The Next Generation of Scientists in Africa

Young scientists are a powerful resource for change and sustainable development, as they drive innovation and knowledge creation. However, comparable findings on young scientists in various countries, especially in Africa and developing regions, are generally sparse. Therefore, empirical knowledge on the state of early-career scientists is critical in order to address current challenges faced by those scientists in Africa.
 This book reports on the main findings of a three-and-a-half-year international project in order to assist its readers in better understanding the African research system in general, and more specifically its young scientists. The first part of the book provides background on the state of science in Africa, and bibliometric findings concerning Africa's scientific production and networks, for the period 2005 to 2015. The second part of the book combines the findings of a large-scale, quantitative survey and more than 200 qualitative interviews to provide a detailed profile of young scientists and the barriers they face in terms of five aspects of their careers: research output; funding; mobility; collaboration; and mentoring. In each case, field and gender differences are also taken into account. The last part of the book comprises conclusions and recommendations to relevant policy- and decision-makers on desirable changes to current research systems in Africa.


ParT onE
Context: The state of science in Africa Bibliometric analysis of research output is only one measure of the relative decline of research and scholarship at many African universities.Numerous case studies covering the period between 1990 and 2005 demonstrated quite convincingly that research at former well-resourced and supported institutions, such as Makerere University in Uganda, Ibadan in Nigeria and University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, had deteriorated; that research infrastructure and the general state of laboratories at many institutions had suffered from a lack of maintenance and timely replacement of old equipment.In addition, the generally poor quality of library resources has not improved significantly (many university libraries do not have automated management systems in place); and the demand for sufficient funding for ongoing research and scholarship continues, as does the need for proper research management and support at most of these institutions.
The cumulative effect of the funding policies of the last two decades of the previous millennium, the huge growth in student enrolments in higher education institutions, combined with continuing political instability in many African countries, created a state of affairs which Mouton (2008) described as the 'de-institutionalisation' of science.

The de-institutionalisation of research institutions in Africa
Science systems in developed and highly industrialised countries have a certain number of clear and evident features.Such systems are dense (well-populated) with highly articulated scientific institutions.'Scientific institution' is defined as any formal organisation or entity dedicated to the pursuit of scientific knowledge production, dissemination and utilisation.This definition includes bodies that perform R&D, such as university centers, laboratories and institutes, as well as R&D performing entities outside the higher education sector.But it also includes scientific publishing houses, journals, conferences, workshops and seminars which are 'organisations' for the dissemination of scientific knowledge.And it includes bodies such as technology incubators, technology transfer offices, patenting offices, and so on, that promote the utilisation and commercialisation of scientific knowledge.
In a modern science system there are typically a multitude of these scientific institutions that perform clearly articulated functions and roles, and together constitute what could be termed the 'national mode of scientific production' (Gaillard et al. 2002;Waast & Krishna 2003).The 'national mode' means that science is conducted for the public good and that the direction of science is shaped and steered by a nation's most pressing socio-economic needs.It also implies that the state accepts that it has a major responsibility for financing research and development activities.
Unfortunately, few or none of the features of modern science system applied to many countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the last two decades of the previous century.Many of the scientific institutions in these countries were fragile and susceptible to the vagaries of political and military events.They were severely under-resourced, and suffered because of a lack of clarity and articulation of science governance issues (demonstrated by constant shifts in ministerial responsibility for science).
De-institutionalised science exhibits five characteristics: 1. weak scientific institutions: fragile research centers and institutes, non-sustainable scientific journals, ineffectual scientific societies and academies of science; 2. dependence on international funding for R&D; 3. individualism in research rather than institution building; 4. inadequate reproduction of the scientific and academic work-force (decline in the number of doctoral programmes and doctoral students); and 5. weak inscription of science in African societies.
We argue below that this state of affairs has started to change in recent years.There is increasing evidence of small but robust institutions (some universities and research centres) that have survived the ruptures of political changes and economic fluctuations where pockets of significant science are now found.In these isolated cases (Botswana is a good example), science is publicly supported by the government, and there is reasonable political stability and good governance of the science system.In many of these cases, there are also well-established links and collaborative networks with strong research establishments elsewhere in the world.
But what were the factors that produced the (de) institutionalisation of science in many African countries especially between 1980 and 2000?At least six major factors contributed to this state of affairs: 1. the continuing legacy of colonial science in many countries; 2. the destabilising influence of political events and civil wars; 3. the devastating impact of World Bank policies on higher education in Africa; 4. the role of international agencies in shaping African sciences; 5. the continuing low investment in science by African governments; and 6. the continuing effects of the brain drain.

