Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

This chapter provides a critical reflection on the achievements, over the last ten years, of the Africa–Europe partnership in science, technology and innovation (STI), following the introduction of the Joint Africa–EU Strategy in 2007. Building on the CAAST-Net experience and knowledge, the authors assess the multiple drivers (be they political, economic, scientific or even diplomatic) that boosted bi-regional cooperation on STI. In emphasising the political interests and constraints that significantly affect such cooperation, the authors show the rich potential of STI as a unique set of tools to address increasingly internationalised issues on the global scene.

This chapter provides an overview of the chronological developments of the Africa–Europe cooperation on science, technology and innovation (STI). The authors first remind readers that African–European cooperation bears the mark of the prior colonisation of the African continent and the deep establishment of unequal and (geographically) unbalanced cooperation patterns. They then reflect on the renewed interest in STI in Africa–Europe cooperation. The chapter explains how more balanced cooperation structures and more efficient financing systems can be achieved and how science can become an integrated part of global development strategies.

This chapter focuses on the practical achievements of existing Africa–Europe science, technology and innovation (STI) projects. It reviews six programmes that fund Africa–Europe STI cooperation, highlighting some of their successful cooperative projects, particularly in the fields of new water and sanitation technologies and green chemicals. This practical focus sheds light on the intrinsically unequal cooperation patterns among African countries. Participation of a diverse range of African partners, and private sector participation in Africa–EU STI cooperation, remain limited. The authors thus point out that future cooperation should focus on how to market and disseminate STI products and services.

This chapter argues that Africa–Europe cooperation still faces two significant challenges: first, the practical implementation of innovative solutions to the challenge of assuring food security is still lagging behind; second, equal partnerships still need to be further institutionalised in order to become more enabling of positive change. As food and nutrition security issues touch on structural socio-economic, political and even environmental constraints, they require extensive networks of research, innovation and institutional collaboration. Despite several achievements, persisting asymmetries continue to burden the achievement of food and nutrition security goals in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors point out the strategic role that African countries could play first in cooperating with less developed European countries and in promoting alternative concepts of nutrition and environmental development on the global stage.

This chapter critically assesses Africa–Europe collaborations on climate change research and innovation. Its authors argue that the complexity of research and innovation challenges on this topic calls for subtler collaborative and evaluation programmes. More importantly, they emphasise the need for greater harmonisation between scientific and political priorities on climate change, and point out that project goals should be more precisely defined, so as to ensure that results can be measured concretely and solutions can be progressively improved. In the absence of this clarity, they argue, climate change research and innovation programmes run the risk of being reduced to mere rhetorical statements.

This chapter investigates the strategic benefits of global health collaboration programmes. Regretting the lack of alignment or harmonisation of research priorities and cooperation patterns, authors show how recent positive research development on health issues in Africa can foster more constructive and more balanced research partnerships with European countries and institutions. In this regard, authors urge greater support for the Research Fairness Initiative as a promising emerging global standard for fostering fair and sustainable research partnerships and a more inclusive and better institutionalised framework for Africa–Europe cooperation on health development and innovation.

This chapter reflects on the issue of the “health” of cooperative projects, which it defines as the quality of the partnering relationships that underpin project-based networks. Recognising the recent proliferation of project-based networks in bi-regional research and innovation cooperation, and the challenges facing these networks, the authors propose practical applications drawing from their experiences as partners from Africa and Europe. These applications cover issues such as harmonising interests, acknowledging resources and addressing cultural specificities. They also argue that using evaluative approaches, such as partnership learning, is crucial for the partners’ ability to handle success and failure.