Transcript Diapositive 1

State of Scientific data in
Africa
First African Data Curation Conference
12 – 13 February 2008
Achuo Enow
[email protected]
ICSU: Historical Perspective
1899-1914: International Association of Academies (IAA)
1919-1931: International Research Council (IRC)
1931-1998: International Council of Scientific Unions
(ICSU)
1998:
International Council for Science (ICSU)
2002–2005: Review of Strategy  Strategic Plan: 2006 2011
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Strategic Plan: 2006 - 2011
Ensure
integration of
scientific
knowledge into
policy
International
Research
Collaboration
Science
and Policy
Universality
of Science
Monitoring
developments
in emerging
scientific areas
Equitable
practice of
science
without
discrimination
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ICSU Mission: Strengthening
International Science for the
Benefit of Society
1.
Identify and address major issues of importance to
science and society,
2.
Facilitate interaction amongst scientists across all
disciplines and from all countries,
3.
Promote the participation of all scientists, without any
segregation, in the international scientific endeavour,
4.
Provide independent, authoritative advice to stimulate
constructive dialogue between the scientific
community and governments, civil society and the
private sector.
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ICSU: Vision
● Science is used for the benefit of all (global society)
└►Universal and Equitable access to high quality
scientific data and information
└►All countries contribute to generating new
knowledge necessary to establish their sustainable
development pathways
● Excellence in science is valued and scientific knowledge is
effectively linked to policy and decision-making
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ICSU Regional Offices
Aim:
To ensure that the voice of developing countries influences
the international agenda and that scientists from the South
are fully involved in international research guided by
regional priorities
• Africa (South Africa) inaugurated 1 September 2005
• Asia and the Pacific (Malaysia) inaugurated 19
September 2006
• Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil) inaugurated in
December 2006
• Arab Region (Host to be identified)
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ICSU ROA: Priorities for
sub-Saharan Africa
1. Sustainable Energy
2. Health and Human Well-being
3. Natural and Human-induced Hazards &
Disasters
4. Global Change
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ICSU ROA Science plans
1. Review of Current situation
2. Identification of gaps and challenges
3. R&D Projects to address the challenges
4. Delivery of project outputs to benefit society
5. Policy dialogues for informed decisionmaking
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ICSU ROA Science Plans:
General concerns.
1. Data
• Not available
• Inconsistent
• Unreliable
2. Research and service delivery Infrastructure
• Inadequate
• Dilapidated or obsolete
3. Human Resources
• limited numbers of skilled personnel
4. Science – Policy linkage
• Lack of evidence-based decision support tools
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Scientific Data in Africa:Challenges
1. Quantity of data and information collected

Restricted funding for research - Limited scale of data
collection

Limited research personnel

Availability of data collection tools

Protected knowledge and information (IKS)
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Global Gross Expenditure on
R&D (2000)
World
Population
World
Researchers
World
GDP
World
GERD
Developing Countries
79%
28%
42%
20%
Developed Countries
21%
72%
58%
80%
13.2
Japan
35.6
USA
Germany
7.1
China
6.7
India
1.6
S Africa
0.3
Africa
0.6
0
10
20
30
40
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Researchers per million
inhabitants (2000)
Japan
5206
USA
4006
Germany
3109
China
554
India
143
S Africa
309
Africa
78
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
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Scientific Data in Africa:Challenges
2. Quality of data and information collected

Discontinuity in data sets (interrupted recording

Inaccuracy in measurements (obsolete equipment)

Estimation vs. measurement

Information distortion (language barriers, public
image issues) – survey data
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Scientific Data in Africa:Challenges
3. Data Processing

Data analytical tools (statistical methods and tools)

Personnel for data processing / interpretation
(numbers and skill levels)
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Scientific Data in Africa:Challenges
4. Data storage

Availability of mass storage devices

Life span of storage devices

Safety of storage devices

Hard vs. soft storage – reliability vs. ease of retrieval
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Scientific Data in Africa:Challenges
5. Public Access to data and information

Low levels of publication (shelved research data)

Data ownership and protection – IPR issues

Confidentiality – industrial secrets, IKS
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Research Products:
International Publications
Region and country
2003 % increase
1988
1990
1995
2000
466,419
508,795
580,809
632,781
698,726
10,116
10,566
11,355
12,294
15,779
Near East/North Africa
7,896
8,241
9,647
11,111
13,465
Central/South America
5,632
6,886
9,547
14,747
18,933
Sub-Saharan Africa
4,544
4,355
4,161
3,973
4,219
All countries
Other Asia (excl China, S
Korea, Singp, Taiw.)
49.8%
Source: Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006: derived from Thompson ISI, Social
Science Index and Science Indexes
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Scientific Data in Africa:Challenges
6. Use of available data

Information re-packaging – “improve digestibility”

Outreach and awareness-raising

Reliability
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Scientific Data in Africa:The Way Forward
• Enhanced Human Capacity for Research:
• Brain gain and brain circulation (Diaspora project)
• Empowerment of young scientists (WAYS)
• Encourage and promote women in science (TWOWS)
• Institutional Capacity Enhancement
• Policy dialogues and advocacy for increased investment in
research infrastructure
• Promote and strengthen specialised centres of excellence
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Scientific Data in Africa:The Way Forward
• Promote data and information sharing
• Inter-institutional collaboration
• Networking (intra- and inter- regional)
• IPR legislation on IKS
• Science for policy
• Provide evidence-based decision-making tools
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ICSU News and Events
For more information and up-dates, visit
ICSU global website:
www.icsu.org
ICSU ROA website:
www.icsu-africa.org
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