Colonial science legacy
Many of the research institutes that were established during colonial rule still exist in African countries.It is now well documented that the role of different colonial powers in the formation of scientific institutions varied greatly across continents.This is both a function of the nature of the institutions that were established, as well as the 'model' of 'colonial' science pursued.What is perhaps not so clear is how the continuing legacy of colonial scientific institutions in many African countries should be assessed.On the one hand, such institutions had the negative effect of creating a long-term dependency, by the African country, on the colonial power long after independence, which led to a neglect in establishing local institutions (cf.Gaillard's [2003] thesis in this regard in his study of the Tanzanian science system).On the other hand, some of the institutes (such as the Pasteur institutes in Francophone countries) remain sites of significant capacity and provide a stabilising continuity within the scientific landscape of these countries.

Political stability and civil wars
The destabilising influence of many regional and local political events had led to the closing of scientific institutions (universities) in many countries and effectively put science back many decades.Events such as the civil war in Rwanda/Burundi, the Mengistu regime in Ethiopia, Amin's dictatorship in Uganda, as well as the civil wars in Mozambique and Angola, are examples.These events had widespread negative impacts on institution building in these countries.In many cases it led to the suspension of overseas research funding (e.g.Sida/SAREC suspending its support to Ethiopia in the late 1990s), the closing of institutions because of lack of government funding and, perhaps most notably, the flight of top academics and scientists to other parts of the world.A good example of the devastating impact on a single institution is that of the University of Makerere in Uganda.Once a major site for internationally recognised research in the 1950s and 1960s, it suffered because of civil war and lack of government funding in the 1980s and beyond.This has forced the University in the 1990s to take in many more students than it could support (in order to raise fee-income), with the result that, by the beginning of this millennium, it has more than 30 000 students for a campus built for less than 15 000.It is only in recent years that student growth has been capped and a decline in student numbers has materialised.

Structural adjustment policies and economic decline
Various international forces associated with globalisation and internationalisation of trade in the 1980s and 1990s also had a devastating effect on the economies of many African countries: The decline in export volumes as well as the relative decline in the price of primary products in world trade in the 1980s and 1990s, combined with the mishandling of exchange rates and of external reserves, and the huge external debt overhang, together created major resource gaps for the countries of Africa.This put serious pressure on their import capacity and the availability of resources for essential economic and social investments.The results included increased dependence of the typical sub-Saharan Africa countries on aid from the developed countries.
As formulated by Sawyer ( 2004): The collapse of many national economies in Africa under these forces and the accompanying destabilisation of social structures threw all institutions, including those of higher education, into a prolonged crisis.A variety of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s to reverse the economic and social crises.The programmes were intended, first, to give freer rein to market forces by removing rigidities in the production, pricing, marketing and exchange rate regimes.They also sought to cut back the role of the state, downsizing it and reducing its reach.
All this was to be combined with the rapid opening up of the economy to international competition.The results are yet new challenges to Africa's universities -the downgrading of university funding (in favour of basic education) and the pressure on them to adjust to the severe austerity regimen imposed by the various economic stabilisation policies, at the same time as they were pressured to increase enrolment and maintain quality levels, without commensurate increases in resources … A further factor was the policy of privileging expenditure on basic education at the expense of higher education, a posture reflecting the policy positions of the World Bank and leading donor agencies, and the argument that the social rate of return on investments in basic education was higher than in higher education.
To summarise, at the same time as university enrolments increased exponentially in many African countries, both government support and external donor aid to higher education was dramatically reduced.The result was quite predictable, with many universities thrown into financial crisis, laboratories and libraries not receiving any maintenance, overcrowded lecture rooms and the flight of the top academics from these institutions.It was only towards the end of the 1990s that these trends were being reversed and government and international aid to universities in Africa being restored.

