NRF Participates in All Partners Forum and STISA-2034 Advocacy Meeting

The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa participated in the 2025 Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) All Partners Forum and STISA-2034 Advocacy Meeting, held from 15 to 19 September 2025 in Accra, Ghana. The high-level forum served as a strategic platform to reflect on the achievements of SGCI Phase I and II and to finalise the design for its third phase. The forum coincided with the Initiative’s 10^th anniversary under the theme “SGCI @10: Marking a decade of Partnership, Growth, and Transformation in Support of Africa’s Development.”

Since its launch in 2015, the SGCI, supported by core partners including the NRF (South Africa), FCDO (UK), IDRC (Canada), Sida (Sweden), Norad (Norway), and DFG (Germany), has been instrumental in strengthening the capacities of science granting councils across sub-Saharan Africa in research management, evidence-based science policy, gender equality, and regional collaboration.

The forum brought together council representatives, international funders, and African Union institutions to chart the future of the Initiative. A keynote address from Professor Brando Okolo, Head of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) at the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, commended the SGCI for its decision to anchor its next phase on the continental framework of the STISA-2034. The event was also graced by Ghana’s Acting Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, who emphasised the SGCI’s critical role in driving research and innovation across Africa.

The NRF delegation, led by Dr Sepo Hachigonta, Dr Ndivhuwo Luruli and Dr Nana Boaduo, participated in several strategic engagements, emphasising the NRF’s commitment and leadership in fostering regionally driven approaches to research and innovation. A significant outcome of the forum was the endorsement by African Heads of Research Councils (AHORCs) for the NRF, South Africa (as a founding member of the SGCI) and the Ghanaian council (as host of the 2025 Forum), to lead the Councils Coordination Group, which will provide leadership and oversight for SGCI initiatives working closely with AHORCs and the Core Funders Group. Three additional members will be added to the group at a later stage.  The forum also marked a key expansion of the consortium with the admission of Angola and Togo. This growth to 19 member councils underscores the SGCI’s evolving role in consolidating Africa’s STI landscape.