain
products and sectors. For instance, a country may not have a specific science,technology or industrial policy towards the production of certain types of automobile
but uses public resources to support research and development consortium in aparticular university for the purpose of supporting the automobile industry. This istechnology and industrial policy by other means.
In the era of privatization and economic liberalization, African countries must be
careful not to allow these policies to negate the need for a well-thought out S&T
policy. It is critical that economic policies in all their ramifications are scrutinized for
its compatibility with a nation’s given or identified technological trajectory. Growth,empowerment, and wealth creation should not be promoted and then followed byblind privatization. Privatization should be undertaken under conditions that allow
the upgrading of skills and learning, for increased domestic content in the intended
production, for knowledge transfer. Joint ventures and foreign direct investment (FDI)should not be promoted without examining these factors and without due
consideration for technological capability building and the overall impact on poverty
2

How Can Science and Technology in Africa be Formulated and Implemented?
reduction. It, therefore, means that one has to privatize and sign joint ventureagreements with a purposeful technological ideology in mind. This ideology does
not leave things to chance, but provides the framework for enacting and implementing
policies for technological capability acquisition in support of economic growth anddevelopment.
How then do we establish this trajectory and whose role is it to ensurecompatibility with economic policies?
Technology-led development is a leadership endeavor. This is true for a developing
country much more than for a developed country. Leadership endeavor implies thatthe leader shows keen interest in using S&T to advance economic development
and takes personal interest in selected key sectors and activities where the country
has either static or dynamic comparative advantage. The leadership role will include
providing material support but more importantly, it will mean personal demonstrationof interest from the President or his direct appointee that the work of the scientists isimportant. The recent visit of President Mwai Kibaki, the President of Kenya, to theKenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) greenhouse for the application ofbiotechnology in maize is instructive. The President must stay interested, pay
unannounced visits and ask for results. Nothing will motivate the researchers much
more than this.

33.0
Does the Nature of the S&T Coordinating inInstitution Matter?
What is the best strategy for generating the policies?
Whose role is it to ensure compatibility with economic policies? The two questions
are related. First, S&T policy must fit into and must drive an overarchingdevelopmental goal(s). These goals may be expressed, as in Kenya and most other
Africa countries, in their economic recovery/ strategic plans. It can also be sectorally
focused. What is important is that an S&T plan must be elaborated to provide theengine for sustaining the process of achieving the stated economic and socialgoals. In essence, an S&T policy should not be elaborated in a vacuum. Second, anS&T policy should be elaborated within the framework of national systems ofinnovation, that takes a holistic rather than a partial view of the economy, theinterconnectedness of the sectors, identifies the role of the different actors andseeks to fill the gaps in the system will produce a superior result.
Let’s look at two examples of industrial policy pronouncement, one real and anotherimagined. President Olusegun Obasanjo, the President of Nigeria, has banned theimportation of furniture into Nigeria and I imagined that President Kibaki would like
Kenya to be the leading exporter of textile in Africa. As an S&T policy person, I would
pose the following questions and seek answers to them.
••••

How do we produce cheap, high quality cotton/silk/wool in large quantities?
° Do we need biotechnology?
Do we have the right technical competencies and skills for example in yarning,dyeing, machine and maintenance and repair?
What is the status of our technological capability, Do we have the necessary
equipment/processing plants?
If the skills/technology is lacking, how do we acquire it?
° Technology transfers° Technology licensing
4How Can Science and Technology in Africa be Formulated and Implemented?

••••° Hire technical expertise° Training: both local and abroad
Can we institute programs in our universities/polytechnics to generate our own
crop of textile engineers, technologists and designers?
Do we need a research institute/foundation dedicated to textiles e.g. “TextileResearch Foundation”
Do we need science/industrial parks and incubators? And how do we link theoutcome of incubation to commercialization e.g. through EPZ?
How do we ensure that the whole system is linked and the actors understandtheir roles? How do we promote continuous learning within the system?

The questions cut across sectors and will involve different actors. But they are allvery important questions. Within a purely “economistic” paradigm, these questions
would not be asked. And without answers to these questions, the attainment of thestated goals will not only be delayed, it may never in fact materialize. Even if itmaterializes, it will not be robust enough to stand the test of time. Make no mistake
about it, the issues will not be resolved as a result of the market forces. It requires
active government policy intervention. While production and innovation take placein the private sector, it is the role of the government to provide the support mechanismsthat ensures sustainability in the production process especially if new ideas andnew processes are involved. From this it follows that there must be an institution, asub-department for S&T policy planning placed perhaps under the Ministry ofNational Planning. These S&T policy experts would be the natural ally of theireconomic policy counterparts with a wide mandate to provide S&T policy inputs into
national and sectoral policies. The National Science Council can also play thisrole. But it has to be given greater recognition and brought into the mainstream ofthings.
From the foregoing, we learn that national leadership and stated national economic
and social goals should catalyze a set of S&T policies which create the foundation,
the building blocks, for attaining these goals. The national system of innovation
allows us to have a clearer picture of what is required and how to address therequirements. There is absolutely no magic in this business. Investment in the righteducation, in technological capability and purposeful and creative leadership are
all necessary conditions for success. The discussion today on science and5

ATPS Technopolicy Brief 7technology parks are extremely important. Technology parks form one of the building
blocks in the system. But we must ask fundamentally what the parks would be used
for and to which overarching goal (s) are they related. It can only help us if we knowwhat to encourage and what to discourage given Africa’s meager resources.
At ATPS we keep all of these issues in view and provide the platform for debate, forinnovative approaches to resolving S&T issues. More importantly, we try to engage
the government and other stakeholders to understand the importance S&T and theassociated policies as the foundation for economic recovery, growth and development.

6The author is the Executive Director of African Technology Policy Studies Network(ATPS). This policy brief is based on a speech delivered on the ocassion of theAfrican Scientific Revival Day, commemorated with a Kenyan National Workshop on
Science and technology Parks Development for Sustainable Industrial Growth. Views
expressed in this brief are personal.

For more information this series and ATPS Contact:

The Executive Director
The African Technology Policy Studies Network
3rd Floor, The Chancery, Valley RoadP.O. Box 10081 00100 General Post Office
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254-2-2714092/168/498
Fax: +254-2-2714028
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