International research and funding agencies
The role of international agencies in shaping and steering science on the African continent cannot be underestimated.In this regard we include both the role of international development and aid organisations such as Sida/SAREC, NORAD, Carnegie, Ford, Rockefeller, USAID, IDRC and many others, as well as the presence of international research bodies such as the CGIAR institutes, WHO research institutes and so on.It is clear that countries which house the headquarters of these organisations or significant institutes thereof, benefit immensely from their presence.The significance of international institutes is manifold: • they provide some continuity in research programmes in the countries where they are located; • they are conduits for R&D funding through their international donors; • they form networks of collaboration and expertise that cut across national boundaries; • they provide employment to local scientists in countries where research employment is limited; and • they usually have much better facilities and laboratories for conducting research than the local universities and research institutes of the host country.
On the downside, except in very general terms, one could not speak of a close alignment between the research priorities and programmes of these institutes and the national R&D priorities of individual countries.These institutes do not fall under the governance of the national science system of the host country and cannot be said to contribute in any strong sense to national institution-building.The research agendas and priorities of these institutes are usually set at a supra-or international level.So, although their presence has had a positive impact on science in those countries and in the regions (and there have been well-documented success stories), in the final analysis they remain disconnected from the 'national science systems' of these countries.

The continuing effects of the brain drain
Arguably, the biggest cause of the decline of African science during the 1980s and 1990s was the devastating effects of the erosion of human capital through the brain drain.Ultimately, the restoration and improvement of African research institutions, and specifically African universities, would require strategies that focus on institution-building interventions rather than on building the capacity of individual scientists.This does not mean that training of, and support to, individual scientists, whether they are emerging or established scientists, is unimportant.On the contrary, we would argue that individual capacity-building is essential, but that it should be embedded in a framework of building the institutions of science in Africa.

A new narrative: Africa rising?
Around the turn of the millennium a new narrative began to emerge.Not surprisingly, this was reflected in the media headlines.Both in political culture and economic growth, it became clear that many African countries had started to turn the tide.An increasing number of African countries embarked on establishing democratic systems of governance.Africa's economic performance in recent years has given rise to the hope that political maturity and stability are being translated into economic growth.
In a study conducted for the Higher Education division of the World Bank in 2012, CREST identified nearly 120 initiatives to strengthen higher education in Africa over the past 30 years (with significant increases in these programmes since 2000).The study distinguished between three phases: 1. 1st generation programmes (1970 to 1990): Programmes in the fields of agriculture, and to some extent health sciences, were the primary determinants for international funding.2. 2nd generation programmes: From the 1990s onwards the interest shifted to programmes aimed at the 'new' diseases (HIV/AIDS, Malaria/TB) as well as new disciplines such as economics.3. 3rd generation programmes: Since the turn of the century we have witnessed a new focus on 'neglected' disciplines such as mathematics, physics and also the social sciences and humanities, as well as emerging applied innovation-related disciplines (biotechnology and materials science).

New investments in African science
Various international agencies have, in recent years, committed to increasing their investments in African science.An example is the World Bank that announced on 15 April 2014 that they have approved US$150 million to finance 19 university-based centers of excellence in seven countries in West and Central Africa.These competitively selected centers will receive funding for advanced specialised studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related disciplines, as well as in agriculture and health sciences.This landmark Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project is being financed through International Development Association (IDA) credits to the governments of Nigeria (US$70 million), Ghana (US$24 million), Senegal (US$16 million), Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Togo (US$8 million each).The Gambia will also receive a US$2 million credit and a US$1 million grant to provide higher education, including short-term training, to students, faculty and civil servants through the 19 ACEs.
Another interesting trend has been recent investments in 'big science'.What is significant about many of these new initiatives is the emphasis on strengthening African science institutions.
• Investments by agencies such as IDRC and DFID in national organisations such as science granting councils to increase the capability of states to plan science better, disburse research funds fairly and equitably and monitoring the value and impact of scientific research in African countries.• Investments by the World Bank, the Wellcome Trust, and others, in research chairs and centres of excellence to create sustainable research performing units.• Investments in doctoral programmes and training to build and expand the future generation of African scientists and academics (DAAD, Carnegie, Ford, Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation and many others).• Investments in scientific databases and scientific journals to increase the visibility of African science (Carnegie).

