The African Technology Policy Network (ATPN) has announced a collaboration with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and some Nigerian universities to establish a research and innovation funding body in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of the ATPN, Nicholas Ozor, said the establishment of a research and innovation funding organisation would enable Nigerian tertiary institutions to attract innovation funding from international donors.
He said the collaboration is with the African University of Science, Technology and Innovation, the University of Nigeria, and TETFund.
Mr Ozor, who spoke during a workshop at the TETFund headquarters on Monday, noted that other African countries with functioning research agencies have been able to receive funding from organisations such as Royal Crown Canada, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), German Foundation, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and British Council, among others.
“Nigeria currently has issues because they do not have a well-recognised national research and innovation funding agency which is part of why we are here to work with appropriate agencies and stakeholders within the science and technology ecosystem to see how we can establish a functional research and innovation funding agency in Nigeria,” he said.
He said the workshop aimed at strengthening research and innovation funding agencies in West Africa targets six countries in the region, with a particular focus on Nigeria.
He said: “Our responsibility is to support the West African region with technical training and capacity support to establish councils and the support from our agency is to enable Nigeria to catch up with their contemporaries of eastern and south African countries.”
What absence of research funding agency causes
While acknowledging the strides made by several sub-Saharan African countries in establishing functional funding agencies, Mr Ozor pointed out some of Nigeria’s current challenges which are due to the absence of a well-recognised national research and innovation funding agency.
He noted that the void hampers Nigeria’s ability to tap into international funding opportunities and impedes the country’s innovation ecosystem.
Mr Ozor also spoke on the need to identify appropriate institutional frameworks for housing Nigeria’s national research and innovation funding agency.
He added that while TETFund has been representing Nigeria in certain capacities, it is important to collaborate with relevant ministries and agencies, particularly the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, to ensure the effective functioning of the funding agency.
“We are here to talk to critical stakeholders to understand the need and what should be done to have the council well situated in an appreciative ministry. We want to work together to see how we can situate the National Research and Innovation Funding agency appropriately so that it can function effectively and support grantmaking effectively like the other countries,” he added.
TETFund’s ES speaks
In his address, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, said about 912 research projects have been sponsored, adding that the experience has given the agency an insight into the need for the workshop.
The TETFund boss, who was represented by an official of the agency, Hadiza Ismail, said: “With that huge amount of investments, it is expected to see that we have projects that have been skilled up to commercialisation. Also, having a good research framework and a functional and effective one will help not only Nigeria but also the funding in particular in managing the research projects and other interventions.”
She added that the Fund is committed to establishing the council, especially the science granting council so that Nigeria can participate fully in it.
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Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the President of the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Peter Azikwe, said Nigeria needs the results of science and technology, which he noted will translate into innovation and produce goods and services to make sure that Nigeria’s economy runs well.
He said: “We need to have a good institutional framework for doing research in Nigeria. That is what the project is all about and we are partnering with an agency with the belief that the outcome of this workshop will end up making Nigeria have a functional science granting council that can finance and fund research in all sectors of the economy like the universities, polytechnics, research centres, private sector organisations, SMEs and the informal sector.”
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