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AbstractNetworked models are often proposed as a means to enhance health research capacity‐building in Africa. This paper addresses a knowledge gap on what works and does not in capacity‐building in African research settings. It provides an analysis of how multi‐partner networks are built and how their success depends on building institutional level capacity‐strengthening within partner institutions. To do this, the paper focuses on the Wellcome Trust's African Institutions initiative, drawing on initial learning and evaluation project data. We identify priority areas for policy attention and share emerging early insights on mechanisms and strategies being implemented by consortia to address key challenges. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This book argues that renewable electrification in developing countries provides important opportunities for local economic development, but new pathways are required for turning these opportunities into successful reality. Building Innovation Capabilities for Sustainable Industrialisation offers a novel input into the debate on development of capabilities for sustainable industrialisation and delivers key insights for both researchers and policy makers when it comes to the question of how to increase the economic co-benefits of renewables expansion. The chapters in the book use a tailored analytical framework in their studies of renewable electrification efforts in Kenya and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They draw on a mix of project, sector and country level case studies to address questions such as: What capabilities are developed through on-going renewable electrification projects in developing economies? How can the expansion of renewable electrification be supported in a way that also encourages sustainable economic development? What role do international linkages (South-South and North-South) play and what role should they play in the greening of energy systems in developing economies? The authors provide a new understanding of how green transformation and sustainable industrialisation can be combined, highlighting the opportunities and constraints for local capability building and the scope for local policy action. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of development studies, energy studies, sustainability and sustainable development, as well as practitioners and policy makers working in development organisations and national governments.

This chapter is structured as follows: the next section reiterates the key research themes addressed in this book in order to situate the findings in wider debates about pathways to sustainable industrialisation. The following section forms the bulk of the chapter. It conveys the findings regarding the relative importance and dynamics of different aspects of renewable electrification for enhancing capability outcomes. It is structured around aspects related to the three key themes of the book, (a) projects design, organisation and linkages, (b) deployment model and choice of technology and (c) policies and political actors at the national and international level. The final section brings out the implications for policy. We summarise key findings arising from the research presented in this book, with the hope that the pointers for policy action can prove useful for more sustainable pathways that combine primary energy benefits and secondary localised economic co-benefits in the context of renewable electrification and the green transformation more broadly.

This chapter is structured as follows: the next section reiterates the key research themes addressed in this book in order to situate the findings in wider debates about pathways to sustainable industrialisation. The following section forms the bulk of the chapter. It conveys the findings regarding the relative importance and dynamics of different aspects of renewable electrification for enhancing capability outcomes. It is structured around aspects related to the three key themes of the book, (a) projects design, organisation and linkages, (b) deployment model and choice of technology and (c) policies and political actors at the national and international level. The final section brings out the implications for policy. We summarise key findings arising from the research presented in this book, with the hope that the pointers for policy action can prove useful for more sustainable pathways that combine primary energy benefits and secondary localised economic co-benefits in the context of renewable electrification and the green transformation more broadly.

This study, Updating the Case studies of the Political Economy of Science Granting Councils in sub-Saharan Africa, is a follow-up (Phase 2) to the case studies of the Political Economy of Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in sub-Saharan Africa research completed in 2017 (Phase 1, or baseline study). The study supports the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF). In the interest of generating evidence that can be deployed for economic and social development, the SGCI supports SGCs in 15 SSA countries. This research has been commissioned in response to an increasing recognition of the importance of improving understanding of the political economy (PE) of science and research in Africa and the roles that science, technology and innovation (STI)1play in the processes involved.The aims of the SGCI are to strengthen the capacity of SGCs to: manage research; design and monitor research programmes based on the use of robust STI indicators; support exchange of knowledge with the private sector; and establish partnerships among SGCs, and with other science system actors.

This article documents recent trends in science funding support in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We analyse these trends at the SSA regional level alongside a summary of four case studies of science funding in four Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in East Africa. Our findings support the literature on science funding in SSA regarding low levels of funding, cross-country engagement, and the need for capacity building. However, we also find there are tensions among funding and policy actors around the perceived ways in which investment in science will benefit society. We argue that the narratives and logics of science funders and their roots in 'Republic of Science' vs. 'Embedded Autonomy' rationales for SGC activity must be more transparent to enable critical engagement with the ideas being used to justify spending.