Investment in R&D and continued reliance on foreign funding
Many African governments have committed themselves to increasing their gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD).GERD is generally regarded as a measure of how dedicated a specific country is to supporting research.But the reality is that most sub-Saharan Africa countries spend less than 0.5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on R&D.Nigeria, for example, lags far behind, in that only 0.2% of its GDP is assigned towards the development of R&D (African Innovation Outlook 2010: 37).Unfortunately, not all sub-Saharan Africa countries' GERD is captured in the statistics below (Table 1).We lack therefore a comprehensive view of GERD in the region.In South Africa, the R&D Survey notes that 'this ratio (GERD/GDP) has stagnated between 1.4 and 1.5 over the previous seven years' (HSRC 2014: xiii).It is clearly not the case that African governments are investing more in R&D and science than in the previous millennium.The latest figures from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that government expenditure on R&D (GERD) as proportion of GDP remains the lowest of all regions in the world.Only a few countries in Maghreb and South Africa spend around 0.7-0.8% of GDP on R&D.For the majority of the countries, this proportion is below 0.4%.This is despite an explicit commitment by the ministers of science and technology in 2005 to aim for 1.00%.
The second Africa Innovation Outlook report (2014) reported Africa's GERD by funding sources for six countries that completed the R&D survey for the report.Government funding of R&D activities is significant, albeit at very low levels in real money terms.Notably, Ghana's government expenditure in R&D is the highest, accounting for 68% of its research expenditure.Ghana also records the lowest expenditure by its business sector, at 0.1% in 2010.In the majority of the six countries, contributions from the business/private sector are low.The outlier is South Africa, where the private sector contributes more than 40% of the total R&D expenditure.South Africa was also the least reliant on foreign funding, with only 12% of funding being from outside sources.The Africa Outlook report indicates that some countries, such as Mozambique, Burkina Faso and Uganda, received more than 50% of their R&D funding from foreign sources (Figure 2).To illustrate this over-reliance on foreign funding, Figure 3 reflects the sources of funding for Makerere University, Uganda's flagship university (Hydén 2017: 97).Of all of Makerere's funders over the 12-year period between 2000 and 2012, the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) was the only local funder.1Makerere University has sustained much of its research activities through the assistance of external funders, among which are two European countries (Norway and Sweden), the USA, two foundations and the EU.
A cautionary note: We need to be critical and even sceptical of the validity of the new narrative.Even if it is the case that there has been a shift in political culture amongst some African nations, the spread of democratic forms of governance is not universal.There are still many cases (Zambia and Uganda) where lifelong presidents preside.There are still pockets of conflict and ethnic 'war' in areas such as Southern Sudan, DRC and the terror activities of Bokom Aram continue to impact negatively on the lives of many peoples across the country.As far as turning the economic tide, this is again not a universal phenomenon.It is not the case that all African economies are growing (South Africa is effectively in a recession).More importantly, where economic growth is occurring it is mostly due to growth in extractive industries and the gains from increases in exporting commodities such as copper, zinc and other precious metals.
In the next chapter we turn our attention to some of the positive indicators of the rising tide of African science, including increased publication output, more international collaboration and increased mobility of African scientists.But it is not the that these more positive trends necessarily reflect the impact of deliberate interventions and strategies of many African states.In fact, one could -quite cynically -claim that many of these more positive developments are occurring outside (and even despite) the decisions and funding of science and innovation by many African governments.The positive trends in scientific publication output are more likely due to (a) the impact of specific incentive schemes and directed funding of specific initiatives; (b) an increase in the number of African journal titles in the Web of Science (thus resulting in better coverage of African science); (c) the continued increase in investment by international funders; and (d) the accumulative effect of increased international collaboration between foreign scientists and African scientists in multi-authored teams in such fields as high-energy physics, infectious diseases and tropical medicine.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Proportion of international funding for R&D by country (2010 or latest year)
This means Africa has 20 000 fewer people who can deliver public services and articulate calls for greater democracy and development(Nunn 2005).

Table 1 :
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) Foreign currencies are converted to US dollars through PPPs.Some country figures are estimated.Countries are grouped according to the regions described by The World Factbook, available at www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.